The Hutterites call themselves the human version of a bee colony. Members of this Christian sect, who first settled in the Unites States in the 19th century, shun personal gain and pour their efforts into a well-oiled collective enterprise.

Hutterite ideology stresses the shared fate of the group and warns against the sin of selfishness. Anyone who withholds help from others in need, turns lazy, or otherwise undermines community health draws stern reprimands from church elders. Failure to heed these warnings results in forced exile.

Hutterite leaders are elected democratically and undergo a long probationary period before acquiring full power. When a colony grows too large -- which is not uncommon, as the Hutterites have long experienced high birth rates -- it sorts into two groups of equal size, skill and compatibility. A lottery determines which group stays and which moves to a new location.

-- 95Nov18 Science News, p 328

(Obviously, anyone claiming to be able to show that zero population growth is just around the corner must be able to demonstrate, for each group such as the Hutterites, that the high population growth will not continue!)