Organization and Distributional Equality in a Network of Communes: The Shakers

A distinctive feature of the Shaker organization of communes was to divide each commune into economically independent subdivisions called “Families.” Although the sharing of wealth and egalitarian distribution of output were integral aspects of Shaker religious practice, the organization of their communes based on the Family system led to inequalities among Families. The data from the 1850, 1860, and 1870 US Census enumeration schedules show that income and wealth per capita differed substantially across Shaker communities and even among Families within the same community. One large commune for all Shakers could have avoided distributional inequalities, but the costs of motivation and coordination would have risen with group size. The Family system was a compromise that balanced communal ideals with these costs.