Man is a social animal.
It is the greatest strength and fundamental failing of humanity. Through collaboration and cooperation, humanity has conquered the elements, built wonders that lasted the ages, and explored the deepest oceans and the frontiers of space. By means of manipulation, propaganda, influence, coercion, peer pressure and excommunication, tyrants and their minions brought forth the concentration camps, the killing fields and the gulags.
At the dawn of homo sapiens, life was nasty, brutish, and short. Harsh climate, abundant predators, deadly diseases, and scarce food and water defined daily life. Humanity had to band together to survive. Cooperation ensured the continued existence and growth of the tribe. Exile equalled death. Humans thus maintained an instinct to obey the norms and customs of ancient times. Likewise, to protect the tribe and ensure its survival, humans also developed the instinct to expel those they saw as threats. And worse.
We don't live in those days anymore, but that instinct remains.
Throughout history, ostracism and exile were used to maintain social norms. Pronouncing someone an outlaw meant that he would no longer be protected by the law, and thus could be persecuted and murdered without punishment. The Romans, the Norse, the English and other societies practiced outlawry in one form or other. Athens employed ostracism, the act of exiling a citizen for ten years as a legal punishment. Today we have cancel culture, with mass boycotts, destruction of products and denial of services and contracts, in obedience to the whims of a howling, anonymous and unaccountable mob—and driven by corporations and governments for power and profit.
Over the past decade, we have seen the slow creep towards autocracy and exclusionism. It began with accusing certain people of being pick-up artists, rapists, and other undesirables, then refusing them entry into society. Who would want to argue against that? Then this strategy expanded to include extremist preachers, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, the alt-right. Again, few argued against it. When the American political Establishment fomented the division between Left and Right, and empowered Antifa to wreak havoc while persecuting their opponents, it marked a turning point. Now, society is divided into the jabbed and the unjabbed, the heroes and the villains, the compliant and the defiant.
The further down you go, the slipperier the slope becomes.
Vaccine discrimination has been paused across many countries. It has not been eliminated. Now that the tyrants have tasted a measure of success through this tactic, they _will _reach for it again. They tap into instincts as old as Man himself. There will always be variations of this strategy, and any number of excuses to justify them.
All it takes is another wave of Covid, another new variant, and the coercion and the exclusions will begin again. If Covid has been mined of all fear value, another exotic and fast-spreading disease will take its place, or else some other terrible and frightful phenomenon. The Left has signalled a desire for 'climate lockdowns', which means everyone but them must lock themselves down for the good of a planet that, by their own predictions and doomsayings, should have ended in ecological disaster every year for the past forty years. Or they will return to the old excuses of the alt-right and neo-Nazis. They just have to paint something as a threat to an over-socialized society, a society kept in a constant state of fear and exhaustion, a society primed to fall in line with the narrative du jour, and they can and will justify anything.
Technology makes it even easier to discriminate against others. Vaccine passports and social credit systems already exist. The mechanism for a central bank digital currency, allowing the state to track every single transaction, is extremely attractive to tyrants. Digital IDs coupled with personal data, giving governments unparalleled insight into the lives of every citizen, are on the way. Every day the world marches closer to the Mark of the Beast, driven by people and organisations that only pretend to honor the Scripture—or laugh at it outright.
From government-sanctioned ostracism, it is only a short step away to outlawry. Then there will be the confiscations, the house-to-house raids, the struggle sessions, the concentration camps, the execution grounds. The Nazis did it to the Jews. The Soviets did it to the bourgeoisie. The Maoists did it to the counter-revolutionaries.
History doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme—and it is rhyming now.
Most people don't care. Most people won't care. They only care about being warm, fed and comfortable. Higher ideals like liberty and civil rights are abstract concepts, irrelevant to their lives, or are dangerous ideas that will attract the attention of the all-seeing eye and the jackboot. They just want to fit in with everyone around them, and avoid the feeling of danger, exile and imminent death. They want the feeling of safety and security, and that means being surrounded entirely by people who think and feel and act the same way they do.
Others only desire power. They care about freedom only to the extent that it expands their own power and influence, and will gladly take away the rights of those they see as their enemies. They will justify this in the name of safety, to turn the majority against the minority. They call this by many names—public health, safety, racism, sexism, misogyny—but it boils down to the never-ending quest for the power and control that they accuse others of being obsessed with.
If you desire simply to keep your head down, to disappear into the crowd and be just like everybody else, you are free to continue to live your life as cattle. If you care about your future, and the future of your friends, family and loved ones, then there is only one option left to you:
Build a parallel society.
Humans organize themselves by concentric circles of identity. The lowest circle has a membership of one: the self. The immediate circle after that is the family. These are immediate blood relations. The next circle is the local community. These are friends, neighbours, and extended family. After that comes higher circles of identity.
