It has become relatively obvious that what goes by the term “Woke” refers to having been initiated into a cult. This observation presents a difficulty, however, because how can so many people be initiates into a cult without even knowing the cult is a cult? How can so many people uphold cult doctrine and praxis if they’ve never read the big theorists, like Marx, Marcuse, Freire, and Foucault? Doesn’t that suggest that something else entirely must be going on?
Cults always have a particular structure. They’re not homogeneous. In fact, they’re layered, sometimes more formally with an actual “leveling” system and sometimes less. In general, though, there are always three big-picture layers within any cult plus two categories of people outside the cult, making five types of people from the cult’s perspective.
Within the cult, the general organization can be split into three circles: initiates (“Outer School”), adepts (“Inner School”), and disciples and leaders (“Inner Circle”). Any of these three circles can be subdivided formally or informally, and something like initiation or promotion rites will typically mark passage from one level to the next, with those being more significant when crossing the boundaries between circles.
Importantly, the members of the Outer School (initiates) will typically know very little cult doctrine. They will be morally attuned to the cult and being made increasingly socially invested and committed to it. They do not have to have read any of the relevant cult doctrine or even have heard of the people who formulated it to act in ways consistent with the cult’s values, which they are learning to adopt and having reinforced for them socially. The initiate stage of cult induction is one of increasing psychological identification with the cult, its beliefs, and its practices. It’s also a period of learning the cult’s lingo and learning to speak like a cultist, which is, of course, a signal of fitting in. This awakening to cult identification in the Woke cult is called gaining “critical consciousness,” which is a belief that all of social reality is contoured by oppressive structural power dynamics that they have a duty to help overthrow by denouncing them with Woke criticism and Woke activism.
In contrast, the Inner School adepts will know the cult doctrine and will be growing in their knowledge and understanding of it. They will “do the work” or undertake the relevant “study” necessary to learn cult doctrine and theory, and they will, in turn, teach it to one another and to Outer School initiates, but only in comfortable, digestible ways. In this way, the practices, beliefs, morals, and values of the Outer School are shaped by doctrine that’s conveyed by the Inner School. “Doing the work” through “study” to become an Inner School adept mostly only proceeds after the moral, social, and psychological commitment to the cult is firmly established in an initiate (after they are critically conscious). That way, budding adepts are unlikely to reject and very likely to rationalize and accept the more distorted and grotesque features of the cult doctrine.
The Inner Circle is different and chosen from highly advanced Inner School members and, perhaps, opportunistically from among a population that doesn’t care that it’s leading a cult so long as it’s powerful and high-status there (that is, psychopaths). No amount of study, understanding, or development in cult doctrine will facilitate the transition from Inner School to Inner Circle or leadership. That’s done based on loyalty alone, often including guarantees of loyalty like blackmail obtained through the participation in an initiation rite to the highest levels. The Inner Circle may or may not be true believers in the cult, but they ultimately direct it, often in various ways for their own power and profit.
In this sense, all cults work like a Ponzi scheme of abuse, hazing, and victimization, with the abusers in the Inner Circle abusing the Inner School adepts and the adepts abusing themselves, each other, and the Outer School initiates, who are learning as they go to abuse themselves and others. One expression of this cult abuse formula was applied in Mao Zedong’s socialist cult in CCP-controlled China under Mao: “unity – criticism – unity.”
This democratic method of resolving contradictions among the people was epitomized in 1942 in the formula “unity – criticism – unity”. To elaborate, that means starting from the desire for unity, resolving contradictions through criticism or struggle, and arriving at a new unity on a new basis. (Source)
Outside the cult, there are two essential categories: uninitiated or educable potential recruits (“masses”) and people who will never join, for various reasons and in varying levels of adversity to it (“enemies”). The cult grows by initiating the uninitiated, which requires separating them from and suppressing the enemies. There are also fake enemies (“controlled opposition” and “induced reaction,” for example), but those are a subject of another essay. Other than pointing out that the treatment of the masses can get quite manipulative and of enemies quite severe, this essay will set aside the question of the outgroups to examine cult structure itself.
That summarizes the basic structure of cults, and the application of this structure to the Woke cult is very easily understood. Most Woke people are in the Outer School. They are committed to Woke cult ideology morally and socially, and they’re increasingly coming to see themselves in Woke terms. They’re adopting a Woke identity. Only after that point will they begin to study Woke Theory in earnest, as they work their way into the Inner School. Virtually none of these people will ascend to the level of the Inner Circle that actually directs this cult and exploits them all. In this way, Woke can operate according to Theory through legions of people who are morally, socially, and psychologically committed to Theory without ever having read a word of it.
In a subsequent essay, I’ll elaborate on these themes considerably to add depth to how the Woke cult works within this structure and how people are induced into it in what amounts to a very decentralized way. For now, know that Woke is a cult and is organized as such. Theory is the doctrinal driver and is thus of central relevance to understanding the moral and social commitments and identity dysfunctions of initiated Woke cultists and is likely to be necessary to devising ways to deprogram people who are its victims by initiation.
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There are many elements of what makes a cult, but in my view the most important one is the effort to remove any individuality from its members and replace it with a group identity. In short, extreme collectivism.
