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What an Institution Is

The distinction between a legal entity, a following, and an institution — and why the third is the only one that survives the person running it.

  1. 01

    Why People Comply When They Do Not Have To

    Institutions run almost entirely on voluntary compliance. Enforcement exists for the residual, and an institution that has to rely on it has already lost the thing that made it work.

  2. 02

    An Institution or a Following

    Both look identical while the person is present. The difference appears at exactly one moment, and by then it is too late to do anything about which one you were running.