Law 27: Play on the People’s Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike following

Simply being a member of a group gives one a certain feeling of oneness, exclusivity, belongingness and appreciation. Think of all the times when you are alone and when you are in a group, is there a huge discrepancy in how you act and how you think? Given this scenario in your head, perhaps you will agree with me that it is not at all surpising that there is that tendency of people to act differently or sometimes even ‘out-of-character’, when they are with other people. There is something in us that when we are in a group we experience reality differently. When in a group, we may laugh our hearts out at something that we initially, on our own, thought was annoyingly corny. Maybe our role as relational beings can explain these changes we experience when we are with other people. We have that tendency to transform when we are with other people. There is that poteniality for a heightened emotional vulnerabiltiy, irrationality, blind confidence and the like. Whatever the case maybe, the reality of it is simple; being in a group influences our behavior, our way of thinking and our ability to manage our emotions. If this is how a much the group we are in influences our way of thinking and our way of acting towards our environment, just think of how much a cult, a devotion to someone or to an object, may influence who we are and how we act.

Why is it that cults, despite the claim of the modern generation of having intellectual maturity, are still very much present in our modern world? No matter how ridiculous a practice of a cult may be, people still join and take part of their out-of-this-world rituals. A good example of what I’m talking about is the example given in the chapter regarding Giuseppe Borri. Giuseppe Borri formed a group from which he demanded the members to observe the strictest vow of poverty. All the goods and the money they posses were handed over to him. He accomplish this by saying, “I shall soon ring my chemical studies to a happy conclusion by the discovery of the philosopher’s stone and by this means we shall all have as much gold as we desire.” Isn’t it brillant? From an outsider’s point of view, we see how prone people are in believing this kind of nonsense. Imagine, giving your money and your possessions without much assurance of the things promised to you? Again, brillantly done. He recognized the need of the people to believe in something and he played with their vulnerable desire. He was able to generate so much power from the weakness of the people that he was able to do whatever he wanted. Given these things, we can now ask, why did these people believe and follow these aimless promises? How did their head/ leader achieve such power of control over their followers?

Law 27 gives 5 steps in order for us to gain power through the building of groups/ cults.

Step 1: Keep it Vague, Keep it Simple.

This step tells us that in order to create a cult we must be able to attract attention. And this is done through the use of orality or the use of words. Words unlike actions are hazy and deceptive; you can use words that will give them reason to join you and what they will get if they join you. But you can never be too specific, always keep the mystery blanket up so your members will always make their own interpretations on what’s going to happen and on what they are going to get from joining you.

Step 2: Emphasize the Visual and the Sensual over the Intellectual.

What’s more interesting watching a funny Japanese prank on YouTube or reading about the same Japanese prank on Wikipedia? I suppose you would say watching it on YouTube. It works the same way here; boredom and skepticism are two of your worst enemies. You have to amuse them all the time and the best way to do this is to appeal to their 5 senses.

Step 3: Borrow the Forms of Organized Religion to Structure your Group.

You have to have order in your cult. Create practices and rituals that will bin your group together. You should have a hierarchy of some sort so that your position as head would be recognized by everyone. Talk and act to them like a prophet to emphasize your group’s quasi-religious nature.

Step 4: Disguise your Source of Income.

You must never be seen as hungry for money and the power it brings; by disguising the source of income you give them no reason to doubt you. Make them feel that your wealth comes from their pockets but from the truth of your methods. And by following your methods, make them feel that someday they will achieve the wealth that you have.

Step 5: Set Up an Us-Versus-Them Dynamic.

Make your followers believe that they are part of an exclusive group. You do this by invent an idea that an opposing group is trying to ruin you and your followers. This will strengthen what they believe in and if they really believe in you, will do anything to stop them.

This psychological manipulation suggested by the 5 steps presented allows us to see how we, as humans, think and behave when in a presence of a group and a ‘powerful’ dictator. There a certain vulernabiliity in us that is played with. We become gullible to the irrational ways of explaining reality. We let go of our logical reasoning and become easily persuade by what we see, feel, touch, smell and taste. We lose our reasoning and intellectual maturity. This happens because there is that desire in us to experience life in a greater fashion. We thrive for mysteries that life brings. This gives us a break from the monotony that we experience. Mysteries give us a sense that there is more to life than what is already there. I do not believe that these people follow simply because they were attracted. Yes, they were attracted but they were attracted by the novelty that each cult brings to their lives. There is a sense of difference, exotiscm and excitement that these cults bring to the people. People follow because this gives them a break from the boredom or the problems that they are experiencing their own lives.

So if you want to gain power in this world, play with this weakness of the human being, the need to believe. With this, you will achieve the power you are looking for.

Mico Fernandez