The Amana Colonies
by Wang Huning
Wang Huning is a member of the Chinese pulitburo. He is widely considered on of the most powerful theoreticians in China, and works as head of the Chinese Policy Research Office and chairman of the Central Guidance Commission on Building Spiritual Civilization.
In 1991 Wang Huning toured the US as a visiting scholar. He wrote a book about his experiences, called America Against America. Despite being subject to a lot of media attention some years ago, this book has never been fully translated.
In this chapter of America Against America, Huning describes a visit he paid to the Amana Colony in Iowa County. Some of the footnotes were taken from a partial translation of America Against America by the Something Awful user Kangxi.
The Amana Colonies are a special place in Iowa. Americans call it ‘socialism’ or ‘collectivism.’ How can such a place survive in a capitalist society like the United States? What kind of organization is it? It aroused great curiosity from me, a Chinese person. How do Americans engage in ‘collectivism’?
The Amana settlement has a long history. In 1714, in southwestern Germany, two men started a religious movement. This religious movement evolved into the famous Community of True Inspiration, the precursor of the Amana Community. In 1842, persecuted because of their religion, the Amana’s ancestors traveled across the ocean to the North American continent, establishing six villages in New York State and two in Canada. As the Buffalo area where they lived rapidly urbanized, the Amana began to purchase land to the west, and in 1854, they purchased their present land. They purchased 25,000 acres of land from the government at that time and another 1,000 acres later. It was on this land that the Amana people farmed and lived. After coming to this land, the people chose to live together in a religious way of life where all property was owned collectively and all religious and secular decisions were made by a single leader. This way of life continued for over a century until 1932, when a vote was taken to separate church and state and establish free enterprise.
The charter of the early Amana states the goal of the community as follows: "The goal of the community as a religious body is not universal nor selfish, but to love God who has blessed us, to serve God in unison, and to obey God's laws and requirements In order to achieve this goal, our collective pledge here is to receive and sign this charter together. " It is evident that the initial collectivism of this group was inspired by a religious spirit. Perhaps collectivism must be dominated by some kind of spirit, otherwise it is difficult to sustain. Is this the case? It is worth pondering.
Inspired by such a spirit, all property in Amana is collectively owned, land, grain, livestock, housing, and farming equipment. The Amana has various collectivist characteristics, and in addition to collective ownership, it is responsible for educating children, publishing, and caring for the elderly and the sick.
The leadership of the Amana Settlement is unique. Before 1883, Christian Metz was the leader who encouraged people to move from Europe to the Americas. Since his death, it has been governed by a 13-member board of trustees. This council is elected annually from a certain number of elders. Every man or widow who signs the charter, and every woman over 30 years of age, can run for office. Elders used to be chosen by Metz, but after 1883, they were nominated by the Board of Elders and confirmed by the Board of Trustees. The elders lead the affairs of the church and meet every Sunday morning. The local elders meet weekly, and the highest meeting (Board of Trustees) takes place once a month. The local session manages only local affairs. The Board of Trustees manages both ecclesiastical and secular affairs. Under their administration, the Amana people live a communal life.
Why did the Amana people choose the communal way of life in the beginning? Its founder, Metz, said: "The Church is the servant of God, and it is through the Church that God blesses and preserves us. Shall we not be devoted to God through total devotion to the Church? …Therefore, everything should belong to the Church, and the Church will provide to everyones needs. Anyone who does agree with this should leave, and those who want to stay should accept my words." So what does Amana mean? The word Amana comes from the fourth chapter of the Bible: "Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.”
In 1932, a great historic shift took place in Amana. By vote, the Amana abandoned the system of living together and moved in stride to adopt the system of free enterprise that surrounded them. Church and state were separated, and the elders of the church were no longer responsible for the full range of leadership. This transition is well worth exploring. What were the factors that motivated the Amana people to abandon the system of common life? Was there something wrong with the system itself? Or were other external systems too powerful? Did the people lose faith in their basic religious beliefs? What are the reasons why systems of collectivism are still facing serious challenges?
The answers of the elders who hosted us struck me as very familiar: one of the basic shortcomings of collectivism is the lack of individual initiative to work dutifully, as a result there were many lazy people. Another reason is that the younger generation was skeptical of Amana's spiritual principles. They were tempted by outside life and were unwilling to do mass eight times a week. Each year, the elders of Amana selected some young people to receive a higher education, to train as doctors, teachers, and businessmen, and so on. When these young people returned they were disappointed. There were no good jobs for the boys, and the girls had to go to work in the canteen. Another reason is political. Elders are always the same people and there is a hereditary tendency. This hierarchy destroys the spirit of the group.
Today Amana has a shareholding system, where anyone can buy shares. Collective property has been demutualized. Amana people who buy shares get dividends and those who are employed get a salary. There are almost a hundred private companies, most of which are shops and restaurants. Shareholding collective property is managed by the board of directors. Some factories are collectively owned, such as refrigerator factories, dyeing factories, textile factories, furniture factories, farms and hotels. Today people are no longer living collectively. Amana's own propaganda also specifically says: Amana-style communism is different from Russian political communism. Co-ownership is only to solve economic problems, not a basic doctrine or a belief
This explanation is actually inconsistent with the early spirit of Amana. The early life of Amana was based on a belief. But this belief was religious, not political. Under the conditions of unity of church and state, the distinction between religious and the economic life of the people does not mean much. Only by grasping this basic spirit can we see the significance of Amana's transformation in 1932. The most fundamental reason for the change in 1932 was the abandonment and indifference towards their traditions by the younger generation. Under the powerful lure of a prosperous society, the younger generation turned to other values. Once this shift occurs in the younger generation, it is difficult for any force to ensure the longevity of an institution. This problem applies to all social systems. The problem facing many countries around the world today is a crisis of trust in the foundations of the system among the younger generation. If this problem is not resolved, the system will face challenges. The historical evolution of Amana is a very good example of this: the result of the interaction of two systems that influence each other. Amana eventually chose the dominant values of the United States because it was too weak, politically, economically and culturally, to overcome modern capitalism, which was stronger than it in every way.
The fact that Amana is now a National Historic Preservation Site is the most meaningful lesson here. It teaches that in such an environment, once values are abandoned they become history. Will the current dominant values in the United States someday become history? It depends on whether stronger alternatives exist.
Tikhanov Library is an independent publishing company founded in Lund, British Columbia. To read America Against America and many other books, visit our website at www.tikhanovlibrary.com | Our catalogue includes books by Alexis de Tocqueville, Dmitri Alioshin, and Pierre Drieu la Rochelle, among other authors. We are constantly updating with new books and deals.