The Communal Experience of the Kibbutz by Joseph Blasi

Author:Joseph Blasi [Blasi, Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780887386114
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 1986-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

Leadership and Differentiation

Rosenfeld (1951), Auerbach (1953), Schwartz (1955), Etzioni (1958), Tal-mon-Garber (1972), and Rosner (1983) have essentially come to similar conclusions: The kibbutz has developed more functional differences among its members regarding influence, but these differences are not rewarded, encouraged, or created by material rewards (payment for services, better housing, better standard of living). Differences in the kibbutz are real according to age, sex, family status, state of health, and seniority. Regarding leadership, however, social prestige is primary in determining differentiation. One indication that this is the case in Vatik is that members who have a stronger sense of political participation in the village did not report greater satisfaction in their lives, greater work satisfaction, or better mental health, but generally the more visible, involved members tended to feel they were accorded greater respect.

Persons do differ significantly on their Actual Index of the Present Sense of Political Participation when it is related to both general life satisfaction (p= .002, correlation -.20) and work satisfaction (p= .009, correlation -.26), but the correlations were very weak. And persons did not differ significantly when their Historical Index of Political Participation throughout the Years was related to work satisfaction and personal satisfaction. High scores on either index have no correlation to better mental health (Composite Mental Health Index), increased social support (Social Support Index), or more communitarian economic attitudes (Economic Index).

Still, this does not mean that no differences in social prestige exist. Prestige is a combination of a member’s skill (which may be related to age and experience); past achievements or previous reputation as a leader; efficiency in working on past projects; whether the member is personally liked and respected; and the member’s current participation in managerial positions, committee roles, or less clearly defined social roles, such as the “cultural leader” defined by Etzioni (1958). Rosner (1965) and Talmon-Garber (1972), both of whom conducted research that is probably more reliable because of the number of communities they studied, found that kibbutz society cannot be divided into social strata by virtue of the functions performed. True, strata of social prestige can more or less be made explicit, but age, family status, country of origin, or community friendship cliques do not predict such differences well. When the amount of political participation found in our research is cross-tabulated with varying types of human diversity (except sex, which will be dealt with in the section on personality), such strata do not emerge.

The kibbutz is not mainly competitive; the society is primarily a fellowship-oriented society and all groups overlap significantly. Presumably, one can posit that the close community structure, economic equality, direct democracy, and the absence of wage differentials work together to discourage the formation of elite groups. Of the several central mechanisms that reduce stratification, foremost is the collective system of reward. Members are nominated to public offices, not elected; thus “influence campaigns” seldom occur. Power in such offices and committee posts is coordinating and executive, not definitive. People persuade, relate, and direct. The general assembly, however, defines, decides, and sets the limits and policy for officials.

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