neo-utopian ideals

Lately, I've become rather disenchanted with the small town that e are living in. On one hand, I appreciate that it is a tight-knit community and that we have a diverse population. I, of course, enjoy the natural setting and the slower pace (when the tourists aren't causing too much trouble). However, time and time again, I have to remind myself that this is till America, and decisions will still be made to promote capitalistic greed. Forests will be destroyed in the name of profit/progress, and the voice of the everyday Joe with only a few dimes to rub together will often go unheard (or at most denied).

Sometimes I wonder if I will only be satisfied when I am living in the middle of nowhere, all alone, or perhaps in a community of people that have been hand selected for their honesty and moral grounding (and their lower priority attitude towards obtaining wealth). Unfortunately, the hippies of the sixties have more-or-less denied us the ability to be taken seriously when we discuss starting new communities. Even though the 19th century was rife with new towns, settlements, and Utopian communities, the hippie movement of the sixties (with its free love and rugs) has left a bad taste in everyone's mouths. It's a shame because I feel that, for the first time in a long time, the internet allows us the opportunity to read about the communities of the past and to learn from their mistakes. And, if we can find a piece of land that is well suited, we could start fresh and try to create a model town that other could look up to, and possibly imitate.