Among the alternatives to contemporary capitalism being explored today, intentional communities merit particular attention. While German sociologist Max Weber is one of the most original theorists of community, his work has been used very unevenly in the analysis of intentional communities. However, a Weberian point of view on this subject can be developed. This article begins by discussing the status of communities in Weber’s writings, and goes on to make note of the very meagre use of these references in North American sociological work on intentional communities. Examining some foundational research carried out in France during the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the results of a survey conducted in North American intentional communities, the article deploys a Weberian sociology of religious institutions to broaden the scope of the analysis of community utopias.

在当今正在探索的当代资本主义替代方案中，有意社区值得特别关注。虽然德国社会学家马克斯·韦伯（Max Weber）是社区最原始的理论家之一，但他的工作在有意社区的分析中却使用得很不统一。但是，可以发展出韦伯式的观点。本文首先讨论社区在韦伯著作中的地位，然后继续指出北美故意社区研究中对这些参考文献的使用很少。考察了1970年代和1980年代在法国进行的一些基础研究，以及在北美有意社区进行的一项调查的结果，