| The search and research for a solution to the world's most urgent and painful issue, SDG #1—Poverty, led me to the insight that technology is a tool to improve one’s economic competitiveness, but it cannot turn poverty into prosperity. If technology is not the source of prosperity, then its source must be sought elsewhere. Where should we look for prosperity or prosperity initiators? How would we know which path leads to prosperity? My primary objective of lifting smallholders, individuals, and communities out of poverty led me to investigate different types of societies, organizations, and communities in search of a systematic method of achieving prosperity. We have failed miserably for decades and desperately need it now. To achieve that goal, I needed a better theory based on well-established laws (preferably as the universal laws of physics, unaffected by geography, culture, industry, etc.) expressed by easy-to-follow and applied principles. Since most poor people, about 500 million, are smallholder farmers living in rural communities, I looked for high success rates and trusted ways to transform impoverished rural communities into prosperous ones. To achieve this, we need the capacity to predict the consequences of our actions accurately and confidently discern the sequence of steps and actions that lead to prosperity. The Holy Grail of this is a theory with a field-tested model. So, I searched for such a model and was even ready to develop one myself if needed. Surprisingly, I found that such a model, which has been "field tested” and proven for a long time, exists in Israel—the Kibbutz. I was even more surprised to learn that it is the model I was born into and raised in. While I lived on the Kibbutz, I was too blind to see the obvious and never considered it to have any potential global value. So, I never paid much attention to its history, roots, and reasons for success, which seemed normal to me. However, once I realized that the Kibbutz model might have what I was looking for and what the world needed, I began a journey of studying it thoroughly to uncover its secret to success. benefited enormously economically Why do I say “secret to success”? Where else can we find a developing economy reminiscent of the Promised Land in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where every rural community lived in poverty, yet seemingly overnight, all new communities burgeoned into prosperity, and existing ones underwent a transformative shift? Where else the transformation success rate for rural communities shifting from poverty to prosperity is 100%? How can that be? What else should we realize to understand the Kibbutz success phenomenon better? A QUESTION OF CATEGORY You know those cars that on the outside look like a family car, the kind your old aunt has, but when you lift the hood, see the suspensions, the transmission, and the wheels, you discover that it's a crazy race car? To which category should we associate this car: a family or a racing car? If you ask the police and the licensing office, they will say without hesitation - that a racing car is the true nature of this vehicle. Therefore, it is a racing car. However, a family car on the outside and a racing car on the inside may confuse most people. Could we face a similar confusion with the Kibbutz? Is the Kibbutz's true nature not what it seems from the outside? From the outside, the Kibbutz looks like a pastoral rural community that lives in harmony with its environment and within a defined compound. Some see it as an urban (i.e., city) luxury neighborhood in a rural (i.e., village) landscape. Is that the entire story? What is the Kibbutz inside true nature? What will we see when we lift the Kibbutz “hood”? In previous columns, I discussed similarities between the Kibbutz and industrial models, particularly the assembly-line production model practiced by Henry Ford with the T Model, from October 7, 1913. Notably, the automobile and every other industry and sector that adopted the assembly-line principles benefited enormously economically. And what happened to those who didn’t incorporate the assembly-line production principles? Unable to compete, they were left behind, economically failing and falling into the poverty trap from which there is no escape, at least not with existing attitudes. Unfortunately, smallholders never integrated the assembly-line principles into their professional activities and business models. Hence, hundreds of millions of smallholders are left behind and have little chance to compete with those who have incorporated those principles into their business activities. THE KIBBUTZ AND FORD’S BUSINESS ATTITUDE The first Kibbutz was established in 1910, three years before Ford's assembly line was invented. However, this didn't prevent the Kibbutz from applying assembly-line principles to agriculture, which it still practices today. To this day, the Kibbutz’s operation system is based on industrial assembly-line principles. But that was not all. Hidden from the public eye, the Kibbutz has other layers, including the significant one of universal social values, such as equality and self-management. In that sense, without realizing it, the Kibbutz rural community model was ahead of its time. It is worth remembering that Henry Ford, a successful industrialist, introduced the world with innovative work-employment principles: (1) the five-day working week (instead of the six-day standard at that time), (2) the 8 hours working day, and (3) the minimum wage. Hence, to understand Kibbutz's ongoing economic success, you may find it easier to understand its concept if you think of it as a big factory with many production lines. This “Kibbutz factory" goes well beyond Ford's social work principles. The Kibbutz employees are its owners and are considered its most valued asset. As such, the “Kibbutz factory” takes care of them and their family members, meeting all their needs with complete equality from birth to death. Today, leading commercial companies are known for taking care of their employees beyond the basic payment the law requires, e.g., providing help with housing, food (during/after work time), healthcare, education (including for the employees' children), vacations, legal protection, transportation, etc. The Kibbutz is like these commercial companies, taking it to the extreme, on steroids, with unparalleled success for over a century! INQUIRING SIMILARITIES We know that the Kibbutz is a successful type of organization, but we still need clarification about what this organization is and how to define it. Is the Kibbutz a rural community with production means, or is it a business operation that takes good care of its owners/employees? How should we categorize the Kibbutz? Based on what you learned so far about the Kibbutz, how would you categorize it? If you are still trying to figure out how to categorize the Kibbutz, you are in good company; many can't answer that question today, even not in Israel. However, everybody needs to pay taxes, and due to this and other governmental issues, the state of Israel defined the Kibbutz as an Agricultural Cooperative Society, viewing it as a big business (conglomerate-like organization) with numerous employees and sub-business activities. However, I am not a taxman and am looking for a deeper understanding of the Kibbutz nature and a broader view of its economic and social issues. I sought a way to inquire about this issue with as few biases as possible. So, I gave ChatGPT (an AI tool) various business and non-business features and aspects. I settled on presenting 14 aspects to avoid information overload while conveying the trends and underlying message. Then, I asked ChatGPT to compare each of the 14 aspects and rate their alignment with each organization and community type, which differ in the social-business level and interactions among community members—a Village (in a developed economy), a City, a Commercial Company, and a Kibbutz. ChatGPT rated the alignment of features per organization on a scale from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating stronger alignment with the respective feature (i.e., 1 - Low or no presence of the feature, 5 -High presence or substantial impact of the feature). The features and aspects that were compared and rated per organization, followed by a table that presents the rating: 1. Barriers to Entry: The extent to which entry into the community or organization is restricted or requires a lengthy process. 2. Shared Resources: The degree to which members collectively own and utilize resources such as land, equipment, and facilities. 3. Economic Resilience: The community's ability (and its members' ability) to withstand economic challenges and adapt to changing conditions. 4. Equality: The level of equality in terms of opportunities, access to resources, and distribution of wealth among members. 5. Gini Coefficient: A measure of income or wealth distribution within a community. 6. Dependency Within Community: The reliance of community members on each other for various aspects of life, including work, social activities, and support. 7. Leisure Partners Relationship: The extent to which members engage in leisure activities and form social bonds outside work. 8. Co-worker Relationship: The quality of relationships among members while working together, including cooperation, collaboration, and mutual support. 9. Community Cohesion: The strength of social bonds and unity among community members. 10. Environmental Sustainability: The community's commitment to the environment and natural resources. 11. Work-Life Balance: The ability of community members to maintain a healthy balance between work responsibilities and personal life. 12. Educational Opportunities: The availability and accessibility of educational programs and resources for members and their families. 13. Healthcare Access: The ease of access to healthcare services and facilities within the community. 14. Cultural Diversity: The presence of diverse cultural backgrounds and perspectives among community members. | 
