Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America

by Jane Borden

Scheibeler is one of the few who’ve ascertained the scheme. Most are too distracted to see it. That’s intentional. Gilded Age robber barons told poor people they could gain wealth partly to distract them from revolting against their exploitation. MLMs tell participants they can be rich to distract them from the experience of being robbed. Politicians suggest welfare recipients don’t want to work partly to distract the public from demanding social reform. Political power players racialize poverty to distract poor whites from banding together with poor people of color. Giant corporations offer wellness services partly to distract employees from the real sources of burnout. Starbucks sells $5 bracelets to support investment in impoverished communities, which distracts from the fact that it keeps almost $2 billion offshore to avoid paying taxes that would support investment in impoverished communities.97 Meanwhile, those being distracted are also taught to internalize blame for their own exploitation so that when the distraction wears off, they’ll point the finger at themselves.