Multi-level marketing isn’t based on rational business logic. It’s not even built on irrational business logic. It’s ideology. It’s faith.

MLMs have become such a ubiquitous part of North American life that their tenets are rarely ever questioned. The sector holds enormous political sway. Millions of people join, leave and rejoin every year, almost all of them ending up poorer for the experience.

And to call it a cult is not just a cute turn of phrase. The cultishness of MLMs is essential to their success.

Featured in this episode: Robert L. Fitzpatrick, Julie Anderson

To learn more:

Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing by Robert L. Fitzpatrick

“How lobbying dollars prop up pyramid schemes” by Matt Stroud in The Verge

YouTube: @JulieAndersonvideos

Amway: The Cult of Free Enterprise by Stephen Butterfield

Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Aviva Lessard (Additional Production) Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Additional music from Audio Network

Sponsors: Douglas, Oxio, Athletic Greens 

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