Mainstream veganism is an MLM built upon the cult of personality: there, I said it.
(no, this isn’t an excuse to not go vegan)
In September 2020 I wrote an article entitled Animal rights shit:” is activism over? This was in response to a mainstream celebri-vegan flippantly referring to online content dedicated to the liberation of other animals as “animal rights shit” as they pushed to attract more donations and funding from the broader vegan community. In the article I dissected how exploitative the mainstream vegan movement is of volunteer labour and resources, with influencers relying upon communal funding and events management to build their own platforms and associated fame.
Since then, things have become far worse than even I could have anticipated. I’m not going to write an entire history of the shitshow that has been the past few months; suffice to say the situation has not improved and yes, this article will reference the ongoing situation with James Aspey. No, I’ll not apologise for that.
The cult of personality is a political phenomenon through which an individual is promoted via mass media and media saturation, spectacle and the demands of patriotism. The public perception of the individual is manipulated to create a worshipful image of someone who is charismatic, strong, a real leader without whom the transition to a better future cannot occur. They are the revolution embodied. Loyalty to the nation becomes synonymous with loyalty to the individual leader. Dissent is betrayal, and is discouraged by threats of ostracism from the community. And media that is critical of the leader is dismissed as fake news. The leader can alter the script at any time, using the sheer force of their personality to convince people that they have or have not said or done certain things.
This same phenomenon has been replicated via the extensive use of social media to entrench influencers as the leaders of social justice movements such as the vegan movement. A saturation of content is created which is carefully curated to only show the influencer in the best (preferably filtered) light possible. Grandiose claims are made regarding the extent of the influencer’s impact on the world and the positive effects they have made, such as being solely responsible for turning significant numbers of people vegan. Spectacle is manufactured through activism events (such as slaughterhouse vigils) that the influencer attends but has no role in actually organising. Simplistic slogans are forcefully stated to give the impression of strength and authority; slogans are an integral part of the neoliberal project, rendering complex and nuanced issues little more than a caps locked four word statement that can wield a surprising amount of power over the broader community. Criticism shows disloyalty to the influencer, and is labeled divisive to the movement over which the influencer seeks to exert control.
The language of oppression is appropriated as well, and flipped to push a narrative against critics that they are in fact speciesist and therefore oppressive themselves. They are fake vegans, and pose an obstruction to the realisation of justice for other animals. The equation is set: if you are not supporting the influencer you are directly harming other animals. If you do not agree with the influencer, you are not a vegan. If you entertain any other talking points, as Zoledziowski did in the VICE article referenced in the accompanying screenshot, you are a fake vegan and fake news.
It is not enough simply to block and ban the thousands of dissenting voices; the influencer has to guarantee that the validity of dissenting criticisms is effectively undermined. Thus, critics are branded losers, haters, and are described as acting out of mere jealousy and not out of concerns for other animals or the integrity of the movement:
Success can only occur by following the example the influencer is setting. To do otherwise is to risk being a loser. Most of us would be familiar with this language from our years in school, where to be called a loser by the popular kids meant ostracism and often direct bullying. And in more recent years, we have born witness to another populist leader who delighted in calling media outlets fake news, and labelling his critics losers. Remember who? Hint: he is fond of a fake tan and is quite popular amongst white supremacists.
Simply put, shouting “fake news!” or decrying dissenters as fake vegans is all part of the process necessary to entrench a cult of personality propped up by the modern addiction to social media and social media influencers.
This brings us to multi-level marketing (MLMs). MLMs rely on a top-down hierarchical structure where a small number of individuals promote a product that is sold by non-salaried representatives with outrageous and unfounded claims about the product made as a selling point. These reps are told that with hard work and investment they too can make money or achieve goals just like the people at the top. How life at the top is presented is carefully curated, with beach selfies and over-emojied online posts talking about being a “boss babe” or “living your best life.” These promises are grandiose, and the narrative traps people into thinking the only reason they aren’t “making bank” is because they aren’t “doing the most.” And people are prepared to sink a lot of cash into these schemes, thinking there will be some tangible benefit on the other side. The negative outcomes have been well documented in a number of articles and documentaries. My focus here is how this language and structure is being replicated within the mainstream vegan movement.
