Civility in an English Village

The anthropologist and his British wife investigate how this village has "solved" most of our modern social problems. The children are well behaved. The village school runs smoothly. Their moral code is something like our own. However the people are extremely conscious of their duties, and honest, and trustworthy. This makes social life run well. The village is nonviolent; and it is peaceful. Factions, feuds, and conflict are suppressed. People try not to gossip. There is a big emphasis on taking care of other people. Also there is an emphasis on charity. Social life revolves around fund-raisers for charities. Old people are cared for by the village at large. Trades people take care of their customers. Sadly, the village is under threat from a spreading suburbia. And, in the larger society of England, some of these customs are said to be on the wane. The author speculates that there are other small communities like this, in various parts of the world, in which successful ways have been worked out, for living together in harmony. These remain to be discovered. Hopefully we can learn from them.