ABSTRACT
The communal/cooperative social and settlement movements that emerged in Israel during the nineteen-twenties have passed through processes of maturation, growth and change. The ideas of the early years have crystallized into a way of life suited to the political, economic and social structure of a modern state. The main change undergone by the kibbutz has been the increased power of the individual and family as opposed to the commune’s demands, thus bringing the kibbutz closer to the social conception of the cooperative settlement. The main change undergone by the workers’ settlement has been the strengthening of the cooperative on the production plane, with the aim of concentrating the capital, land and human resources in order to advance the economic goals of both the settlement and the family. This strengthening of cooperative farming has brought the workers’ settlement closer to the cooperative settlement.
