Mike,
I enjoyed your thread about the Amish. I would think even in a posthuman world(as long as were not all uploads) there would still be a strong market for Amish products.
I found your descriptions fascinating about how the Amish utilize a "steampunk" technology. Or should I say "amishpunk?" lol!! There is a group similar to the Amish that actually build state of the art motorhomes on their community grounds! They just don't use them! I respect the Amish for holding fast to their ways but in some small ways adapting.
I wonder if a century from now, the Amish will allow for electrical power and other currently mundane technologies since the outside world will made quantum leaps to other technologies.
Here in Alaska we have Russian communities that have lived simply since immigrating here to escape Tzarist persecution. The married women always wear bonnets and the men wear traditional Russian shirts. They come into town quite often and are fairly friendly.
At UAA I befriended a woman who grew up in one of these communities. She told me it was stifling for her and she left to avoid a marriage her parents wanted. Quite the beauty(as well as brains, I can tell you!), she and her female friends(Russians formerly from her community or Russia itself) like to dress in a way that could cause a major traffic accident at an intersection!! I suppose she may be doing in some part to rebel from her parents values.
I'm don't know if these Russian religious communities allow for a sojourn into the wider world to find oneself. I find it fascinating that the Amish do this. Pretty sharp of them to allow for it. Ultimately, the best way to keep their young people.
best wishes,
John Grigg
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