Buber's theory of community, in which the kibbutz plays a key role, is compared with the social philosophy of the kibbutz, as expressed in the writings of its members. The two concepts are found to coincide with respect to the desirability of dyadic I-Thou relationships and mutual responsibility; but Buber presents an ideal and distorted picture of the kibbutz. He ignores its members' views on the varieties of communal experience, the values of work, pioneering and their results, rejects the idea of non-religious communal experience, and ignores the elements of democracy, equality and self-realization. It is argued that, on Buber's own showing, the real kibbutz is a better model for a philosophy of community than his version.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Baratz, Miriam
(1937) 'My Wedding Day', Work and Life (house journal of kibbutz Degania Aleph).
2.
Barber, Benjamin J.
(1984) Strong Democracy. Berkeley: University of California Press.
3.
Barzel, Alexander
(1984) Categories of Social Existence.*Tel-Aviv: Am Oved.
Buber, Martin ([1900]1976) Paul Flohr and Bernard Susser, 'Alte und Neue Gemeinschaft, an unpublished Buber Manuscript', AJS Review, 1, 41-9.
6.
Buber, Martin
([1922]1970) l and Thou, translated by Walter Kaufman. New York: Scribners.
7.
Buber, Martin (1928) 'Drei Satz eines religiosen Socialismus', Die neue Wege, XXII, 327 ff. Hebrew version in the new edn of Paths in Utopia, 1983: 180-2.
8.
Buber, Martin
(1934) Zwiesprache (2nd edn). Berlin.
9.
Buber, Martin
(1947a) Between Man and ManLondon: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Includes: [1926] 'Education'; [1929] 'Dialogue'; [1933] 'The Question to the Single One'; [1938] 'What is Man?'
10.
Buber, Martin
(1947b) Paths in Utopia,* (first Hebrew edn). Tel-Aviv.
11.
Buber, Martin
(1949) Paths in Utopia. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
12.
Buber, Martin
(1961) Selected Writings on Judaism and Jewish Affairs,* 2. Jerusalem: Zionist Library. Includes: [1936] 'The Halutz and His World'; [1939) 'The Regeneration of a People's Life'.
13.
Buber, Martin
(1963) The Way of Man. London: Vincent Stuart.
14.
Buber, Martin
(1983) Paths in Utopia,*Avraham Shapira (ed.). Tel-Aviv: Am Oved (new Hebrew edn). Includes: [1928] 'Three Essays on Religious Socialism'; [1945] 'Discussion with Kibbutz Representatives'.
15.
Bussel, Joseph
(1919) 'Letter to a Friend',* pp. 239-410, in Shalom Wurm (ed.) Sefer Bussel. Tel-Aviv: Am Oved.
16.
Dayan, Shmuel
(1935) Degania at its Half-Jubilee,*Tel-Aviv: Stiebel.
17.
Degania
(1918) Speaker at the annual general meeting of kibbutz Degania.
18.
Flohr, Paul, and Mendes-Flohr (1974) From Kulturmystik to Dialogue. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Brandeis University.
19.
Gerson, Menachem
(1982) 'Martin Buber and the Kibbutz Movement', Shdemot (English edn), 19: 80-83.
20.
Gordon, Aharon David
([1911]1969) 'People and Labour'. Translation in Arthur Hertzberg, The Zionist Idea, pp. 372-374, New York.
21.
Green, T.H.
(1890) Prolegomena to Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Likever, Joseph
(1947) 'The Table',*Book of Ginegar. Ginegar.
27.
Lindsay, A.D.
(1962) The Modern Democratic State. New York: Oxford University Press.
28.
Lunn, Eugene
(1973) Prophet of Community: The Romantic Socialism of Gustav Landauer. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
29.
Marshak, Benny
(1933) 'Contribution to Discussion', Mibifnim* (June): 75-75.
30.
Murphy, John W.
(1983) The Social Philosophy of Martin Buber. Washington: University Press of America.
31.
Near, Henry (1977) The Kibbutz and the Outside World.* Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Jerusalem: Hebrew University.
32.
Near, Henry
(1980) 'The Actress' Wisdom and the Author's Beauty',*Shdemot, 63: 102-109.
33.
Near, Henry
(1982) 'Kibbutz Education: An Historical Approach', Interchange, 13(1): 3-16.
34.
Near, Henry
(1984) The Kibbutz and Society, 1923-1933.*Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben Zvi.
35.
Rosner, Menachem
(1982) 'The Philosophy of Martin Buber and the Social Structure of the Kibbutz', Shdemoz (English edn), 19: 34-44.
36.
Schmalenbach, Herman
(1977) On Society and Experience. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
37.
Schweid, Eliezer
(1981) 'Between Martin Buber and A.D. Gordon',* pp. 229-243, in Y. Bloch, H. Gordon, M. Dorman (eds) Martin Buber: A Centenary Volume. TelAviv.
38.
Shapira, Avraham
(1978) 'Meetings with Buber', Midstream (November): 45-54.
39.
Shapira, Avraham (1983) Dual Structures in the Thought of M.M. Buber,* Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Tel-Aviv University.
40.
Shatz, Zvi
([1917] n.d.) On the Border of Silence.*Tel-Aviv: Tarbut Vehinuch.
41.
Shlonsky, Avraham
(1964) 'In Gedud Ha'avodah',* pp. 892-894, in Yehuda Erez (ed.) The Third Aliya Book. Tel-Aviv: Am Oved.
42.
Shur, Shimon
(1983-4) 'The Evolution of the Idea of Equality in the Kibbutz Movement',*Hakibbutz, 9-10:162-196.
43.
Simhony, Avital (1982) Green's Notion of the Morally Justified Society:An Interpretation of Self-Realisation and the Common Good. Unpublished paper. St. Antony's College, Oxford.
44.
Susser, Bernard
(1981) Existence and Utopia: The Social and Political Thought of Martin Buber. London and Toronto: Associated University Presses.
45.
Tabenkin, Yitzchak
(1933) 'On the Place of the Kibbutz in the Movement',*Mibifnim (April): 5-10.
46.
Working Women's Anthologye (1930). Tel-Aviv: Moetzet Hapo'alot.
47.
Yassour Avraham
(1981) Martin Buber's Social Philosophy.*Tel-Aviv: Aleph.
