Comment by deadbabe
5 days ago
Sometimes I think joining a cult wouldn’t be too bad right about now. Hear me out: a bunch of people pool money to buy a massive amount of land somewhere and then building everything they need by hand: homes, farms, etc. and everyone has a strong sense of community from daily interaction and shared purpose, with regular rituals to keep a sense of stability. If we must work by manual labor, it is more satisfying to work to benefit those around you than for increasingly worthless dollars. No smartphones or thinking machines allowed.
There are many, already available to join
I've had this thought many times, though a big part of a cult is like being employed: they let you be in the cult because they can pay you less than what you generate for them.
if you no longer needed money, how much would you really need to be paid?
You feel a lot differently about not getting paid when you're working 10 hour days doing farm labor and can't afford to go anywhere even if you get a little time off. Cults intentionally pile on work to separate you from any existing friends/family/acquaintances.
The people running cults don't really want co-ops, they are almost exclusively narcissistic egomaniacs, they're doing it specifically to extract something from you. For men this is generally manual labor, money, and protection, from women it's often sex, child-rearing, and housework. If you're of the mind to stand up for yourself or others they'll kick you out pretty quickly if you don't submit via degradation and humiliation.
There's a reason it's only appealing in theory, there's a ton of reading from ex cult members to back this up... look into "Escaping Utopia" "Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults" and "Terror, Love and Brainwashing." Even intelligent and intentional people get sucked into these dynamics.
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That sir is a commune not a cult.