ABSTRACT
Joseph Shepher, associate professor of sociology and anthropology at the University of Haifa and author (with Lionel Tiger) of Women of the Kibbutz, analyzed the kibbutz as an institutional mechanism to cope with the problems of a technological age. Praising the kibbutz, he claimed that it counteracts the trend toward urbanization, enabling its members to enjoy the amenities of urban life in the countryside; that it provides psychological support for its members; and that it allows for the development of personal relations and human potential. However, failure of the kibbutz movement to attract large numbers of people indicates that only under certain special conditions does the movement flourish. While not itself solving the ills of our technological age, the kibbutz, according to Shepher, does have lessons to teach us about developing a satisfactory solution to some of the problems of our technological age.
