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PhilosophyTutor comments on The Landmark Forum — a rationalist's first impression - Less Wrong
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"Cult" might not be a very useful term given the existing LW knowledge base, but it's a very useful term. I personally recommend Steve Hassan's book "Combating Cult Mind Control" as an excellent introduction to how some of the nastiest memetic viruses propagate and what little we can do about them.
He lists a lengthy set of characteristics which cults tend to have in common which go beyond the mind-controlling tactics of mainstream religions. My fuzzy recollection is that est/Landmark was considered a cult by the people who make it their area of interest to keep track of currently active cults.
In a sense these organisations are the polar opposite of LW. LW attempts to maximise rationality, although not always successfully, and cults attempt to create maximum dependence and control.
I hear some ambiguity there on the word "attempt". In the first case you're talking about the stated motives of the founders and high-status members, whereas in the second case you're talking about a behavior that arises from the social relations in a group. A group can become a cult even if its founders and leaders don't try to be a cult; cultishness is a mode of group behavior.
I'd also caution that "the people who make it their area of interest to keep track of currently active cults" may have some difficulties as well — some are missionaries from larger cults (e.g. conservative Protestantism), for instance ....