Wednesday, July 16, 2008

B.F.Skinner, Walden II, Twin Oaks?

Talk about a blast from the past, this obituary of one of the pioneers of the Twin Oaks commune, based on the preachings of B.F.Skinner, the once-famous behavioral psychologist, in Walden II evoked all sorts of memories.

Unfortunately, a bit of Schadenfreude (sp?), based on this quote, and my comfortable belief that the hippy style of life was short-sighted, which meant my own life choices were superior:

"Although she was involved in founding two other income-sharing communities -- in Missouri and Virginia -- she told The Post in 1998 that communal life had not measured up to her expectations.

"My mother was disappointed that Twin Oaks did not turn out to be the model for what the rest of our society would be," said her daughter, Dr. Josie Kinkade of Louisa, Va. "When she found out that it was really just a nice place for some middle-class people to live, she was disappointed."

No comments: