Why Don't 'Regular Folks' Do This?

Listening to an audiobook biography of Christian Dior [don't ask], its appeal is far greater as a biography of life in France during the 1st half of the 20th century than as that of just one man from boyhood to the pinnacle of all that life has to offer.  If you have any interest in Paris, Normandy, or the south of France; high society or common life; turn of the century, roaring 20's, wartime or peace; working for the Man or starting your own business; or anything to do with any of the arts, it's a fascinating and well-written book.
The thing that I wish we would do as everyday people in all walks of life, which the elites as well as the artists did long ago and presumably still do, is get together on a regular basis at someone's home or other meeting place to cut loose together, to talk, to express their grand ideas and hopes and dreams, to rail against the negatives while taking things further and actually making plans to change the world.  For some, this conjures the idea of "happy hour" or "poker night" or "GNO," but I'm obviously thinking of something a little different here.  Maybe less drunken rambling, more clarity of thinking and expression; less gossip, more conceptualizing and idea-spawning; less hunting and sports, more philosophy and culture; less bitching, more world changing.  I don't know.  Just a thought that it would have been cool to have taken part in that type of in-person idea exchange, and that it still would be!