Fwd: Maoist Minnesotan Cult

Thomas Seay entheogens at yahoo.com
Wed Jan 8 13:46:19 PST 2003


<<for example, to characterise most of the extreme left-wing organisations that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s, such as the Workers' Revolutionary Party and Militant, as cults of differing varieties of

extremity.>>

I think this article is superficial and wrong to suggest that most Leninist groups are set up to take advantage of people. What does happen is that once the group becomes a certain size, democratic centralism- which isnt democratic at all really- entrains a structure wherein the people at the top make the important decisions which then gets filtered down to the lower echelons of the hierarchy. This, along with the "totalizing" character of Leninism, allows religious dogmatism to set in. The dogmatism gets perpetuated by individuals whose identity and social life revolves around the group. In other words, it does not necessarily get perpetuated by a "devious" leader trying to take advantage.

I dont know if these groups can be considered full-blown cults, but they do have "cultish" qualities about them.

-Thomas

===== "Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

"Money eats quality and shits out quantity" -William Burroughs

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