Cults use a variety of strategies to instill extreme change in members’ attitudes and behaviours, without members’ voluntary approval.
Cults use a variety of strategies to instill extreme change in members' attitudes and behaviours, without members' voluntary approval. These "thought reform" strategies have been studied and documented by clinical psychologist Margaret Thaler Singer and psychiatrist Robert Lifton. They have each identified a series of conditions and strategies for thought reform — most of which are used in the ideology of social justice.
Not everyone who believes in the ideas of the social justice movement are under the control of these thought reform strategies. But you can tell those who have been indoctrinated into the cult by the way they respond to unfamiliar arguments — they yell insults, they shut down the conversation, they ignore your points, and they create nonsensical, circular arguments. These people are under the spell of the cult.
Conversely, there are other people on the left, even self-proclaimed "social justice warriors" who do not act in this way — they're willing to debate their perspective. They might concede a point, or adjust their position, or even change their mind when presented with new evidence or arguments. And even where you completely disagree, it's not hard to follow their line of reasoning. The people in this second group have come to hold their ideas voluntarily, through thoughtful analysis.
Comment: Cults, brainwashing, and mind control in America See also: The difference between justice and social justice, and why the search for social justice continues to erode our freedoms