A cult is a group of people who organize around a strong authority figure. Cults, like many other groups, attempt to expand their influence for the purposes of power or money. No one joins a cult; they are recruited by systematic social influence processes. However, to achieve these ends, destructive cults employ a potent mixture of influence techniques and deception to attain psychological control over members and new recruits. This fundamental level of control is known alternatively as ‘brainwashing,’ ‘thought reform,’ or ‘mind control.’ A successful induction by a destructive cult displaces a person’s former identity and replaces it with a new one. That new identity may not be one that the person would have freely chosen under her own volition. Cult leaders are typically malignant narcissists and want people who will be obedient to them.
In Cults in Our Midst (1996), Margaret Singer described six conditions of cultic control among which were control of the environment; a system of rewards and punishments; creating a sense of powerlessness, fear and dependency; and reforming the follower’s behaviour and attitudes, all within a closed system of logic. All cult leaders want utter control over others. Money, sex, free labour or loyal combatants are all fringe benefits, and certainly most leaders take advantage of these, some in a big way. But absolute control over their relationships is the key. Arendt describes the innermost part of the structure in powerful terms: ‘In the centre of the movement, as the motor that swings it into motion, sits the Leader. He is separated from the elite formation by an inner circle of the initiated who spread around him an aura of impenetrable mystery.’ This mystery adds to the feeling that the leader is everywhere and sees everything.
Meanwhile, the leader keeps the inner circle off-balance by sowing distrust, and promoting and demoting personnel seemingly at random. People in totalist organisations are pressed so tightly together that their individuality is erased – as are any trusting interactions among them. Everyone is a ‘friend’ but true friendship is suppressed as a diversion from, and a threat to, attachment to the cause, the leader and the group. In fact, far from finding true comradeship or companionship, followers face a triple isolation: from the outside world, from each other within the closed system, and from their own internal dialogue, where clear thinking about the group might arise. The third element of totalism is the total ideology, or, as Newman called it: ‘A historical totality that has no beginning, middle or end’. The exclusive belief system is controlled entirely by the leader, empowering him or her through the creation of a fictional world of secrets and lies.1
Know your place – poetry after the Black Death reflected fear of social change. Contemporary moralists complained about those who rose above their allotted station in life and so in 1363 a law was passed that specified the food and dress that were appropriate for each social class. In line with such attitudes, Langland railed against the presumption of laborers who disdained day-old vegetables, bacon and cheap ale and instead demanded fresh meat, fish and fine ale. The Black Death altered the fundamental paradigm of European life that included socio-economic and religious belief and practice, unleashing the forces that made the Renaissance possible. During the 14th century, a cultural movement called humanism began to gain momentum in Italy. Beliefs of humanism included belief that reason, scepticism and the scientific method are the only appropriate instruments for discovering truth and structuring the human community.
Among its many principles, humanism promoted the idea that man was the center of his own universe, and people should embrace human achievements in education, classical arts, literature and science. In 1450, the invention of the Gutenberg printing press allowed for improved communication throughout Europe and for ideas to spread more quickly. As a result of this advance in communication, little-known texts from early humanist authors such as those by Francesco Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio, which promoted the renewal of traditional Greek and Roman culture and values, were printed and distributed to the masses. The humanists believed that the Greek and Latin classics contained both all the lessons one needed to lead a moral and effective life. The Renaissance yielded scholars the ability to read the scriptures in their original languages, and this in part stimulated the Protestant Reformation. The 16th century reformers considered the root of corruptions to be doctrinal rather than simply a matter of moral weakness or lack of ecclesiastical discipline.
Niccolò Machiavelli was a political theorist from the Renaissance period. In his most notable work, The Prince, he writes, “It is better to be feared than to be loved, if one cannot be both.” He argues that fear is a better motivator than love, which is why it is the more effective tool for leaders. He explored the complexities of power and leadership, suggesting that while it’s ideal to be both loved and feared, in practice, being feared is often a more reliable foundation for a ruler’s stability. He argues that love is based on fleeting bonds of obligation, while fear is based on the consistent dread of punishment, which is more enduring. Machiavelli took a calculated approach. Machiavelli’s concept of fear is not about promoting cruelty for its own sake. It’s a calculated approach to maintain order and ensure the ruler’s stability in a world where human nature is often viewed as unreliable. Machiavelli also stresses the need for prudence.
