Cargo cult

A cargo cult is an indigenist millenarian belief system, in which adherents perform rituals which they believe will cause a more technologically advanced society to deliver goods. These cults were first described in Melanesia in the wake of contact with allied military forces during the Second World War.

(“Cargo Cult” 2022)

In a regular cargo cult, you have people who see an airstrip, and the cargo drops, so they build one out of straw, hoping for the same outcome. They don’t know the difference between a straw airstrip and a real one, they just want the cargo.

(Howe 2017)

Also see Reverse cargo cult.

Bibliography

Backlinks

• Jeffrey Pfeffer | 7 Rules of Power
• Learned blankness
• Reverse cargo cult