Prior to listening to this episode of the \u201cBad Ideas\u201d podcast, I had heard of Jim Jones, Jonestown, and, of course, the \u201cdrink the Kool Aid\u201d expression. What I did not know were the origins of the cult. I was surprised to hear that Jones was a proponent of racial equality because when I think of extremists who separate themselves from society, I tend to think of people fighting progress in society and rebelling as a result, not those who are advocating for progress. I then asked myself \u201cHow can something founded on such positive ideas turn negative?\u201d. This reminded me of our discussion of groupthink.<\/p>\n
When talking about groupthink, we talked about how a group with unified values and beliefs that has high cohesion can push each other to become more radically extreme, exactly what happened with Jonestown. The people of Jonestown, under Jim Jones\u2019s influence, pressured each other to push even farther in their beliefs, so much so that they lost a sense of morality and reality. The article on groupthink also said that groups suffering from groupthink are more likely to kill people outside of their group without remorse, exactly what happened in Jonestown.<\/p>\n
The creation of groupthink in Jonestown makes sense because Jim Jones studied and admired Hitler. Hitler\u2019s tactics inspired either group cohesion (leading to groupthink) or fear among his citizens. Jones used very similar tactics and saw very similar results. I do find it odd that Jim Jones was an advocate of racial equality yet admired Hitler because Hitler\u2019s beliefs stand in direct opposition to this. This makes me think that Jim Jones prioritized power and influence over his own morals, but that is just speculation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prior to listening to this episode of the \u201cBad Ideas\u201d podcast, I had heard of Jim Jones, Jonestown, and, of course, the \u201cdrink the Kool…<\/p>\n