Together: Why Social Connection Holds the Key to Better Health, Higher Performance, and Greater Happiness

by Vivek H. Murthy

What, then, does it look like today when a community goes all in on collectivism? I found one answer in the ethnoreligious colonies of the Hutterites. The forebears of this Anabaptist Christian sect landed in North America in the late nineteenth century after enduring centuries of persecution in Europe. Their philosophy can be summed up by Acts 2:44 of the New Testament: “And all that believed were together, and had all things common.”9 This idea is taken seriously: private property is not permitted, and all income goes to the colony manager who then provides housing, food, and basic home goods to the rest of the colony. Though often compared to other rural religious communities like the Amish and Mennonites, the Hutterites differ in that they embrace the use of modern farming technology.10 Nearly five hundred colonies of Hutterites exist today in parts of Montana, the Dakotas, and Western Canada, each home to about 150 members.11 The colonies are kept small so that everyone is accounted for and has meaningful work to do. The Hutterites believe in self-surrender and a focus on serving one another. Within the colony, everyone is taken care of from cradle to grave. Elderly members are looked after and respected, and new mothers get help from family and community members. When a woman has a baby, a young girl between eleven and fifteen (or sometimes a young boy if no girls are available) becomes her “Sorgala,”12 or apprentice, to help take care of the baby and any older child...