Make-believe world of 'Total Financial Freedom' in the name of MLM

Shyam

I have recently encountered some very concerned young people from a European consumer association. They talked about (what they called) the growing-problem of 'commercial religions' and they described long-term adherents as 'behaving like gambling addicts.' These people couldn't understand why, when numerous demonstrably-fake 'direct selling' companies (copying 'Amway' ) have all been peddling essentially the same demonstrably-fake 'Business Opportunity,' democratic governments failed to identify 'Multilevel Marketing' as an insidious means of shielding pyramid fraud, and warned the public against it.

The damaging effects of 'Multilevel Marketing' only first began to come to light in Europe about 30 years ago. At that time, belief in 'Amway' was spreading like a cancer in Europe. Almost 100 000 'Amway' proselytizers were being claimed in the UK, and a similar number in France. Indeed, the situation in India today, is very similar to that in Europe back in the 1980s. Fortunately, even when approached by their friends and relatives, the majority of people can smell straight away that 'Multilevel Marketing' is far too good to be true. However, there remains a vulnerable minority who, for whatever reason(s), need to believe in the Utopian myth of 'Total Financial Freedom.'

David Brear (copyright 2010)