Many intelligent, idealistic and self-sacrificing people belong to political cults

What is a political cult? How does one work, and what are the signs that someone, perhaps a friend or loved one, has been recruited?

We are blessed with a rich literature about cults and how they operate. For example, an important contribution in 2000 by Dennis Tourish and Tim Wohlforth entitled On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left, states that political cults prey on dysfunctional political systems and ‘inject the venom of hatred into the injured body of political discourse’.

Not only do we have research by social scientists and psychologists, we also have first-hand testimony from those who have been cultists, and have been extracted from the cult and can see the error of their ways. This canon of literature tells us that there are common characteristics which define cults.

For example, Anthony Pratkanis and Elliott Aronson suggest that cults:

Create a social reality. By dismissing all forms of media and information as distorted, incorrect or corrupt, cults create their own reality, so that cult members simply do not believe simple facts and demonstrable truths. They create their own forms of language and speech, which reinforce their own sense of being right about everything, while non-cultists are either lying because they are wicked, or blinkered and misguided. The creation of conspiracy theories and belief in ubiquitous plots against the cult form part of this constructed social reality.

Create an enemy. Cults rely on the creation of the ‘other’ – an identifiable group, with an easy tagline, against which to define the cult and denounce non-believers. Mere mention of the term used to identify the ‘other’ can elicit booing and jeering from rallies of the faithful. Social psychologists call this the ‘minimal group paradigm’. George Orwell describes the process in Nineteen Eighty-Four with the party faithful’s ‘two minutes’ hate’ directed at Emmanuel Goldstein and the shadowy ‘Brotherhood’ he supposedly led. Many political cults share a belief in antisemitic tropes and falsehoods.

Create commitment through dissonance reduction. Everyday people do not become cultists overnight. The cult works to slowly normalise cultish behaviour by escalating forms of activity. For example, signing a petition might be followed by attendance at a meeting, then joining a rally, or going on a summer school, or selling literature on the streets. This is called the ‘spiral of escalating activity’.

Establish the leader’s credibility and attractiveness. The people around the cult’s leader seek to foster an impression of what Tourish and Wohlforth call an ‘uncommon insight into society’s problems’ coupled with ‘personal characteristics of honesty, genius, and compassion’. Max Weber called this the ‘charismatic authority’. This may be supported by flattering portraits and photographs, and iconography such as banners, placards, badges and T-shirts bearing the leader’s likeness.

Send members out to proselytise the unredeemed By engaging in recruitment, the cult members engage in what is known as ‘self-generated persuasion’. A new recruit proves they are right, and opposition reinforces the sense of ‘the other’.

Distract members from thinking undesirable thoughts. As well as closing down all forms of ‘mainstream’ information, cults keep their members busy with political campaigning, attending rallies with fellow cultists, street activities, and so on, which allows for little space for reflection or self-analysis. Thus ‘groupthink’ can develop, especially if reinforced with mass events such as conventions, mass weddings, or packed rallies.

Fixate cult members on a vision of the future. This must be a golden utopia, and cult members must be terrified to take even an hour off, for fear of failing to make it happen.

These characteristics create cultish organisations which share basic norms. These include a rigid belief system, with strict internal repression of dissent, and especially violent opposition to criticism of the leader.

This involves what Robert Jay Lifton in 1961 called ‘ideological totalism’ whereby political ideas become the basis of faith, doubt is eradicated, and evidence dismissed. Lifton’s original studies were of American prisoners of war in Korea, ‘brainwashed’ by their communist captors into making various anti-west and pro-communist statements.

Another common characteristic of cultist organisation is the primacy of secrecy. Because cult members have bought into a worldview that only they are right, and everyone else is wrong, and that there are conspiracies and plots designed to undermine them, then extreme secrecy seems logical. This, of course, makes it harder to ‘rescue’ cult members because they will keep the true nature of their involvement a secret from friends and family. This is one way new recruits are often persuaded to hand over their money and possessions to the cult.

Tourish and Wohlforth conclude that, ‘paradoxically it often appears that the more active people are in service of “the cause” the less worthwhile become their insights into society. In some cases their pronouncements degenerate into drivel. Many intelligent, idealistic and self-sacrificing people belong to political cults. Unfortunately, the damaged social environment they inhabit prevents them from making the powerful contribution to political debate they intend.’ 

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Photo: Jason Ilagan