...so I'm gonna tell you something here instead.
I think a future communist society would have more nomads. For the bulk of humanity's existence, nomadic life was the norm. Property and contractual obligation has made settled life mandatory in most of the imperial core, with a slim handful of exceptions.
Here in the states, the contradiction is mind-boggling. We're told the settlement of America was necessary to the establishment of freedoms, that nobody else enjoys as much liberties as we do today. And yet, for those "liberties", we had to stop people from leading nomadic lives. Corralled and marched people miles, so they could be free. Stole babes from families, so they could be free. Free to do what, exactly?
Centuries ago, nomadic life was a fundamental freedom for millions. Maybe it could be again...
~
...not that I know what that nomadic life would look like, or how it would interplay with settled life... just that it seems like something that should be striven for
Didn't hunter gatherers move around?
not all of them. people in particularly hospitable places never needed to, and nonagricultural peoples who live/d off the water were were/are fairly stationary
and those that did probably rotated about a set range rather than go wherever willy-nilly
Good point. Can argue that people generally moved when compelled by scarcity or duress and settled when they had a good thing going with agriculture and also protection from the elements (improved shelters, clothing, fire, eventually air conditioning) expanding the range of areas that could be permanently settled more so than changing the calculus of nomadic life vs settlement. Also worth noting that from what I've read most people in cultures with limited western contact when asked their favorite hobbies/past times tend to say something along the lines of visiting other villages/areas so I still think there is some innate tendency of people to travel even when they don't necessarily have to.
travelling doesnt necessarily mean a nomadic lifestyle though. its also important to find someone to date because most people in a village are related
They come back home afterwards. Big difference between that and nomads with no home.
They did. Right up until someone figured out instead of gathering plants, you could stick the seeds into the ground and then hang out until they were ready to eat. Boy, that was a game-changer.