Perpetual Revolution

Meanwhile, their self-styled opponents in the Conservative camp have proven incapable of conserving a single institution. In hindsight, it should have been obvious that a loose mob of individualists and free market fanatics whose battle cry is, “Every man for himself!” had no chance against the Cult.

The term gets thrown around so much that it’s worth defining what an institution is. It’s not a big building downtown with the company name in shiny letters over the door. To get an idea of what an institution is, consider the microcosm and model of all institutions: the family.

Institutions exist to serve people. If enough people believe a particular institution is of benefit to them, they’ll give their time, treasure, and talent for it. Marvel, Disney, and oldpub failed as institutions because they stopped providing value and thereby stopped justifying their existence.

Conservatism’s Libertarian influences blinds it to the true nature and origin of institutions. Embracing individualism precludes viewing the family as the fundamental building block of civilization. 

The same goes for Conservatives’ devotion to Mammon. The actual Right understands the difference between worshiping the market like an Aztec god – which California public schools now require children to do – and recognizing market forces as emergent phenomena of human interaction. 

Seeking personal success in novel or comic book publishing isn’t at odds with establishing new cultural institutions. In fact, they’re complementary. Tor and Marvel were founded by entrepreneurs whose products attracted enough customers to make an enduring cultural impact.

Creating a lasting institution is a black swan event. Anyone else who tries to do it on purpose is like the guy who meticulously plans a party to recreate last weekend’s spontaneous fun. You can’t catch lightning in a bottle. All you can do is create favorable conditions and hope for the best.

The Cult-infested institutions aren’t about to help fun, honest entertainment get noticed. That’s why it’s crucial for dissenters from the Death Cult to support indie science fiction like my mecha thriller epic Combat Frame XSeed.

The saga’s latest installment is currently funding on Indiegogo. Back it now!