Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

A final dimension of the kind of leader DeVos would be is indicated by the very nature of Amway, aka Quixtar. Amway seeks to project itself as a company where hard work and the right attitude can turn you into a wealthy Amway super distributor. Those who fail to succeed are made to think that they failed due to their own "negative" attitudes. If they would just get the right spirit, believe in themselves, believe in the product, read `positive' books, listen to more motivational tapes and lectures, etc., then they might succeed.  The Amway system actually has relatively few successes.

Many people lose money, buying Amway products, attending motivational rallies, buying motivational tapes and books and looking for the elusive breakthrough that always seems to be around the corner. Like the addicted gambler, that cannot see that success is just not in the cards.

Several former mid-level distributors have written books describing the intense levels of control and have described the Amway system as cultic. A number of countercult groups that help victims of destructive cults have criticized the level of control Amway seek to exert as they drive people into exhaustive schedules and daily indoctrination. In The Cult of Free Enterprise, Stephen Butterfield described late night visits for home and wallet inspections to see if Amway products were being used throughout his house. As a former mid level distributor he watched as families transformed themselves under Amway's influence. "The Directs I met, when they reached a certain level in the business, withdrew their children from public schools and sent them into `Christian' schools where they could be taught a fundamentalist version of history and science," wrote Butterfield.

Where DeVos Is Going

DeVos has not stated what he will do if elected. The only specific issue he has raised in his campaign is elimination of the Single Business Tax, which undoubtedly helps Amway. Voters can only conclude where he stands based his history, funding patterns and affiliations. For those who know his history and his affiliations, a reasonable prediction can be made on some issues:

Bellant says the record shows that DeVos would, among other things, attack public education on multiple fronts including such privatization schemes as w pushing for more charter schools and vouchers; subsidizeing private schools with state resources; and try to force public schools to teach religious themes such as creationism.

DeVos extreme views and far right involvements over many years have received scant public attention. But there is still time for people to learn about these things.