Thursday 6 March 2014

Blogging Hutterites

Maybe we're closer to Arrow-Debreu worlds than I'd thought.

The Hutterites are an Anabaptist group that live communally, generally avoid personal adornment* (like the Amish), but that embrace technology when applied to work. Evergreen Colony, half a mile south of my parents' farm, owned large tracts of land and farmed them with the latest equipment. But the folks living there weren't allowed radios (though we'd hear stories of ones hidden in the equipment) and needed the Boss's permission to make a phone call (while some of the men would sneak over to our farm to use ours). The Manitoba colonies have diversified a fair bit, with many having now moved into light manufacturing.

I was rather surprised when Dad pointed me at the Hutterite blog. It's not updated all that frequently, but I was surprised it existed at all. Any Hutterite blog is self-recommending, so you don't need me to tell you to read it. A couple highlights:
Update: Lee Benham, in comments, points to his piece with Phil Keefer looking at voting within Hutterite colonies for the preacher.


* The dividing line between personal adornment and work-relevant technology can often be a bit blurry. Personal dress is always rather plain. But Hutterite grain trucks back home were festooned with more decorative lights than anybody else's.

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