\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Revolution begins with buying an old mall and converting it into a gated condominium complex.
You think I\u2019m joking, but I\u2019m not, really.
\nYou can take advantage of the facilities the mall already has to build lots of cheap residential housing with a large all-seasons enclosed area for people to mingle, or turn it into a mixed-use development that can help pay for operating costs.\u00a0\u00a0
\nIt can be large enough to house a few hundred or even a thousand people, which you\u2019re going to need in order to function as the starting power base of your ideology.\u00a0 It can be your stronghold, and where you bring people to build theory and be educated.\u00a0 If you have enough people (and enough revenue), you can also influence local politics to protect yourself.
\nIt can be as cheap as $10/sqft, or even cheaper, so if your typical resident has a 1,000 sqft unit, you\u2019re talking $10,000/per prior to retrofitting costs.\u00a0\u00a0
\nIt already has parking, and you can tear up the extra parking to make a large park area for your community\u2019s children to play in.\u00a0 Various shared-use facilities can be added to make it more appealing, both practically and financially.\u00a0 A cooperative convenience store can be added to save money for residents through bulk orders and cut down on commuting time.
\nYou can test your governance philosophy on a reasonably-sized scale through a combination of contract law and ownership of the facility.\u00a0 If it fails, it won\u2019t explode and kill everyone.\u00a0 If it succeeds, you can slowly buy up adjacent territories.
\nIf only this was actually legal
\n\u201cDarn zoning regulations,\u201d say man holding ten million dollars and plan to tranaform mall that otherwise poses risk to town\u2019s crime rates, unaware of how desperate city council are to get rid of mall.
\nIn terms of\u00a0\u201chow likely is this to turn into a cult\u201d this is uh\u2026
\n\u201c\n\nIt can be your stronghold, and where you bring people to build theory and be educated. \u00a0If you have enough people (and enough revenue), you can also influence local politics to protect yourself.\u201c
\nSo, like the scientology buildings?
\nSeriously though, it sounds like a good way to build a community, and shared enclosed space sounds great. But having compound where you bring people to be educated and have enough control over them to test out your ideas of governance is literally a cult. Especially if you\u2019re doing it to try and start a revolution.
\nAll the best intentions in the world will not stop that setup from being the kind of thing people write books about escaping from.
\nThe risk factor depends on the magnitude of ideological difference with the host society.
\nYou can\u2019t prevent it with intentions, but with design.\u00a0 The first question is, how easy is it to leave?
\nI\u2019d suggest a substantial security deposit (thousands of dollars) built up over the years, which can only be deducted for actual damage to the property, to be held by the bank.\u00a0 The resident owns the security deposit and collects interest from it.\u00a0 The corporation owning the converted mall can check that the deposit is still in the bank, and can file against it for damages to the property, but those filings for damage can be disputed in civil court.\u00a0 Aside from that, it can\u2019t access it.
\nThis makes it so that when someone leaves, they automatically have money, and there\u2019s also strong incentive not to damage the property.
\nAdditionally, since this isn\u2019t a violent revolution, you don\u2019t need blackmail material, and will therefore, as a policy, not collect it.
\nAnd so on.
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Indoor malls are insanely expensive to heat, cool, and maintain, a lot of their midcentury mushrooming has to do with front-loaded capital depreciation schedules that offset this with low taxes for the first decade or two
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