(Editor’s Note: I didn’t post this because I’m a communist or because I’d like to see us move toward communism but rather because it’s an interesting story. I was also curious if they were still living this way, years after they started so, there’s a video explaining the town toward the middle and a video from 2016 at the bottom. Enjoy. And as always, if you discuss this within our community- BE KIND.)

Communism Working in Marinaleda, Spain

A small town of 2,700 in Andalusia, Spain has created a system of state controlled stability where everyone can build their own house with materials provided by the government.

The government of Marinaleda still owns the property and requires a tax of $19 a month (forever).  The citizen is not allowed to sell the house for profit, but for little to no cost, it’s theirs.

This all began when mayor Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo went full “Robin Hood,” after the 2008 financial collapse.  Whereas the area of Andalusia has an unemployment rate of 37% (and a world staggering 55% for the young people), Marinaleda has zero unemployment.  The citizens work together on collective farms and everyone receives 1,200 a month.

Mayor Juan Gordillo “Robin Hoods” to Save The People

After the abrupt 2008 financial meltdown, the city was in disarray.  People were beginning to face starvation and Gordillo ordered the police to raid grocery stores for the poor.  They grabbed rice, beans and oil, loaded them into carts and shipped them to local food banks to help the locally starving.

He explained it was not theft, but a non-violent act of civil disobedience. “There are many families who can’t afford to eat, and In the 21st century this is an absolute disgrace. Food is a right, not something with which you speculate,” he said.

“We need to rethink our values, the consumer society, the value we place on money, selfishness and individualism,” Gordillo remarks. “Marinaleda is a small example, and we want this experience to extend throughout the world.”

The craziest thing about this?  It’s communism.

*Article originally appeared at Minds.