Cargo Cults were first discovered back around 1919. The indigenous peoples of Melanesia created complex religions out of actions they observed stemming from European and American exploration of their islands. The term "Cargo Cult" stems from the idea that if you are faithful and follow the right set of rituals, you'll receive all sorts of nifty gifts. These Cargo Cults seem pretty crazy until you start comparing them to some modern day organizations...
The islanders of Melanesia saw how explorers would come to their islands, build landing strips and ports, and then magically goods would start to arrive. To hasten the coming of their own merchandise they started building ceremonial landing strips and ports. Cargo Cults believe in the imminence of a new age of blessing which will be heralded by the arrival of special cargo sent to them from the gods. These cargo cults existed long before the arrival of American and other European troops during WWII, but there were several cults spawned by that time period.
One of the older cargo cults worships a faded portrait of King George V of England. Another Cargo cult, an active one, is the Jon Frum Movement. The Jon Frum Movement even has it's own homepage.[Web HQ of John Frum Movement] JFM believes in a messianic figure known as Jon Frum. The symbol most closely associated with him is a red cross. (The same symbol associated with The American Red Cross.) The movement believes that on the 15th of February, Jon Frum will return bearing goods for them. Jon Frum is identified as the "King of America". Villages who are believers in JFM fly the American Flag and the US Navy Flag. They erect tall poles which they string with wires and tin cans as a radio antenna so Jon Frum can speak to them.
It's estimated that there are about 70 cargo cults. They all seem to have the following basic beliefs:
-A new age of plenty is imminent and will arrive in the form of a special cargo that comes from powerful gods.
-The cargo hasn't arrived yet because powerful people (usually Westerners) are diverting the goods for their own selfish uses.
-Performing important rituals are the key to causing the cargo to come to them.
-There is a central messianic figure who provides the cargo.
These tenets of the cargo cults discourage prudent planning for the future. They discourage hard work as a means to success because cargo will come to them regardless of the work they do. The cargo cults remain a powerful force due to the circular logic that perpetuates them. If the cargo fails to arrive it is due to powerful forces diverting it, not due to any failure on the part of the deity or belief system.
Cargo cults are pretty strange, yet we have certain belief systems in place today that mirror them. Some have speculated that the dotcom bubble was a form of cargo cult. Another writer has made some good points in favor of popular American culture as a cargo cult.
The recent endorsement of John Kerry by the AFL-CIO reminded me of Cargo Cult theology. A recent news article about the endorsement seems eerily reminiscent:
Against the backdrop of a giant banner declaring "America Needs Good Jobs" draped across the front of the AFL-CIO headquarters, the giant union group's president, John Sweeney, said its executive board had voted unanimously to endorse Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts.
"John Kerry has stood up and fought for working Americans when it counted for more than 25 years," Sweeney told cheering labor activists in downtown Washington. "He will be our champion in the White House and work to bring jobs back to America."
It seems that John Kerry is going to somehow magically overcome various problems caused by huge impersonal forces in order to bring "cargo" to union members.
"The time has come to unite behind one man, one leader, one candidate," John Sweeney, president of the umbrella organization for 13 million union members, said at a rally after the organization's general board made the unanimous decision. [Source]
It certainly appears that this "Cargo Cult" has it's messianic figure. Never mind the fact that Mr. Kerry also voted for NAFTA.
The union leaders glossed over their differences with Kerry, especially his vote for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which they blame for the escalating loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States in the decade since its enactment. [Source]
There is no real mention about how Kerry will bring all of these jobs to union members. Perhaps it's his desire to raise taxes. Maybe he'll do it through protectionism. Oh, who cares about the details. George Bush couldn't possibly be working for more jobs for Americans - what would he gain by doing that? No, John Kerry will bring us the cargo. We don't have to be more competitive in a global economy or even more competitive in the domestic marketplace. All we have to do is perform the magical endorsement rite and Mr. Kerry will make the cargo appear. What? Have doubts? The fact that jobs have not already appeared is not due to John Kerry or the Democrats but to large impersonal factors (namely Republicans) who are just hogging everything for themselves.
Maybe the AFL-CIO endorsement isn't exactly the same as a Cargo Cult, but it seems to be at least as logical as one.
Source Articles:
Cargo Cults
Principles of The American Cargo Cult
Cargo Cult Definition from Encyclopedia Britannica
Dotcoms as 20th Century Cargo Cults
Cargo Cult Programming from ESR