ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the total institution as a “countermodel,” to present some essential features of the underground as a social system. Secrecy is the basic weapon of the underground—above everything else, secrecy about the borderlines of the organization, about who is a member and who is not. To the “outside,” members of the underground are defined by other social roles. In order to carry out their illegal work it is necessary for them to preserve a social front, which makes them appear to be members of legitimate society. Secrecy of membership precludes most normal mechanisms of recruitment to an organization. Automatic membership, based on some ascriptive criterion, would also automatically reveal the identities of members. The emphasis upon secrecy and the personal nature of recruitment tended to give priority to considerations of character, trustworthiness, courage, and loyalty.
