Communes remained dependent on the capitalist system they rejected.

Evidence

Understandably, this turned out to be much easier said than done in 1960s America, and most of the communes had vexed relationships with the capitalist world outside. After all, mortgages had to be paid, children had to be raised, and most communes couldn’t grow all of their own food. Even if they were far from the city, they were still in America. To manage, many members had to continue working regular jobs and some communes relied on welfare. The eclectic menu at High Ridge Farm in Oregon illustrates this mixed bag of income. Among the many jars of homegrown produce, Houriet observed expensive store-bought organic food and commodities donated by the US Department of Agriculture (“commodities cheese” was a favorite). Along with “exotic salads with Brussels sprouts and kohlrabi,” they had “a commodities hash or a curry made from turkeys donated last Thanksgiving by the Welfare Department.” — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 162

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Directly feeds the reader’s privilege critique of Odell: physical retreat still needed wages and welfare even in the 1960s, sharpening the question of who can afford to step back at all.
• QUESTION: Odell’s own proposal is bioregional noticing, not physical commune retreat — this paragraph shows why her method must differ from the communes’, worth pressing in the defense.