The first-ever kibbutz has decided to embrace a more capitalistic wage system. In a move that Israeli pundits said sounded the death knell for the traditional kibbutz lifestyle, Deganya-A in the Galilee voted this week to allow its members to earn and keep private salaries rather than continuing to funnel all income to a communal pool. Veteran members of the kibbutz, which was founded in 1910, said the move would help preserve the community by keeping it in line with current Israeli mores. Just a handful of today’s kibbutzim still abide by the socialist ideology in which they were conceived.
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