If we are looking for a model of the type of community that policed itself, administered its own punishments, was capable of acting collectively to protects its interests and, to a degree, was able to resist the intrusion of outside authority, then we could do worse than start with the profile of the type of village disposed to riot offered by Hobsbawm and Rude:

‘Riot’ was more likely to be fostered in communities with a certain cognitive independence, a less pronounced propensity to deference and a capacity to survive economic retaliation. A thriving performance culture was also an important element in the mix. Given the close connection between music and collective action, it is no coincidence that resistive communities had thriving traditions of traditional music and dancing.