Episode 2: Disaster Averted – America Is Born
With the term defined let’s explore the practice. Communalism has existed in many forms throughout history. One of the most important documents regarding the practice, The Communist Manifesto, came about in 1848. Yet, one of the most significant events regarding the practice of communalism / socialism took place in the Plymouth Colony over two centuries before the manifesto was written.
When the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth (original destination was Jamestown … they were driven off course) in 1620 they did so under a “socialist” contract. For about two years the people worked and all of the products went into the Common House from which everyone was permitted to draw what they needed. The colony (collective) owned everything that was produced.
The colony nearly failed with this collective practice.
Some people produced all of the assets for the colony and everyone drew from the assets, even those who were capable of producing and did not do so. Producers found no incentive in producing for people who did not produce. It wasn’t until Governor William Bradford disbanded the practice of communal ownership and gave the individuals responsibility for their own plots of land that the colony started to thrive. Yes, the Native Americans assisted, but the proximate cause of the colony’s success was that each person/family worked for their own self-interest (self-interest is not selfishness although some will equate the two and to do so is incorrect.) People who would not work would be at risk for not eating. (If a man will not work neither shall he eat … hmm?) So in America, the Pilgrims abandoned socialism before it was call by that name. The ability to trade / barter / and interact with the free exchange of goods and services is what saved the colony from extinction. (3)
The founding of this country was primarily predicated upon the Pilgrims’ love of God. At the time of the Declaration and Constitutional Convention the Plymouth Colony’s ideology was met with some resistance from the folks at the Jamestown Colony and for the most part the Plymouth Colony’s thoughts prevailed. Individual liberty and the protection thereof was paramount. Independence and freedom were the orders of the day.
The governed, We the People, gave consent to the government and justly limited the powers of the government. Why? Rights come from God not government. The founders wanted to ensure that no person came into enough power so as to be a monarch / chief / dictator. (4)
Things That Make Me Go Hmm? 