The following questions and answers arise from repeated comments by people in cyberspace. What follows are some of the most commonly asked questions and typical concerns about the Local Group.
Question: What is the Local Group?
Answer: The Local Group is an Internet publishing enterprise dedicated to developing a rational civilization on planet Earth in order to usher in human immortality.
Question: Is the Local Group a group of people?
Answer: No. The name Local Group comes from astronomy: a group of 32 galaxies including our own Milky Way galaxy. That name was chosen because this enterprise is the intellectual link between planet Earth’s fatal world and the immortal universe—like the Local Group of galaxies is the physical link between planet Earth and the rest of the universe.
Question: Is the Local Group a religion?
Answer: Not at all. The Local Group is a secular entity. It profanes the mystical; it secularizes the celestial. The Local Group could not have arisen in an environment of religion. It must be free of mystical notions to arise and achieve its mission. Thus, it had to wait thousands of years for man to switch from Theism to Deism to Atheism before Local Group publications could evolve here on earth. But now that the Local Group has arrived, it will replace god-worship with man-worship. Men and women will rise to heroic status—possessing admiral characters and producing commendable values that raise everyone’s quality of life.
Question: Are you starting a cult?
Answer: No. A cult is a group of people devoted to a religious ideal, person, or special interest. Cults use a leader-follower format. The leader becomes an external authority that persuades believers or followers to form a group of religious worship and sacrifice themselves. But the Local Group has no leaders. There are no external authorities. The only authority the Local Group advocates is the rational use of one’s own consciousness. The Local Group publishes new knowledge that empowers the individual to accurately identify reality, develop a rational consciousness, act in one’s own best interest, and flourish in a laissez-faire capitalist society.
Question: Are you affiliated with Neo-Tech Publishing Company?
Answer: No. However, Local Group publications are conceptually similar to Neo-Tech, Objectivism, Libertarianism, and Atheism. But this is no surprise. Local Group publications could have arisen only after the discoveries of Atheism, Objectivism, Libertarianism, and Neo-Tech. In fact, Local Group publications build upon Neo-Tech, Objectivism, and Libertarianism. And this is vital. As great as those idea systems are, they need to be expanded in all directions of human knowledge. That is what the Local Group does. It builds upon Atheism, Objectivism, Libertarianism, and Neo-Tech so everyone—including people unfamiliar with these idea systems—can apply them and benefit tremendously.
Question: How can I benefit from the Local Group?
Answer: Through Local Group publications and related materials you will be free forever. This will enable you to prosper in every area of your life: mentally, physically, emotionally, romantically, financially, and materially. As the Local Group reveals a new mind and body to citizens of earth, they will transpose into powerful citizens of the cosmos. This will cause a worldwide shift from today’s mystical/fatal world to a rational/immortal world. Individuals everywhere will be free to produce, keep the fruits of their labor, love passionately, and live life fully—without interference from higher authorities, mystics, manipulators, and others who drain human life.
Question: Do you seriously think physical immortality is possible?
Answer: Yes. The Local Group has cutting-edge theories about physical immortality and reversing the effects of aging. They arose from scientific and university research. But they require more testing to determine if these will be the routes to youthful immortality. In time, Local Group theories on immortal life will be tested, modified if necessary, and released to medical researchers and doctors for practical application.
Question: What is your proof that infinite worlds exist?
Answer: Astronomers have recently discovered planetary systems beyond the Sun’s solar system. And theoretical calculations, such as the Drake Equation, make a strong case for intelligent life beyond planet Earth. Still, man lacks direct evidence that our universe contains extraterrestrial life and advanced civilizations. So today, the Local Group’s assertion that infinite worlds exist is only a hypothesis—albeit one based on sound scientific and mathematical reasoning. Soon, researchers in the field of physics, chemistry, and astronomy will make discoveries that will either validate or refute this infinite worlds hypothesis.
Question: You attack government, lawyers, and judges; do you advocate anarchy?
Answer: No. The Local Group promotes laissez-faire capitalism as the only rational and moral social system. In a laissez-faire capitalist society, governments, lawyers, and judges will play a crucial role. They will work to protect the life, property, and contracts of each citizen, but nothing else. By contrast, in today’s irrational world, governments extend beyond their proper function of protection, which causes inefficiencies in the economy, environment, healthcare, business, finances, and family life. When governments extend beyond protecting individual rights, dishonest lawyers and corrupt judges can drain productive individuals and society through politicized laws, bogus lawsuits, and biased justice.
Question: Why so many contradictions, such as your admiring and attacking Plato?
Answer: Local Group publications arise from (1) observed facts logically induced into valid knowledge and (2) sound ideas logically deduced into new identifications. Moreover, Local Group writings integrate over 1000 published works from numerous fields. Such widely integrated material might appear to have contradictions to readers who do not see the full picture. However, all Local Group publications adhere to the logical, hierarchical, and contextual nature of knowledge.
For example, in one context the Local Group admires Plato’s awesome capacity for intellectual abstraction and synthesis. Yet, in a different context the Local Group attacks Plato for departing from reality while formulating his metaphysical and epistemological views. That departure led Plato to formulate a harmful political philosophy—an ideology that denies the basic requirement of man: individual rights. Today, clever but dishonest leaders implicitly use Plato’s philosophy to drain productive people and the economy.
Question: Does the Local Group really attack both church and state?
Answer: Yes. The Local Group reveals that both church and state have been profoundly harmful entities to mankind during the last two thousand years. The church has manipulated innocent citizens by linking guilt to sexual pleasures and promulgating the fraudulent God concept. The state has oppressed everyone by initiating force and coercive threats against innocent citizens. To live naturally and happily, man needs to be free from initiatory force and fraud. The times in history when church and state were least influential in human life yielded the freest, happiest, and most prosperous eras such as during the Enlightenment.
Question: Are Local Group writings primarily personal development?
Answer: Yes. Local Group writings deliver radically new knowledge aimed at improving the individual’s life in the areas of mind, body, emotions, work, romance, and finances. They build upon the best self-help products available. But personal development publications are not enough. Readers need to grasp the essence of a rational philosophy and a free society, which are requisites for a prosperous and happy life. That is why Local Group publications build upon an objective philosophy and libertarian perspective: to reveal the societal context necessary for individuals to fully benefit from this new knowledge.