Customer Reviews

Amway: The Cult of Free Enterprise

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Steve was a very successful Amway person, making about 80K per year on it. Knowing what kind of person he was, I held aloof in disbelief as he tried to drag me into the cult. That is part of the Amway method, to drag the friends and relatives in. He played the game up to the hilt, but stopped short of total success. Later he redeemed himself by publishing this book. You should know that the book was used in evidence in a case against Amway. Steve was a witness. Steve's intent was to show clearly how "ye cannot serve both God and Mammon." He does state that he was never willing to give up his immortal soul. According to him, the cult takes over your entire life and you cannot hold any values that are not directed to making money for them (and yourself). I know this because he was my brother. For you, Steve, now that you cannot speak for yourself.

I noticed that a bunch of Amway-ers and MLMers jumped on board real quick-like to rate this book with one star. A friend of ours gave up everything he had, including his college education, family, and friends, to do Amway. Now this young man is disillusioned and penniless, and NOT because he didn't put in tremendous effort. Amway will say it is your own fault if you don't make it.

Their products aren't that whoopy either; just average. Give this book a read and make up your own mind... and by the way, not all of us "right wing Fundamental Christians" buy into this MLM garbage. Most of us most certainly do not.

I read this book when it first came out. It was in a local library and I devoured it cover-to-cover. The sociological observations were striking.

Several years later something reminded me of it. I looked for a copy online.

I checked eBay and found a copy for sale. I bid on it, and immediately got a "friendly warning" from an Amway person saying, "you don't want that book, it's full of lies." Then they outbid me, so I couldn't get the book.

Obviously, if it's that important for Amway to keep it out of circulation, it's full of good information. So, if you can find it, buy it.

Amway claims it gives people the opportunity to "own their own business" and find "financial freedom". Butterfield claims it merely offers them the chance to play businessman while losing money. Amway claims it is a positive influence on people. Butterfield claims it is a destructive organization, a vicious cult. Who is right? Hint: the name starts with a "B", not an "A". If you want to know why, read this book.

First, Butterfield shows, very well, why Amway's economic model is doomed to fail, and its promises of "financial freedom" are totally bogus. This is discussed extensively on the internet, and I shall not repeat the reasons here (just search "Amway AND bad" on google, for example.) Suffice to say that the VAST majority (over 99%) of Amway representatives never make a dime, and instead LOSE lots of money in buying stuff they don't need to impress (and enrich) the tiny minority of "heavy-hitting" distributers in the very top that make money off the lower-level suckers.

So why does anybody join--and why do so many stay even when they should realize they have been duped? Here is where Butterfields' book gets really insteresting. His main claim is that Amway is, literally, a cult. Cults manage to destroy their memebers while retaining their unconditional support. How do cults do this? And how does Amway do it? Butterfield proves that, yes, it is a cult, and it uses the usual cult techniques to get new memebers and retain old ones.

This seems absurd on its face. When most people think of cults, they think of bizzare beliefs or extreme antisocial behavior, like Jehovah's Witnesses, Heaven's Gate, or The People's Temple. How can Amway be a cult when its memebers believe no such things and behave normally? But the essential sign of a cult is not bizzare beliefs themselves, but two other issues: DECEPTION and THOUGHT CONTROL. Cults recruit people by decieving them by giving them a rosy, "tourist" story about the cult's goals, and convincing them they can reach these desires quickly and easily inside the cult; they only tell them the "dark side" when the prospect is already "hooked". Once hooked, a cult will do its best to isolate you from anybody that has a negative opinion of the cult. You shall have no other gods beside the cult.

Butterfield shows that Amway has both of these characteristics in spades. Deception is the most obvious: for example, you are NEVER invited to an Amway meeting. You are always approached to "look at a new business opportunity"; if you ask if it is Amway, nine times out of ten the representative will lie and say that it isn't. You are never told the actual amount of money the average distributor makes in this "amazing business opportunity" ([$] a month--BEFORE expenses), how many hours a week it really requires (more like 50-60 than the claimed 10-15), what percentage actually become millionaires (less than 500 in the entire history of Amway, that is, about 1 in 15,000--when about 3% of the American population in general are millionaires) or anything else that is "negative". This is only reveled, if at all, piece by piece, after the distributor is "hooked" and will no longer consider leaving.

The second is mind control. Butterfiled shows how this happens in great detail. You will be encouraged to "flush" your friends and family if they do not support Amway (that is, not join); they are "losers". You must never discuss anything "negative" (not involving Amway in a pleasant way)--so don't watch TV, use the internet, or do anything else except Amway; only read "positive" material, such as motivational material conveniently put out by Amway higher-ups. And, above all, "trust your upline"--those who sponsored you into Amway. Never mind he is the mechanic on the other street who joined a week before you did. You must "edify" him, considered him all-knowing and succesful, and do anything he says--because he "loves" you. Pretty soon, your only source of information is your "upline" and motivational materials peddled by them, and anybody else, your mother included, are ignored--which is precisely the point of cultic thought control.

