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This presentation and Q&A is the fourth in a four-part series. Because of the strong reception to the series, we have made this a weekly call, which is recorded for EXIT members.

Modern societies are allergic to cults and company towns.

Partly out of legitimate concern for unaccountable and abusive power — but also because they compete with and make trouble for larger, even-less-accountable institutions.

Cults and company towns are defeated because they arouse the jealousy of the Powers that Be — but that’s always easier to do when they also arouse the resentment and moral outrage of the public.

All parallel institutions have the same problem: they exist to generate interference with the cultural and material enforcement mechanisms of dominant institutions. If you aren’t trying to scare the hoes at least a little bit, you don’t need a parallel institution.

So, if you want to build a robust parallel institution that serves this purpose, there are at least four things to learn from the history of cults and company towns:

* How to achieve meaningful cohesion and group sovereignty (the hardest part)

* How to avoid their real, structural problems

* How to avoid their public-relations problems

* How to gain maximum independence while attracting minimum institutional hostility

In this episode, Greg discusses a model for setting up a network of interrelated “pillar institutions” which create a degree of genuine multipolarity without giving away the cohesion and unity of a strong community.

We discuss various economic and cultural institutions that could serve as the kernel for such a community, and what it will take to get started.

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EXIT News:

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* Last week (7/8) we heard from Andrew Isker (Boniface Option) on his exit from Minnesota, planting a church with New Founding in Tennessee, and cooperation between right-wing guys with conflicting religious commitments.

* This Tuesday (7/15), we will have a book club on The Outlaws by Ernst von Salomon. Many parallels to our situation over the last five years, and some darker possible futures. Don’t miss this!

* On 7/22, the topic is Pioneers — bring stories of your most excellent ancestors, and we will discuss where the frontiers can be found today..3

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* 8/9: Family retreat in Holland, MI. See #midwest channel or contact Andrew for details.

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* RSVP links for Dallas (7/21) and Nashville (7/26) cocktail hours available to subscribers below the paywall. EXIT cocktail hours are a great way to get to know the EXIT guys in your area and see if the group is right for you.

Great Houses Ep. 4: Cults & Company Towns

EXIT Podcast (private feed for joe@hootman.org)