ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the kibbutz economic principle of social profit, its success in practice, and its specific organization in Kibbutz Vatik with a view toward the village's relation with larger economic associations. It explores some internal economic questions: equality and inequality; attitudes toward affluence; simplicity and limiting the standard of living; and the challenges of industrialization. The chapter provides the kibbutz economic system is based on the premise that the complicated social, personal, and economic factors balance each other out when members, whether lazy or aggressive, at least accept the principle of cooperation and try as best they can. It examines the financial statements of Kibbutz Vatik for the last few years to confirm the general economic stability of the community. In addition, the community's farm manager was interviewed numerous times. Vatik pioneered fish agriculture for the whole country and has introduced new features to increase productivity through research at its Laboratory for the Study of Fish Diseases.