In some cultures, the next higher-level circle is tribe or ethnicity. People you share some of the same genetic characteristics with, though they are not necessarily blood-related to you. This is actually the community extended across a large geographic region, because historically, people of the same tribe or ethnic group also shared many of the same values, traditions, history, and culture. Even today, you'll find that the Chinese diaspora still hold to many similar values and cultural practices.
The highest circle is ideological. These are people you share the similar ideals with, even though they may not be of the same race or clan, or from the same geographical region. This is the realm of politics and religion. The modern Western myth is the notion that people of wildly different backgrounds can come together under the same banner, committed to the same set of political ideals, and create a free and just nation. The bonds of religion are so powerful that they cut across political borders with ease.
The more distant someone is from a person, the less likely he will care. A father may be willing to do anything for his child. That same man may reluctantly loan $10000 to his neighbour—and will never lend even $100 to a stranger he has never met before. There is an ancient Arab idiom that sums up the phenomenon: my brother and I against my cousin; my cousin and I against the stranger.
Modernity has shattered these circles.
The emphasis on the nuclear family and population policies has fractured the local community, dividing people from their extended relatives and shrinking the size of the family. Advocates for diversity, inclusion and equity demand that you accept strangers and strange ideas in your midst, while simultaneously castigate you and your community for upholding your traditions and beliefs. Big Media churns out propaganda disguised in Pop Cult offerings, reinforcing their narrative. The Western ideal of equality and fairness has broken under the weight of identity politics and 'reparations'.
The modern First Worlder today is atomized. He is isolated from traditional support structures. He is untethered from the culture and the wisdom of his ancestors. He is surrounded by never-ending propaganda and dogma. Everyone in his immediate circles pressure him to conform. The Establishment demands that they all march in lockstep—and those who refuse are immediately cast out into the cold.
When tyrants seek to disconnect you from your support networks, you must create your own.
You can't choose your family. You can choose your tribe.
The atomization of society renders people vulnerable to mass influence from bad actors. To counter this, you must create your own tribe, a network of mutual support grounded in shared values and traditions.
Identify people whose values resonate with yours. Historically, this is the realm of churches, communities and clans. These support structures were meant to raise children with similar values and to support community and family members. Should you discover that the people who occupy these circles of identity do not resonate with your values, then you must seek replacements. Alone you can be destroyed by a mob or tyrant; together you can stand fast.
Social media gives you the tools to find and converse with people with similar values. But it's not enough to just talk to others. You must be of value to them. Where possible, you must meet them face-to-face, in person, not just online, and forge true connections with them.
Understand what skills you have to offer. Everyone has skills that someone else doesn't. You don't have to be a master at something; you just need to be better than someone else in your potential tribe. Going beyond skills, think about resources, connections, experience, and knowledge. Be of value to others, by giving them what they lack, be it labour, specialist information, or connections. Then allow those people to be of value to you as well.
This is the foundation of every healthy human relationship: people helping each other out. Loans, job recommendations, tips and tricks, classes and workshops, babysitting, running errands, whatever you can think of. More than that, prioritize this community over others. Do not give your money to those who hate you. Do not go to a higher level of formal authority if you can resolve an issue at the local level. Give your time, energy and resources to your community first, and then only look outside it if you need things that the community can't provide.
Create circles of trust. As your contacts grow in number, sift out those you can trust from those you can't. Stay far away from those whose values do not resonate with yours, from those who will take advantage of you, from those whose continued presence brings only pain and hardship into your life. Prioritize people of good moral standing, who share the same traditions and values as you, and bring valuable skills to the table. Don't be afraid to do business with strangers if you have to, but do be on the lookout for those you can trust, and cut out harmful people from your life.
Define a shared vision. For those in your closest circle, define a shared vision of a community. Without one, it is too easy to fall into the trap of nonstop consumption and empty hedonism. This vision should be founded on enduring values and principles, a common set of ideas that holds everyone together. Again, loyalty, trust and morality are critical. You do not want to invite snakes into your closest circles. You want to forge lasting ties with people who will stand by you for the long haul.
Rewire your brain. It is innate for humans to seek approval from fellow humans, and this instinct can and will be used against you. To prevent this, you need to reign in this instinct. Do not seek the approval—or, more accurately, the non-disapproval—of people outside your tribe. For most of them, their opinions have little to no bearing on your life. It doesn't matter whether they agree with you or not, because their opinion doesn't affect your life in the slightest. For those who do have influence over you, seek to reduce or eliminate the amount of influence they hold over you. Live by your values, not the approval of those who do not share those values.
