cargo cult: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
low_frequency_but_importantacademic, intellectual, metaphorical, formal writing, critical discourse
Quick answer
What does “cargo cult” mean?
A literal term for the religious movements that arose in Melanesia, where isolated indigenous peoples, having witnessed Western military cargo deliveries during WWII, believed that by imitating the rituals and behaviors of foreigners (like building airstrips and control towers from bamboo), they could summon the return of material wealth.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A literal term for the religious movements that arose in Melanesia, where isolated indigenous peoples, having witnessed Western military cargo deliveries during WWII, believed that by imitating the rituals and behaviors of foreigners (like building airstrips and control towers from bamboo), they could summon the return of material wealth.
A powerful metaphor describing any situation where people adopt the superficial forms, rituals, or jargon of a successful process, without understanding its underlying substance or purpose, in the mistaken belief that the imitation alone will produce the same successful results.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or use. The concept is equally recognized in both linguistic spheres.
Connotations
Identical in connotation: strongly critical of empty mimicry.
Frequency
Similar frequency in analogous contexts (e.g., technology, business, science). Slightly more common in American tech/business writing, given Silicon Valley's culture.
Grammar
How to Use “cargo cult” in a Sentence
[Noun] is a cargo cult of [original]The team engaged in cargo cult [activity, e.g., planning]to practice cargo cult [noun]to avoid cargo cult thinkingVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “cargo cult” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The department is simply cargo-culting the procedures from head office.
- They cargo-culted the entire innovation framework.
American English
- Stop cargo-culting that code from Stack Overflow.
- The startup cargo-culted Silicon Valley's playbook.
adverb
British English
- The team worked cargo-cultishly, following the checklist without question.
American English
- They implemented the system cargo-cultishly, replicating its flaws.
adjective
British English
- It was a cargo-cult approach to project management.
- He dismissed the policy as cargo-cult compliance.
American English
- We need to move beyond cargo-cult Agile.
- The meeting had a cargo-cult quality to it.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Critiquing companies that copy the 'Agile' or 'OKR' frameworks of successful firms without understanding the cultural principles behind them.
Academic
Describing research that slavishly follows methodological procedures without genuine scientific inquiry, as in Feynman's famous critique.
Everyday
Rarely used. Might describe someone buying expensive kitchen gadgets hoping to become a chef without learning to cook.
Technical
Common in software development to describe programmers who copy-and-paste code or use frameworks without understanding how they work.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “cargo cult”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “cargo cult”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “cargo cult”
- Using it to describe any kind of cult. It specifically implies imitation aimed at obtaining a material or successful outcome.
- Misspelling as 'cargo-cult' (hyphenated form is less common in noun use, but acceptable in adjectival use like 'cargo-cult thinking').
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
When used as a direct anthropological term for historical practices, it is a standard, if somewhat dated, academic term. When used as a metaphor, it is generally detached from its origins but some consider its metaphorical use flippant or culturally insensitive, as it compares complex socio-religious phenomena to foolish behavior. Careful writers may choose alternatives like 'superficial imitation'.
The physicist Richard Feynman popularized it in the modern critical sense with his 1974 Caltech commencement address titled 'Cargo Cult Science,' where he applied it to pseudoscientific practices.
Yes, commonly in hyphenated form: 'cargo-cult programming', 'cargo-cult mentality'. It can also be used verbally (e.g., 'to cargo-cult').
A 'placebo effect' is a real, often beneficial, psychological or physiological response to a belief in a treatment. A 'cargo cult' is a purely imitative behavior that produces no real result because it misunderstands the causal mechanism. The cargo cult ritual does not cause the planes to come.
A literal term for the religious movements that arose in Melanesia, where isolated indigenous peoples, having witnessed Western military cargo deliveries during WWII, believed that by imitating the rituals and behaviors of foreigners (like building airstrips and control towers from bamboo), they could summon the return of material wealth.
Cargo cult is usually academic, intellectual, metaphorical, formal writing, critical discourse in register.
Cargo cult: in British English it is pronounced /ˈkɑː.ɡəʊ ˌkʌlt/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈkɑːr.ɡoʊ ˌkʌlt/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Cargo Cult Science (coined by Richard Feynman)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of islanders building a wooden 'radio' to call for planes with cargo. The FORM (the radio) is there, but the SUBSTANCE (the technology) is missing. It's all show, no go.
Conceptual Metaphor
IMITATION IS A RITUAL TO SUMMON SUCCESS (where the ritual is mistaken for the cause).
Practice
Quiz
In which field did the term 'cargo cult' originate as a descriptive anthropological term?