First came the requests for donations. Nobody knew what the money was for, just that it was going to be unfathomably HUGE. In other posts Aspey claimed the money donated would change the animal liberation movement entirely. He wouldn’t define what those donations would go towards, his followers were expected to act on blind faith. Promises of how big this plan was going to be were repeated ad nauseum. High pressure sales tactics rely upon high volume content and claims of urgency to convince as many people as possible to buy right now. Flood the market with advertising (online content), make grandiose claims as to the scale of the plan and its potential outcomes (the product), and emphasise that there’s limited time; we’ve all met sales representatives like this.
And when challenged over where the money is going, deny deny deny. You must have misunderstood, I never said that. You’re twisting my words.
If the cult of personality has been successfully crafted, followers will believe (or make themselves believe) anything the influencer tells them, even if what they are saying can be proven untrue. Even if the follower themselves is struggling at their average nine to five whilst the influencer is posting videos and photos poolside at resorts around the world. Accommodation or travel costs may be sponsored by silent “business associates,” however there are still costs involved in traipsing around the world that you have to pay for yourself. So long as the influencer can continue selling the line that they’re working, that they’re not on holiday but doing “business,” that they will eventually reveal all, it doesn’t matter where the money has gone. Brand trust is an all important tool manufactured within the sales world; it is also invaluable to social media influencers.
It is important to note here that MLM schemes aren’t illegal, and people are not forced to sink their resources into them. But MLMs are largely regarded as unethical, targeting individuals with promises that are rarely if ever kept. The same stands for donating to influencers; if they ask for donations no one is obligated to send cash. But people can be coerced, and an understanding of the strategies that are employed by influencers and sale representatives (deliberately or otherwise) is important to see just how dangerous coercion truly can be. These comments from someone who donated show that those with less will often be the ones who give the most, and are all too often taken advantage of. This person’s comments were met by other people with derision, and with the statement “no one forced you to donate”.
I could go on. This is by no means meant as an exhaustive article listing every single thing Aspey has done or said to warrant criticism. The purpose of this article is to show the alarming similarities between the tactics used to entrench the cult of personality and those who spruik MLMs, and the mainstream vegan movement.
If you have been considering veganism but are watching the shenanigans with trepidation, please do not let this dissuade you from the inherent justness of veganism. The good news is that there are multiple dialogues underway as we speak that are trying to find new ways forward, pathways that don’t necessitate the exploitation of other animals or of human communities.
And we all of us should be mindful that as intense as the current circumstance may feel, this is not an issue isolated to veganism but is rather a reflection of broader social issues relating to cults of personalities, social media, and exploitative consumer markets. We can work together to create new communities and develop new theories; just because mainstream veganism may be the most visible doesn’t mean it is the most effective at creating change. All too often it has been proven the opposite.
UPDATE 6/2/2021: Isn’t it amazing what changes can occur in 24 hours. Aspey has confirmed that he has sunk “his” life savings into Energy Web crypto currency. A synopsis of this video: he’s going to get rich, you can get rich too, the “big players” in the scheme are big impressed, huge impressed, with him and everything about him. The scheme will change the world. Time is of the essence: remember, urgency is a key part of any salesman’s pitch.
People are being encouraged to sink funds into the scheme (which will drive up previous investor’s share prices). To find out the how’s and why’s, followers have been encouraged by a business associate to send Aspey $25 via PayPal for all the details. We should note here that PayPal transactions are not subject to taxation laws in Australia and as such are not regarded as taxable income.
Again please note, this is not illegal and no one is accusing Aspey of engaging in illegal practices. But people are questioning the ethics of his current practices, and they are right to do so. We can do better as a movement than models of “activism” based on MLMs and the cult of personality, and we must.
A final word: this will be the last piece I publish specifically regarding Aspey and his cohort of mainstream vegans. Instead I shall be focusing on investigating ways forward and forging new theories, new networks, and creating new communities with others. Mainstream vegans may occasionally be referenced within these pieces: they will not be the primary focus however. These people are not worth my word count.
*all screenshots are of comments made on public platforms*
