Cargo Cult
This essay is intended to provide a somewhat dark humor but well intended account of our society. The ideal, if we can laugh at ourselves, we can better liberate ourselves from a make believe Consumer Culture in a way that can lead to many social, economic, environmental and even spiritual benefits - the simple, basic reason for paradigm shift.
Two historic cargo cults share many characteristics. One of them 80 years ago in the tropical western Pacific Ocean, the other, contemporary and familiar, known as the Consumer Culture.
A cargo cult is a belief system where individuals and groups perform rituals and behaviors with the hope of receiving possession of desired material outcomes.
Cargo cults were first described in Melanesia, see the map below, as a result of American soldiers constructing military bases on dozens of inhabited western pacific islands as part of the world war 2 offensive against Japan. Before the Americans arrived, many Islanders had modest to little contact with the outside world. Their economies were more or less subsistence. They depended primarily on local resources such as fish, taro, bamboo and coconut palms for food and shelter.
This essay is intended to provide a somewhat dark humor but well intended account of our society. The ideal, if we can laugh at ourselves, we can better liberate ourselves from a make believe Consumer Culture in a way that can lead to many social, economic, environmental and even spiritual benefits - the simple, basic reason for paradigm shift.
Two historic cargo cults share many characteristics. One of them 80 years ago in the tropical western Pacific Ocean, the other, contemporary and familiar, known as the Consumer Culture.
A cargo cult is a belief system where individuals and groups perform rituals and behaviors with the hope of receiving possession of desired material outcomes.
Cargo cults were first described in Melanesia, see the map below, as a result of American soldiers constructing military bases on dozens of inhabited western pacific islands as part of the world war 2 offensive against Japan. Before the Americans arrived, many Islanders had modest to little contact with the outside world. Their economies were more or less subsistence. They depended primarily on local resources such as fish, taro, bamboo and coconut palms for food and shelter.
Imagine, in the early 1940's, massive ships unexpectedly layed up on their familiar beaches. Giant doors of the landing craft opened and out came all manner of remarkable cargo such as jeeps, trucks, prefab buildings, bulldozers, radar, 100s of uniformed soldiers, crates of electrical equipment and more. Over several years, many Islanders became familiar with the cargo and soldiers. Some locals became employees at the bases learning first aid, support skills and engaging in trade. The new cargo became familiar and desirable.
When the war ended, the ships returned, the doors again swung open and much of the cargo was reloaded and taken away. Many Islanders felt abandoned and at a loss.
The cults began as an effort to somehow, bring back the cargo. Certain preexisting ancestor beliefs and traditions of the islanders became integrated with the cargo cults. Some soldiers, personally, even became venerated as saints. Some cult behaviors involved simulating the day to day activities of the soldiers, such as performing marching drills. The Islanders used simulated rifles made of wood and dressed as close as possible to the departed soldiers, marching in determined formations. The islanders also built replicas of planes, airport control towers and radar, out of bamboo and scrap, hoping those actions would somehow, magically, assist the return of the cargo. These rituals and behaviors still exist on some islands.
Fast forward. In modern times, many millions of people have a fascination and a want for the products of the consumer culture. Verily, pumped up by near endless advertising and social engineering, popular fascination and desire for material products and gadgets is basically what dominates our society, economy, our very individual lives.
Our Consumer Culture is a modern day cargo cult.
Today's modern lifestyles have their own counterparts to the Islanders. Instead of ships loaded with cargo, we find cargo on line, the mall, retail locations of all kinds, the suburban shopping center. These sources, often delivered by Fed Ex or Amazon, are the equivalent of landing craft pulled up to our own suburban front yards with wall sized tvs, smart phones, cars, fashion, kitchen gadgets, sound systems, recreation equipment and much much more.
Instead of marching with wooden rifles in formations, we have endless formations of cars on multi lane freeways devoted to he ritual we call commuting, with the expectation these actions will bring us the cargo that drives the daily routine of most Americans, all super charged with advertising and cheap stuff, subsidized by external costs.
Both the Pacific cargo cult and our own modern day cargo cult can both claim what is called a myth dream - an archetypal or core belief that permeates a society. To the Islanders, a myth dream was the expectation of help from ancestors, charismatic leaders or other special agents to deliver lots of stuff to individuals and the community.