As the community grows, identify shortfalls in skills and resources. These are the skills and resources you need to manifest your vision of a community, but do not currently have. With the aid of the community, fill these shortfalls. A group of farmers may pool their money to buy a plot of farmland, an aspiring business owner may seek help to attract investors, and so on. Once again, turn to the community first. This exercise taps into existing resources and expertise, and continues to grow bonds among the community. Should you seek outside sources for goods and services, make it a community decision if possible.
At the same time, prepare for disasters and eliminate weaknesses. Work with the community to identify and address possible threats. For example, someone living in an area prone to natural disasters may organize the community to harden their homes against disasters. If someone is at risk of losing his job, the community should try to support his family and help him find alternative avenues of income. To ensure long-term survival, build a resilient community that can withstand shocks and disruption—or, even better, an antifragile community, one that grows in response to trauma.
The goal is to create a virtuous cycle. The individual benefits the community, which then benefits the individual, each helping the other to grow. This must be a give and take relationship. Those part of the community, especially the most trusted among them, must be prepared to do the work and contribute to the community. Only then can they reap the rewards.
A parallel society must be able to replicate the functions of conventional society. It must be able to provide for its members all the essentials of life, such as food and water, income, medicine, and housing. Members of the community should be able to fill critical roles that provide at least some of these services.
It might be impossible for a single community to meet every need. A small off-grid farming commune in Thailand might be able to provide for everything they need. It is impossible to live off-grid in an urban metropolis like Singapore for any sustained period of time. Where a community is unable to provide for its own needs, it should reach out to other communities and find mutually beneficial solutions. Reliance on the grid, not to mention a hostile society, should be minimized wherever possible.
These separate communities don't necessarily have to have the exact same values. They just need to be going in the same direction, and be able to build healthy, long-term relationships based on mutual respect.
This is not a short-term strategy. It is a generational strategy. It is a strategy you execute now so that your children and grandchildren can live in the future you dream of. To carry it out, you must be committed to the long haul.
Everything I've described up to this point is a long-term effort. It is a constant work in progress. Starting from scratch, it could take years, even decades, before you can build a robust community. Fortunately, most people already do something similar: they just call it 'relationship-building' or 'networking' or even just 'making friends'.
Start now. Start with your existing interests and circles. When interacting with friends and family members, take note of who you can trust, of who you resonate with, of who you are able to support and be supported by. Get to know who they know, and expand your circle of contacts from there.
For extreme introverts, you have to step out of your comfort zone. But you shouldn’t exhaust yourself either. An introvert’s strength is in one-on-one conversations and connections, so focus on building deep ties with one person at a time. Spend your energy on those who deserve it.
If there’s no one in your existing circles you can talk to, go out and find people. With the Internet and social media, it’s never been easier to find people with similar interests and values. When you do find someone, try to be of service to them first—then it becomes easier to communicate with them.
Every day, you must do the work. This could be as simple as showing up on time and committing yourself to doing an excellent job, no matter how you happen to be feeling that way. It could as complicated as responding to an emergency with multiple stakeholders. Whatever the work happens to be, you must do it. You must rely on yourself, and those you can rely on, to get it done. No one else will.
Work around the Establishment wherever possible. This is not a call for active rebellion, merely an observation that they are always working in their interests, which aren't necessarily the same as your interests. The more time, energy and money you give them, the more they will work for themselves—not necessarily for you. The more skin in your game that you give them, the more they will use it against you. This is the purpose of vaccine passports, digital IDs, and other such controls. They want skin in your game. Deny them this, so that you can live life on your terms, not theirs.
For someone raised in an atomized, globalized society dominated by the Establishment, trained to trust in the wisdom of the Establishment and the inerrancy of the mob, this is an alien concept. Recognize that a nameless, faceless bureaucracy has no reason to care about you. A mob fueled on bloodlust and base impulses will chew up everyone in their path—including you, once you run afoul of it. Only other human beings will care for you. Instead of depending on the Establishment for everything, seek to build healthy relationships with others, then leverage them to create the life you wish.
If you’re starting from scratch, this can seem overwhelming. You’ll have to change your life radically. You’re going to face immense internal resistance to change, and when others notice what you’re doing, they’ll resist you too.
Change is scary, and it can be difficult. Building a parallel society requires a lot of work. But it’s up to you to make it happen. Your family is counting on you. Either you build the kind of life that you want to live, or you will be forced to submit to the whims to those more powerful than you.
Do not be afraid to be disliked, ridiculed, or condemned. The opinions of those with no influence in your life are only so much hot air. Values, on the other hand, are the foundations for a meaningful and happy life. Live by your values and find others who do.
The world has been broken from the ground up. Thus, from the ground-up, we must rebuild our world.
You may not have to save the world like Team Black Watch, but you can find some inspiration for parallel societies here.
