Them and Us

Publisher description: Cult thinking is not something out there--a rare affliction that infects a few people on the margin of society--but a disturbing phenomenon that most of us have experienced in some small degree. In Them and Us: Cult Thinking and the Terrorist Threat, author and psychiatrist Arthur Deikman shows the connection between classic cult manipulation and the milder forms of group pressure that can be found in even the most staid organizations--churches and schools, mainstream political movements and corporate boardrooms. When looking at groups, says Deikman, the proper question is not, "Is this group a cult?" but, "How much cult thinking is present?" For even seemingly benign institutions can foster the division between Them and Us that mentally imprisons individuals and erodes civility. In this persepective, terrorism represents an extreme along a familiar continuum, and understanding this connection is the first step toward an effective response. In her foreword, Doris Lessing discusses the implications and repercussions of cult thinking on contemporary society.