I’m doing a little reading on both of them now. Big question: how to make them successful as social movements. I wonder if their elements can be modeled in a fashion similar to that which I did above. And if so, if there’s anything that such an application can tell us about how to improve their chances for success.
I don’t think it’s even helpful to model them in that way.
Your list for example doesn’t contain a point for “community”. It doesn’t consider the need for charismatic leaders.
There not much reason to focus on issues like contraception because a good new ideology can spread much faster if the community can recruit well and give new members a lot of value.
This sort of problem is susceptible to the red queen’s race—if you solve it, that just means that lots of people will copy you, and you will find yourself in competition with a new crop of viral religions. You don’t make much long-term progress by being innovative, so perhaps your best bet is to copy some moderately successful cults and hope that power won’t corrupt you. The Hare Krishnas are a good template—just avoid the racketeering, mail fraud, murder, and child abuse, and you should do fine.
I’m doing a little reading on both of them now. Big question: how to make them successful as social movements. I wonder if their elements can be modeled in a fashion similar to that which I did above. And if so, if there’s anything that such an application can tell us about how to improve their chances for success.
I don’t think it’s even helpful to model them in that way. Your list for example doesn’t contain a point for “community”. It doesn’t consider the need for charismatic leaders.
There not much reason to focus on issues like contraception because a good new ideology can spread much faster if the community can recruit well and give new members a lot of value.
This sort of problem is susceptible to the red queen’s race—if you solve it, that just means that lots of people will copy you, and you will find yourself in competition with a new crop of viral religions. You don’t make much long-term progress by being innovative, so perhaps your best bet is to copy some moderately successful cults and hope that power won’t corrupt you. The Hare Krishnas are a good template—just avoid the racketeering, mail fraud, murder, and child abuse, and you should do fine.