The Wrong Way Home: Uncovering the Patterns of Cult Behavior in American Society

Argues that cult behavior results from longings for security, explains how cults recruit and control new members, and discusses some actual case histories

Members of political or spiritual cults exhibit conformity, a yen for dependence and susceptibility to authoritarian leaders. The same behavior, Deikman argues, can be observed in ordinary people--in relationships, the workplace and family life. For example, in the "corporate culture," this California psychiatrist has found threats of censure and expulsion, and an inhibition of active strategies and dissent--all favorite cult tactics. Other examples of cultish shenanigans cited include politicians' cultivation of a benign, powerful parent persona; military leaders who "imagine enemies where there are none"; the complicity of a subservient news media in supporting the status quo; and the humble compliance to God's will urged by religions. Although Deikman sometimes stretches the analogy of cult behavior too far, his provocative book uncovers a psychopathology of everyday life in a discerning analysis.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The author, a psychiatrist, argues that cult behavior is not limited to members of religious groups but is based on childhood desires for meaning and dependency that we all share. He describes normal society as "an association of informal cults to which everyone belongs," including our educational, business, and other cultural structures. Although we live in a democracy, cult behavior manifests itself in our unwillingness to question the judgment of our leaders, our tendency to devalue outsiders and to avoid dissent. We can overcome cult behavior, he says, by recognizing that we have dependency needs that are inappropriate for mature people, by increasing anti-authoritarian education, and by encouraging personal autonomy and the free exchange of ideas. This is a provocative book that should have appeal for a wide variety of readers. Recommended for most libraries.
- Lucy Patrick, Florida State Univ. Lib., Tallahassee
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.