In yesterday's blog I looked at the question of a nation that has failed and is in chaos. Russia in chaos fell back on its strongest previous institutions the government and the Orthodox church.
So what did the wild West, the new parts of America rely on as an institution to prevent chaos?
We know that they set up elections to create water districts and sheriffs. That is part of American history. They later organized community life around churches and bars. Still later, banks and funeral homes arrived as well as everything to do with horseback transportation.
What most people don't know is that the most powerful institution that was re-created in every single new town, village and county had already been established on the eastern coast of the United States, it was the: Masonic Order. In most of America, the buildings still survive.
The Masonic order was the backbone of every new social community. Members got to know each other, elected officers and from these Masonic orders actually found the elected people to run the local secular society.
Most importantly the Masonic order provided contacts for business and the financing for new businesses.
There are several historic references that I find useful. John Paul Jones, who created the American Navy, had to raise funds to build his first ships. He went to Masonic lodges all over the East Coast to get support and raise the money. He succeeded.
In telling the story about his grandfather, Wallace Stegner, who didn't really understand history, does make it clear that his grandfather in Angle of Repose, was able to travel the Rockies in the North West Territories and get jobs for himself building hydraulic facilities, including dams, and sewers entirely from his visits to the Masonic lodges.
In the United States, the powerful institution that brought people together who were known to each other to be responsible adults was the Masonic order. It was the invisible backbone of American society.
There are several historians who argue that it was the Masonic order that created the industrial revolution in England and brought it to the European Continent.
When we look at new countries being formed out of chaos, and our efforts go into nationbuilding, we should understand that it is the strongest institution on hand that gains power in the new society. In the Middle East that is religion and tribe.