Here is James K A Smith's comment on the latest fad. I love the conversation between Augustine and the Roman General Boniface who wanted to leave his post and become a monk:

"What held you back from doing this," Augustine reminds him, "except that you considered, when we pointed it out, how much what you were doing was benefitting the churches of Christ? You were acting with this intention alone, namely, that they might lead a quiet and tranquil life, as the apostle says, in all piety and chastity (1 Tim. 2:2), defended from the attacks of the barbarians."
Augustine wants 'faithful agents of the coming kingdom who answer the call to public life and administer the common good in this [age] of our waiting.'
Smith contrasts this 'Augustinian calling' with the 'Benedict Option' of Rodney Dreher which is about setting up an alternative Christian society.