Soviet Family Clubs and the Russian Human Potential Movement

Abstract

There is real interest in the idea of human potential among segments of the Soviet urban middle class. One form this interest has taken is for young families to band together in loosely organized "family clubs." The clubs enable them to cooperate to develop their own potential as human beings by helping to develop the potential of their children. Although the concerns and activities of these young Soviet families grow out of their recent experiences as Soviet citizens, there are many parallels with the human potential movement in the United States. The "family club" movement is encouraged by the Soviet press and, by implication, by the Soviet government, which has also encouraged relations with representatives of the human potential movement in the United States.