Communal values and economic success: A comparison of israeli collective settlements

✍ Scribed by Eugene D. Jaffe; Dove Izraeli; Yaakov Goldschmidt

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1996
• Weight: 455 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0895-8815
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00420439

✦ Synopsis

The association between economic success and adherence to communal values in Israeli kibbutz communes is analyzed over a thirty year period. Adherence to four communal objectives, as independent variables, is considered: Settling the land and absorbing settlers, farming as a way of life, refraining from financial speculation and minimizing consumption. Economic performance was used as the criterion variable. The findings show that the federation of religious kibbutzim (plural of kibbutz) adhered most closely to the social objectives and achieved better economic/financial performance than other kibbutz federations. The economic success of the religious kibbutzim is attributed to a religious rational ethic that was developed during their formative years and maintained consistently over time.