I’ve written a lot about secret societies on this website and we’ve had a lot of interesting discussions around various aspects of the topic. As I’ve gotten more and more into these thoughts about shared value communities, it has become more and more important to me that so-called secret societies are really nothing other than SVC’s. They are composed of people who have common values, or who see value in aggregating themselves together: whether that value is simple fellowship, or more nuanced financial, social and political benefits.

The sticking point, of course, for a secret society seems for most people to be that they are acting “in secret” though. It’s not the society part that most people seem to have a problem with. But let’s say you and your friends formed some kind of group to preserve, protect and celebrate one another and something which you all valued: would you want just anyone to join? How would you know that they have the same goals and ideals as you and your friends? This issue obviously becomes more and more important as an SVC takes on financial & legal responsibilities on behalf of its members.

Mafia movies and crime dramas (I don’t have any real first hand experience in these areas myself) seem to suggest that there are natural ways to address these issue. First of all, you have to be vouched for by other members of the SVC. Then you generally have to complete tasks in order to earn trust, and you have to demonstrate long term commitments and loyalty before you can become a “made man” etc. Even those these methods of organization are most closely associated in our cultural understanding with secret and often illegal organizations, the thinking behind them makes a hell of a lot of sense. They are really just trying to solve practical problems of what happens when people come together to work towards mutual goals.

{see also: party science}