Resist the Allure of Hard-Right Cargo Cults

One of the most entertaining and tragic topics fresher anthropology undergraduates are likely to hear about is cargo cults. These movements, emerging in newly colonised lands, were created after locals saw wondrous goods and flying machines appearing from the sky for colonialists — and suddenly felt impoverished.

Cargo cult leaders were those locals who could convince followers of a special insight into the origins…