Mnastaries that kept to Benedict's rule could be useful institutions for people who needed structure in their lives. Also, farmers could be a part of these institutions because manual labor is deemed necessary for a few hours a day. Today, I can only see these institutions being used as prisons or intense farms. 5. The Rule reveals a great deal about social and economic structure. Social structure is clearly based largely on religion, as rules such as helping the poor and chastising are present. Economic structure is largely based on agriculture, and also many people sound like they live in poverty as helping the poor is often stressed. The fact that manual labor is stressed is probably to allow people to feel like they are fulfilling their religious obligations even when working.