For a totalist system to wield complete control, the leader must tap fear – this is an important element of totalism. The process of brainwashing that totalist systems engage in is one of psychological, coercive manipulation where the leader or group alternates terror with ‘love’. The fiction starts slowly, of course, with mere propaganda intended for the public and the wider world. After propaganda comes indoctrination, the state where the totalist system consolidates control, via what Arendt calls ‘the power to drop iron curtains to prevent anyone’s disturbing, by the slightest reality, the gruesome quiet of an entirely imaginary world’. A cult is an example of a totalist system. After the iron curtain of the total ideology has dropped, no questions or doubts are allowed. In today’s world, it is imperative for us to understand the workings of charismatic and authoritarian leaders and the organisations they lead.2
Sometimes, people’s thinking can kick back into gear when they experience repeated, counter-examples that challenge the ideology – such as receiving kindness from the ‘enemy’ or seeing apocalyptic predictions fail time after time after time. In 1952, Asch wrote: ‘The greater man’s ignorance of the principles of his social surroundings, the more subject is he to their control; and the greater his knowledge of their operations and of their necessary consequences, the freer he can become with regard to them.’ In a time of rapid change, such as Trump’s flooding the zone with garbage creates a general sense of instability, people are naturally going to seek security and stability. Cults and totalist regimes thrive in these conditions. Given the right circumstances, almost anyone is vulnerable to the psychological and situational pressures. Asch calls this “distortion of perception”. The influence of the group is such that it modifies the perception of the individual, who is then persuaded that the group is right.
The Asch effect: when being in a group can lead to bad decisions. The fear of social rejection, ridicule, or seeming different led many to conform to the incorrect opinions of the majority, even when the correct answer was obvious. This demonstrates the power of normative social influence, where individuals conform to gain social approval and avoid disapproval. Asch found that people were willing to ignore reality and give an incorrect answer in order to conform to the rest of the group. Irving Janis’s groupthink theory posits that in highly cohesive groups, the desire for consensus can override a realistic appraisal of alternatives, leading to poor decision-making. This phenomenon, also known as groupthink, occurs when members prioritize unanimity over critical evaluation, often stifling dissent and leading to flawed outcomes. Groupthink can lead to decisions that are irrational, inefficient, or even dangerous.3
Trump has acknowledged that fear is central to his authority. In Trump’s political style: authoritarian populism – there’s the virtuous in-group and the outright evil out-group. This out-group would then be scapegoated for societal problems. Typically, the in-group suppress political opposition, spread disinformation, fuel political violence and turn historically independent institutions into political actors that will help achieve their agenda. They use coercion to achieve these goals rather than by mustering popular support. The Trump administration regularly manipulates data to support its anti-immigrant agenda. Trump stokes fears about migrants driving up crime rate. Trump has frozen or threatened to withhold billions of dollars from universities across the U.S. unless they took steps to stamp out progressive ideology that his administration feels has run amok on college campuses and stifled conservative viewpoints. These series of threats – and subsequent pauses in funding have become an unprecedented tool for the Trump administration to exert influence on college campuses and the community.4
Fear is created not by the world around us, but in the mind, by what we think is going to happen, observes Elizabeth Gawain. The Republicans need a distraction, and turn to fear of undocumented immigrants: with messaging on urban disorder and migrant crime wave. We realize we have become disillusioned not because our expectations failed, but because they were false. Our goal is to create a more just and equitable society by ensuring fair access to shared resources and benefits for all members. We must promote new values for society to create the necessary change in culture to address the increasing economic inequality. In this manner new processes appear to replace the old. With enough people marching in a new direction of more accountability, the politicians will adapt in order to position themselves to the front of the crowd so they can assure us they are in control.
1 https://aeon.co/essays/how-cult-leaders-brainwash-followers-for-total-control
2 https://questioningandskepticism.com/in-response-to-the-fear-of-change/
3 https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=ASch+effect