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Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults
by Janja Lalich
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Book Description
Heaven's Gate, a secretive group of celibate "monks" awaiting pickup by a UFO,
captured intense public attention in 1997 when its members committed collective
suicide. As a way of understanding such perplexing events, many have seen those
who join cults as needy, lost souls, unable to think for themselves. This book,
a compelling look at the cult phenomenon written for a wide audience, dispels
such simple formulations by explaining how normal, intelligent people can give
up years of their lives-and sometimes their very lives-to groups and beliefs
that appear bizarre and irrational. Looking closely at Heaven's Gate and at the
Democratic Workers Party, a radical political group of the 1970s and 1980s,
Janja Lalich gives us a rare insider's look at these two cults and advances a
new theoretical framework that will reshape our understanding of those who join
such groups. Lalich's fascinating discussion includes her in-depth interviews
with cult devotees as well as reflections gained from her own experience as a
high-ranking member of the Democratic Workers Party. Incorporating classical
sociological concepts such as "charisma" and "commitment" with more recent work
on the social psychology of influence and control, she develops a new approach
for understanding how charismatic cult leaders are able to dominate their
devotees. She shows how members are led into a state of "bounded choice," in
which they make seemingly irrational decisions within a context that makes
perfect sense to them and is, in fact, consistent with their highest
aspirations. In addition to illuminating the cult phenomenon in the United
States and around the world, this important book also addresses our pressing
need to know more about the mentality of those true believers who take extreme
or violent measures in the name of a cause. Illustrations: 18 b/w photographs, 3
line illustrations, 12 tables
From the Back Cover
"An impressive and even revolutionary look at cultic groups. Lalich challenges
fundamental assumptions on all sides of the debate about cults. She spent years
as a member of the Democratic Workers Party and provides her readers with a
revealing insider's view. To this, the author adds a much-needed comparative
focus with her treatment of the Heaven's Gate suicides. The result is a
theoretical break through in the study of high commitment groups. Lalich's
theory of 'bounded choice' is likely to reshape scholarly thinking for years to
come about the dynamics of cult involvement and how and why people may act
against their own self-interest in pursuit of higher causes."-E. Burke Rochford,
Jr., author of Hare Krishna in America
About the Author
Janja Lalich is Assistant Professor of Sociology at California State University,
Chico. She is coauthor of "Crazy" Therapies: What Are They? Do They Work? (1996)
and Captive Hearts, Captive Minds: Freedom and Recovery from Cults and Abusive
Relationships (1994)..
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