Australia, like most contemporary 'western' nations, has a large and growing movement of people into alternative lifestyles. In this thesis I firstly explore the history of utopian social movements, both in the broad context of western cultural history and within the more limited sphere of Australia. I conducted a nationwide survey of alternative lifestyle participants and undertook several years of participant observation study in order to elucidate the different types of contemporary alternative lifestyles, and to describe the social characteristics of participants. In general, participants are older and much better educated then was previously assumed. A number of myths, such as the central role of 'the dole' in the contemporary alternative lifestyle movement, were found wanting. I identify three main theoretical issues in alternative lifestyles: recruitment, socialisation and commitment. Recruitment is a problem both for groups looking for new members and for individuals seeking to join a group. Alternative lifestyle publications are employed by many groups as a means of recruiting new members. These same publications are also central in the process of anticipatory and adult socialisation. I explore the images of 'alternative lifestyles' presented by national publications such as Grass Roots and Earth Garden, and reach two conclusions: Firstly the 'alternative reality' is far more prosaic than one might have assumed, and secondly the range of alternative lifestyle publications provides a choice of socialisation patterns. This latter feature ensures that recruits can select a socialisation pattern which will challenge their pre-conceived notions as little as possible while still facilitating a myth of radical social change...