Regular Protestantism and Catholisism are not cults, then, because while they promote collectivism in certain ways, they do not brainwash their members to lose their sense of self.
Wokism, however, is a cult despite no “cult leader” because the whole “change your appearance and personality to conform to the group”-thing, among other things.
My group has often been characterized as a “cult,” so I am aware of how dangerous it is to use this term to describe any group. It is a tactic used by the enemies of the group (self-identified enemies, not fictional ones) to delegitimize what the group is doing and justify its suppression, whether that be cultural or legal suppression.
To the extent that any group tends to be hierarchical, you can often identify distinct levels of involvement, responsibility, and expertise in any group. Thus I am inclined to walk away from this label and focus on the deceit level that the group displays vis-a-vis society. My group, for example, has a free website with hundreds of videos designed to explain all the different aspects of its operation. Those videos (though made with the basic principles of good public relations in mind) show real people and real places. They are not staged and don’t use paid actors.
Compare this to a group like a corporate media organization. Most of us have no idea how they operate, and they have no interest in telling us. I think the actual level of secrecy in a group is a much better gauge of its purpose and intent than its structure.
Eric Hoffer’s “The True Believer” is a good treatment of the phenomena.
Outer Circle = Liberals who don’t realize they’re being manipulated by Marxists.
She says individuality is dangerous for children and wrong to for adults. We know who that person is. If you are based you will avoid thinking about these people as much as possible for they lure you into a trap just by listening. to them. They hope to undermine every atom of your sanity and inner strength. Such a thing in the form of a human person will not reason with you or listen so stay clear and distance your selves from their being which is of a negative and dark nature. If you are getting the creeps from their vibes then they know they are hitting the mark because since they didn’t succeed in indoctrinating you they scared and shocked you as punishment for being resolute in you sense of self value and healthy outlook. When the communists couldn’t brainwash the populace they punished them with torture.
“This awakening to cult identification in the Woke cult is called gaining “critical consciousness,” which is a belief that all of social reality is contoured by oppressive structural power dynamics that they have a duty to help overthrow by denouncing them with Woke criticism and Woke activism.”
I wonder if this might also involve some pondering about the possiblity of members of the “Woke cult” having some sort of “diversity-privilege”, for instance at places like universities.
James, David’s comment is probably on the money here and I would expand that you can’t just call a belief system you don’t like a cult. Most people appear to have their own yet the same idea of what a cult is, a definition that involves no small amount of ‘othering’.
Basically a cult is a small society of people within larger society that the said larger society believe to be comprised of ‘weirdos’ and eccentrics. They are made up of the sorts of people that hold beliefs no reasonable person (which larger society considers to be) would hold.
Unfortunately the power of Wokecraft is that its starting pitch is to present ideas that most reasonable people would think they should hold. The trouble creeps in when they start telling people there are associated ‘right ways’ to behave. And by then they’ve taken swarms of people.
Interesting. I wonder, however, if this is not a general depiction of human behaviour. Eg the enterprise of science seems to follow the same pattern: science fans (outer school), scientists or others educated in the sciences (inner school), and powerful public spokesmen and policy makers (inner circle).
Essentially. In this case the inner circle is the Collegium International. The inner school are universities across the globe. The outer school the young across the globe. The means through which the communications are sent out is through UNESCO and like Mao their programs are totalizing” (whole child, whole person, whole community, etc.). The goals of the inner circle are in the Declaration of Interdependence. The ultimate goal is global governance which can strive towards the goals of Limits to Growth or as UNFCC puts it a “circular economy” which is critical to achieving the Paris Climate Agreement goals. Those goals are binding and ratcheting each based on the conditions of the particular state and its place on the scales in regards to “global equity for a healthy planet.” The “reactionaries” (enemies) are anyone that is not on board with these goals.
The Declaration of Interdependence
https://search.archives.un.org/uploads/r/united-nations-archives/1/6/9/169442101ed808d20c5a4ff672c6dfba5a15cfcd953e7dc145e6eb35c491ef8a/S-1098-0056-01-00008.pdf
Who is the last signatory on that document? What are the “action items?” Who are some of the other signatories?
Disagree, and the distinction is important.
Difference between a Cult and any other group of people is control. A cult must control the schools by the inner circle. Science is not controlled by a inner circle, and when that control is attempted there is revolt for the very reason that the ‘doctorine’ of science is to question and only accept answers to those questions based on evidence. (I.e. claims of doom by a certain scientist in the last few weeks were ridiculed because he made those same claims 50 years ago, and every few years since, and these claims have not borne out).
People in large groups may tend towards Cult like behavior, but that is a natural ‘herd’ instinct, so to speak. If someone takes that herd and is able to take absolute control, then it becomes a Cult.
Very much appreciate your work. How do we get Outer Circle friends and family out of this cult mindset? The frustration is that they believe WE (anyone who challenges their thinking) are cult-driven since they have chosen not to peer outside their bubble.
We want to be able to snap our fingers and wake them from the spell. Since apparently this isn’t possible, how do we coax them out of wokeness, or do we just have to wait for them to find out for themselves?
This is an excellent depiction of the quasi religious nature of the woke ideolgy