However, there’s a paradox in asserting no one can tell us what to do: it opens us to that exact result. The demagogue or cult leader’s pitch warns of evil agents who wish to control us. Popular paper tigers have included “communists,” our own psychological limitations, a “cabal of pedophiles” who run the government, and “woke” culture. How attractive it can be, then, when said leader offers to save us from that supposed persecution. If we follow their instructions—or buy their coaching sessions or supplements—we will receive a better life, either now on earth or everlasting, come doomsday. In
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