Can the Commune become mainstream?

Whenever a group of people come together and exist in a somewhat harmonious relationship a stigma is attached. They are labeled cult, religious whackos, or simply put "those people". Just because they share the same viewpoints and values, and tend to feel more at ease with a support group outside the norms of society. What some people don't see is this: This herding instinct=survival...financial survival.
Picture this:
People sick of modern-day life: living paycheck-to-paycheck, house-poor and burdened with a mortgage and credit card debt, pooling their equity and buying tracts of land and starting their own communities. Is this trend alive today anywhere in the world?

yes, there is such a thing. Do some research on Elizabeth Claire Prophet and her group. They started a commune type ranch somewhere here in the us, and pretty much live totally independent of the outside world.