The modern American myth dream dates back to the puritan/protestant work ethic. In colonial days, hard work was essential to survive. In modern times, hard work, a core part of our national ethos, is the ticket to lots of stuff like cars and suburban homes so loaded with stuff we have thousands of mini warehouses to store all the accumulated cargo that doesn't fit in our oversized homes.
Our modern day cargo cult, the consumer culture,,, it is certainly one of the most successful examples of social engineering in human history. Some might say humans are simply materialistic, they've always wanted stuff. No dispute here. What is different now is, there has never been 8 billion people caught up in the global cargo cult that degrades people and planet far more deeply than at any time in human history.
Cliches, myths and buy now pay later are all fundamental to the American myth dream. Our own pre industrial puritan ideals and traditions of hard work and meritocracy all strongly prescribe material rewards for devoting ourselves to the cargo cult. Strands of Christianity tell us God rewards hard work with lots of stuff. Meanwhile, other writings in the Bible clearly instruct vanity and over consumption are not part of a righteous and uplifted life.
Many of the most significant American rituals have been co opted and rewritten to make history fit the needs of capitalism and the consumer culture. Our Wonder Years education feeds into the cargo cult. Voting and democracy are claims to institutional legitimacy while both political parties serve the same economic master that is decidedly anti democracy. Black Friday kicks of the Xmas season commercial feeding frenzy. More stuff keeps society distracted and compliant.
Our myth dream is super charged with advertising and cheap stuff, subsidized by external costs. Hard work and material rewards are responsible for climate change, economic and political dis-equity, stressed foreign relations because of depleting resources and a host of other familiar problems that are often totally avoidable. The myths and rituals resonate widely, just as Edward Bernays anticipated. We participate with enthusiasm in our own social engineering while the well being of our society and the health of the natural world are seriously in decline.
Social engineering shapes public rituals to support and solidify established forms of social hierarchy, authority and ownership. It is the well placed in social hierarchy, authority and ownership who have the most to gain from wide spread popular buy in to managed ritual. Lots of stuff keeps people distracted and compliant.
Cargo cults provide us with a somewhat self conscious chuckle at the expense of the pacific Islanders, but what can we say about our own personal participation in the consumer culture. Do humans need to stay the same while they degrade their own lives and spirit along with the natural world.
Can humans shake the cargo cult and take the leap towards a more refined, uplifted and preferred future where they fit within the boundaries of the natural world and society's goal is to bring out the best in positive human potential?
Whats a sensible alternative? Consider the wisdom of the world's great spiritual traditions – care for the natural world, modesty of lifestyle, service to the community, uplift of the spirit, personal and organizational accountability. Imagine if those were the core and motivating ideals of our personal lives, society and economic system.
Capitalism, affluence and the consumer culture ALSO produce untold useful products and countless opportunities that can help bring about a preferred future. Paradigm shift calls for a great leap forward in consciousness, values, ideals and goals, at scale from home to national.
A growing number of people are already making the leap and they are finding many allies and assets to make common cause. They are already living part time in a preferred future and point the way. Core to a great leap forward for humanity is saying no thanks to the cargo cult. That means enough, not excess. We need to gain the wisdom to make that distinction.
Another part of the Primer describes what a more eco friendly lifestyle might look like when we prioritize our time and money.
Millions of people have already made that leap. Millions of people are already prioritizing their time and money in healthy ways.
Can humans shake the cargo cult and take the leap towards a more refined, uplifted and preferred future where they fit within the boundaries of the natural world and society's goal is to bring out the best in positive human potential?
Whats a sensible alternative? Consider the wisdom of the world's great spiritual traditions – care for the natural world, modesty of lifestyle, service to the community, uplift of the spirit, personal and organizational accountability. Imagine if those were the core and motivating ideals of our personal lives, society and economic system.
Capitalism, affluence and the consumer culture ALSO produce untold useful products and countless opportunities that can help bring about a preferred future. Paradigm shift calls for a great leap forward in consciousness, values, ideals and goals, at scale from home to national.
A growing number of people are already making the leap and they are finding many allies and assets to make common cause. They are already living part time in a preferred future and point the way. Core to a great leap forward for humanity is saying no thanks to the cargo cult. That means enough, not excess. We need to gain the wisdom to make that distinction.
Another part of the Primer describes what a more eco friendly lifestyle might look like when we prioritize our time and money.
Millions of people have already made that leap. Millions of people are already prioritizing their time and money in healthy ways.