If you ever thought of joining Amway, you will be cured of the idea after reading this book--thank God. If there is anything faulty about this book, it is that Butterfield often confuses the medium and the message. He is just as annoyed at WHAT Amway is telling its sheep to believe (essentially, right-of-center political and religious views) as in the WAY it is done (thought control). But this is missing the point. First, the opinions themselves are not necessarily bad (although Amway does have its share of openly racist, homophobic "leaders".) Just because Butterfield doesn't agree with it doesn't make it evil, and Amway would be just as bad if it brainwashed people to believe in socialism and muticulturalism, which Butterfield supports, or for that matter, that 2+2=4. It is the extremism and cultism that are the problem.

Overall, a fascinating, excellent book--only be a bit wary of the author's own bias. However, contrary to what some wrote, his bias does NOT invalidate his conclusions about Amway's cultic nature.

A chilling and necessary read if you are thinking of joining Amway, or recovering from your Amway experience. The same old deceptions of where the Diamond's income really comes from and the need for controlling peoples lives and thoughts to get their money still exist 13 years after this book was orginally published.

I have not had a chance yet to read this book--I just came across it--but I can tell you, from what I have read so far, it is true. I joined Amway in college. I'm a natural salesperson, and it was easy for me to make money selling the products to a captive audience of desperate dormmates. I sold the products out of the the trunk of my car. It was easy and fun, and I was making about $100 a week on it. My upline was flipping out. I was an unrepenting atheist, a very liberal Democrat, a flagrant feminist, and I refused to recruit new sales people. I just wanted to make extra money while I was in school. The more money I made, the more upset they became. When I refused to buy their right-wing political and religious nonsense, they became incensed. Finally, I was told to either shape up or they would refuse to fill my orders. I quit. They flipped out again. I finally got away from them by going home between semesters. The wing-nuts finally gave up. Stay away from them. They are controlling cultists who can't take NO for answer.

I was never sucked into Amway itself,but i did do network marketing for a short period of time.I lost a great deal of money,and suffered in emotional terms as well.Steve Butterfield's book on Amway from the mid80s still rings true after all these years.Some of the emphasis would have to be different today,since we have already seen the rise of the Internet and suffered the catastrophic burst of the tech bubble.Butterfield hits all of the major points,and he does it well.Anyone with any self-respect is going to suffer many indignities in the world of MLM : the endless,stupid meetings;the endless conversations with uplines,the lies,the deceptions,the rosy scenarios whcih never work out like they supposed to; the lost income,and the throwing of good money in after bad.Butterfield discusses the difficulty of prospecting friends and relatives,the frustration and expense caused by no-shows,and utter dependence that a new distributor has on his direct upline pin.Butterfield also discuss the endless pressure to buy worthless,unprofessional motivational and sales tapes.To be fair,many other MLMs have limited their number of meetings and many of the newer ones drop-ship directly to customers and allow all distributors to deals directly with home office.However,the basic truth of MLM is that the success of the few depends upon the fails of the many.That has not changed.MLM means "more lost money", and one should be careful before jumping on this income reducing merry-go-round.

Okay, the hand-drawn cover of this book was a turn-off. I wasn't looking for an amateurish and hysterical "debunking" of the Amway mindset. But two pages' reading convinced me this book was an even-handed, insightful and balanced picture of the true story of Amway.

Having almost been sucked in myself years ago, I was able, with Butterfield's help, to "autopsy" my own Amway experience, seeing clearly once and for all the formulaic and even cult-like approach sponsors use to lure novices.

My only issue with this book came about two pages before the end when -- out of the blue -- Butterfield inserted a seemingly-random gripe about Palestinians tormented "under zionist [sic -- HIS lowercase, not mine] occupation," a comment out of place in a book of this type, and surely in bad taste in light of ... terrorist events in the middle-east and the U.S.

That aside, this book is enlightening, a treat to read and a must for anyone who's ever been burnt (or singed) by a pyramid scheme of this type (or knows someone who has!).

Classic expose of an mlm business. Amway undoubted has some good things, and many "nice folks" do Amway. However, the business model is impossible. I read once that only one-third of one percent of all amway distributors make any real money.
The vast majority lose money. The same could be said for any other mlm. I realize that Amway defenders come out in droves to attack a book like this: so, to critics of this book, have YOU made more money than you've spent in Amway? Has anyone in your meeting, other than the bigshot who runs the meeting? Be honest...

Butterfield just tells the plain truth and facts about Quixtar(Amway). A true insiders perspective exploiting their little white lies and misinformation. It clearly depicts the antithesis of what an Amway/Quixtar recruits tell you to lure you to this cult. Butterfield plainly shows if you join you will certainly lose not only your MONEY but your TIME, FRIENDS, and FREEDOM to think clearly. If you are considering Quixtar (Amway) or have lost a relative or friends, this book is a must read! Butterfield step by step shows you why Quixtar and Amway are nothing short of a terrible destructive cult.

"If you have a dream the facts just don't matter" Butterfield just tells the facts.