... create an isolated sectarian group in the aim of pursuing a long-term more peaceful lifestyle than it is for them to pursue short-term political rebellion. Even Plato's famous creation of an ideal state in the form of the Republic does not conform to the idea of a serious long-term lifestyle change - he makes it clear throughout the Republic that his ideas are only hypothetical as part of a philosophical discussion among friends; they are not political superpowers intending to section off a part of society in this way in order to build a utopia. However, the example of the Amish people is one case where people have formed and maintained an almost entirely separate community that restricts and resists contact with the outside world, and works for communal rather than individual benefit. Originally descendants of the Swiss Anabaptists, the Amish communities are now scattered in various densities around North America, ...

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