How are the Amish doing in the contemporary world?

[Mouthwash]

Yeah, what recently struck me was how their communities have been steadily expanding. Usually marginal groups tend to dwindle and eventually disappear.

What do you know, conservatives have all the kids.

 

[riddleofsteel]

I work in a computer repair shop and see them come in once in a while as families. I'm not positive that they're Amish, but they're definitely dressed in the Amish uniform.
The are I live in generally has some very mercantile Amish that build woodwork to order and sell all kinds of other nifty homespun provender.

 

[Farm Boy]

What do you know, conservatives have all the kids.

Well let's see, low tech, high labor artisan goods and services, insular enough to sustain themselves, not big enough to challenge real power, liberal enough to send thier young out to get meated by the normals at thier freshest yet send most of them back, sounds like they're a dream subpopulation for wealthy neolibs. Hehe.

I think thier population retention rates are better than they were in the 50s last I checked?

 

[Traitorfish]

Iam surprised to learn that prohibition on Alcohol is a later rule

It makes you sense when you consider that, until pretty recently, beer was a staple foodstuff in Europe. Full-blown teetotalling only really emerges in the mid-nineteenth century; before that, social reformers admonishment the public to shun hard spirits and drunkeness, but only ascetics called for total abstinence from alcohol.

 

[Bamspeedy]

I've tried googling the difference between Amish and Old Order Mennonite clothing and not getting consistent results. Either there is a lot of overlap between them or a lot of mislabeling in people posting pictures of them online. Black clothing I always associated with Amish, and the lighter colored dresses with Mennonites, but this may not be very accurate (difference between Amish men and Mennonite men is seemingly impossible to recognize unless the Mennonite man is dressed more modernly).

https://www.kimvogelsawyer.com/amish-or-mennonite-whats-the-diff/

My perception is Amish are more ok with technology if it helps them make $, the Mennonites are more ok with technology for leisure. A van full of women with a woman behind the wheel, would likely be Mennonites....or my whole world view of Amish just got shattered...

Busted!

 

[GoodSarmatian]

It makes you sense when you consider that, until pretty recently, beer was a staple foodstuff in Europe. Full-blown teetotalling only really emerges in the mid-nineteenth century; before that, social reformers admonishment the public to shun hard spirits and drunkeness, but only ascetics called for total abstinence from alcohol.

Until recently ? I'm pretty sure beer is still officialy a staple food in Germany.



Obligatory but rather unqualified contribution to the thread by somebody who has only read about the Amish:
Isn't the whole "no electricity" thing more about independence than just "no electricity" ? They don't want to rely on public infrastructure and the power grid, but solar panels have made electronic devices more acceptable because they can generate their own power.

 

[Farm Boy]

Isn't the whole "no electricity" thing more about independence than just "no electricity" ?

Temperance is a complex question, eh?

 

[GoodEnoughForMe]

Their success is a mish-mash.

 

[really]

Until recently ? I'm pretty sure beer is still officialy a staple food in Germany.



Obligatory but rather unqualified contribution to the thread by somebody who has only read about the Amish:
Isn't the whole "no electricity" thing more about independence than just "no electricity" ? They don't want to rely on public infrastructure and the power grid, but solar panels have made electronic devices more acceptable because they can generate their own power.

Not particularly - it is rooted in Christianity - living as simply as possible to avoid temptation. If things are distracting you from work or prayer they are not good for you. Some distractions will be allowed and needed for rest but not too much.

Some technology will be useful (basic mobile phone) or necessary (say state mandated lights and reflectors on buggys).

The independence impression comes from them not mixing with ungodly people much.

Obviously I cannot expect for one to reply here! But people from the US may have first-hand observations to post.

My question is not an innocent one. I'm wondering specifically how well they are doing at farming while avoiding modern machinery and large-scale farming. And I'm asking because I've had this nagging impression that the demise of the small(ish) farm was not a technological inevitability.

They haven't really come up with a novel way of farming - they are just willing to do the hard manual work involved for less money.
Their beliefs keep young people on the land where otherwise they would have left for better prospects elsewhere.

I have a small family farm available to me if I want it. With European payments and schemes and income from sales I might make a basic income from it. But it wouldn't be anywhere near the minimum wage. If I grew my own stuff and gave up a lot of modern conveniences it might be doable but it wouldn't be much fun for me and I doubt it would be appealing to a partner or children.

There are a lot of people who come to the west of Ireland to live self-sufficiently but for more ecological reasons than religious ones.

The Complete book of self-sufficiency by John Seymour is a standard introduction to this life.

Me: I like my smartphone, holidays, private health insurance, satellite tv, two cars and big house so I will continue to commute to the city for the foreseeable future.

 

[Silurian]

See them all the time at Walmart, of course never in the electronics section..... The amish women mob the office supply section for some reason. Often also seen getting toilet paper. Sometimes they do shopping for others (elderly neighbors for example), sometimes the purchases are a little questionable (one time it was something weird like the only thing the guy bought was 6 large jars of mayonnaise and 3 cans of whipped cream, and he set them on the conveyor belt in like a pyramid formation.) One guy bought like 20 buckets of ice cream. Buying for all the neighbors, or the next sunday church social, I don't know.

Maybe they were buying it in bulk because it was on offer at that time.

It makes you sense when you consider that, until pretty recently, beer was a staple foodstuff in Europe. Full-blown teetotalling only really emerges in the mid-nineteenth century; before that, social reformers admonishment the public to shun hard spirits and drunkeness, but only ascetics called for total abstinence from alcohol.

Beer was drunk because it was safe unlike water, but it was weak 1 or 2% just enough to kill the bugs.
I would imagine that is why tea and coffee took off as well as the boiling would kill the bugs in the water.

 

[Lexicus]

I'm surprised no one's posted this documentary yet

 

[Traitorfish]

I'm surprised no one's posted this documentary yet

1996 is hardly "the modern world". They didn't even have iPods to, er, not-have.

 

[Lexicus]

1996 is hardly "the modern world". They didn't even have iPods to, er, not-have.

*falls off skateboard, splattering Gogurt everywhere and smashing my Walkman on the pavement*