They held their hand via Facebook: the woman of the college selling nutritional shakes, the woman of the school selling jewelry, that of the summer camp selling handbags, the one I had met during a baby shower selling skin care. These companies, they said, would allow them to work at home around their commitments as mothers and, they said, would earn so much money that they could soon “withdraw their husbands”.
The final sale argument has always been the same: it could be available to me too, if only I scored them to do the same.
In other words, they were all marketing companies on several levels (MLM). And these women who defined a large part of my online experience were the reason why I wanted to read “Small bosses everywhere: How the Pyramid scheme has shaped America. »»
In the book, Bridget ReadA writer of feature films at the New York Magazine, tells how this phenomenon has been intimately linked to the history of America itself in the past 80 years. I rushed to read it, by looking for answers on the reasons why the MLM had become so omnipresent and followers to sell women the idea that they could both be the boss of the ultimate girl and the household -in -house – an idea that I had felt as an underestimation in my reports on last year’s elections.
I knew that I was not alone to see these connections. In his book, Read goes so far as to describe Project 2025 as a sound “like a marketing on several levels”.
I spoke with Read of the Lonnet between the central ideology of MLM and contemporary politics.
This conversation has been modified for more clarity and length.
Jennifer Gerson: Your book really searches in the history of the way MLM and American politics is closely linked. Now we are six months in the second Trump administration-what type of post-scriptum would you like to add today according to what we have seen so far?
Bridget Read: The Baron Robber class is back, but they have managed to rename this concentration of power as freedom: that the benefits they are able to do with the least possible surveillance will have somehow affects the rest of us to make us more free to take care of ourselves, our families, to make our own decisions. And that couldn’t be further away from the truth.
But they now have this purchase of so many Americans, which we have seen when (President Donald) Trump was re -elected. In a several level marketing company, all people exploited by it somehow think that they will have the capacity to also exploit people below them. It is a chain of people who are subordinates, but who participate because of the promise they can be raised on their own pyramid under them.
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Read then:
In the book, you are talking about how Trump, from birth, was simply completely imbued with the language and culture of MLM. Now that he is back to power, how do you see that iterer?
Trump really embodies the problem of the MLM, which is that of a company that does not work as it says. This hangs an opportunity in front of people and tells participants that they will make an income, will earn their lives, will change their situation thanks to a method that does not really work. He hangs this scale and then pulls it at the same time.
Donald Trump has done it since the first day. He told people that he is a rich and rich guy – and if you want to be like me, here is the way of doing it. I think Trump is the last president of the MLM.
You write about how this MLM ideology has become in the foreground for Trump during COVID and the way the pandemic has pushed many people further into this state of mind. How did you see it continuing to evolve during this last electoral cycle and how people thought of politics and identity?
The MLM from the start is land that tries to encourage people to think that you become a business owner. People are attracted to MLM because of this idea that they will ultimately leave workers’ class, whether they work in retail or 9 to 5, and that they can leave this SLOG and really become a member of the property class and transform their class status.
MLM has also always reached the tradition of positive thinking, to avoid expertise, to avoid intellectualism and science, trying to push people in the idea that they are joining not only to this commercial opportunity, but are French-headers of health or scientific and self-owners.
The pandemic provoking this economic disturbance has really given so much more people in this kind of thought. It was good to protect yourself by saying: “I know more than scientists. I know more than (former director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infection Diseases Anthony). they will save me.
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Read then:
How do you think women specifically received this message during this electoral cycle? What parallels have you seen between the Trump campaign and the Maga movement in general and the foundation of the MLM and which targets and how?
I think we saw it very directly in the elections with Trump’s call through Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Maha (Make the supporters of America again), who are mainly women who, for a very good reason, feel skeptical towards the institutions supposed to take care of them.
So many MLM women I have encountered have had health problems and they could not get adequate health care. So, instead of taking this energy and this thought, “how can we restructure these systems to all our advantages?” Mlm and the forces around Trump this tour really concentrated all this DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) energy to demolish everything.
I think that is why you have a huge amount of voters who turned out to say, “Let me not vaccinate my children.” “Let me not pasteurize my milk.” “I do not want to send my children to public school – give me money to send my child to religious school or to schools at home.”
These are the methods of privatization of everything. And I think women in particular were served at this idea that it would allow them to create this utopia, Ballerina farm-Seie life for themselves.
I asked you when we started talking about the book post-scriptable that you would like to be able to write today, knowing what would be the result of the 2024 elections. But now I want to ask if you have been able to continue to make reports for the book today given this current political landscape, where would you look?
I think Crypto has a huge overlap with MLM. I think that the crypto simply inherited the structure of the Ponzi scheme of MLM and, obviously, there is a huge amount of political influence there.
I mean, look at Trump (crypto) coin Himself-Do we need more evidence? The very idea that we are supposed to buy this medal and that it will grow simply by other people who buy the medal? Like, hello: the pagination of the literal definition of a pyramidal scheme.