The WT is much like a person trying to keep the snout of a wild dog closed. The R&F is the wild dog. If they try to truly remove the authoritarian structure, that dog is going to bite them in the ass hard...They won't do it.
The WT would lose at least 50% of its membership if it eliminated JCs, DF, shunning, and various other control mechanisms. The other 50% would slowly lose interest over time. This would be catastrophic for the organization financially. They won't do it. They are preferring to take the path of slowly dying out, albeit unwittingly.
So what will they do? Observing from some distance, I would say they already have reached a tipping point, (if not just short of it). They are in the process of trying to determine a long-term strategy, (something they never had to do; authoritarian regimes rarely do). This is not familiar territory for them, and I believe they will fail at it, ultimately. At a bare minimum, they would need to soberly admit to not having the "truth", to begin with, since true reform only works when reality is faced. The catch is, they really cannot face that reality, as they are true believers, (even of their own bullshit). Belief is all about survival. Belief in their cause is critical to their survival. Without this, they fail. This is an inherent dilemma that has no clear-cut way forward, and will lead to their demise.
It appears the pressures of social evolution are forcing them to make changes without a clear-cut strategy. Too many things about modern society stand in stark contrast to the charlatan nature of a 19th century end-times religious sect. All of their survival efforts to date have been tactical in nature, and are designed to preserve that 19th century dogma. Tactics only work for so long. At some point, a goal oriented strategy needs to be developed, and worked toward. However, any attempt to do this in a meaningful way will have its own adverse consequences, since it means admitting fault, (hence disbelief). Disbelief is anathema to the existence of religion.
Lacking a strategy, they will continue to attempt to exist in a maze of society they are ill-equipped to exist within, and die a slow death, that will accelerate over time. It already is.
d4g
