I
Group of people living together who hold property in common and live according to a set of principles usually arrived at or endorsed by the group.
The utopian socialism of Brook Farm , and the Oneida Community . Many communes are inspired by religious principles; monastic life is essentially communal (see monasticism ). B. F. Skinner 's Walden Two (1948) inspired many American attempts at communal living, especially in the late 1960s and early 1970s. See also {{link=collective farm">collective farm , communitarianism , kibbutz , moshav .
II
In medieval European history, a town that acquired self-governing municipal institutions.
Most such towns were defined by an oath binding the citizens or burghers of the town to mutual protection and assistance. The group became an association able to own property, make agreements, exercise jurisdiction over members, and exercise governmental powers. Communes were particularly strong in northern and central Italy, where the lack of a powerful central government allowed them to develop into independent city-states. Those of France and Germany were more often limited to local government.