Colinxy: The Cargo Cult - When Ritual Replaces Reason

And why modern governments keep repeating a mistake once made with bamboo control towers

Every civilisation has its superstitions. Some carve them into stone. Some write them into legislation. And some, like the cargo cults of the Pacific, build them out of bamboo and hope the gods of logistics will deliver crates of American supplies.

The term “cargo cult” emerged after World War II. In the Pacific theatre, American forces built runways, depots, and radar stations. Aircraft arrived with food, tools, medicine, and equipment. To the islanders, this looked like magic: build the right structures, and the sky delivers abundance.

So, they copied what they saw.

They built imitation runways. They carved wooden “radios.” They erected bamboo control towers. They marched in formation with carved rifles.

Their logic was simple:

" If we build it, they will come.

It was wrong, but internally consistent. It was primitive, but recognisable. And it should make us uncomfortable, because the same mentality is alive and well in modern government.

Cargo Cult Thinking Didn’t Die — It Evolved

People laugh at the islanders. But they shouldn’t. Cargo cult thinking is not confined to remote villages. It thrives in Wellington. It thrives in council chambers. It thrives anywhere bureaucracy replaces evidence with ritual.

Modern cargo cults don’t use bamboo. They use policy documents. They use glossy consultation brochures. They use “strategic frameworks” and “vision statements.”

The form changes. The mentality doesn’t.

The Modern Cargo Cult: Government Edition

You can spot cargo‑cult governance by one telltale sign: A refusal to provide cost–benefit analysis, terms of reference, or measurable outcomes.

When officials cannot explain:

• what the project will achieve,
• how success will be measured,
• what the costs are,
• or why the project is needed…

…you are not dealing with planning. You are dealing with ritual.

The project exists because someone believes that building the thing will magically produce the desired outcome.

Just like the islanders believed the bamboo tower would summon aircraft.

My Cycleway Example: Cargo Cult Logic in Action

I once queried a council official about a proposed cycleway — a project with no demand, no modelling, and no justification. His response was astonishing:

" If we build it, cyclists will come.

That is not planning. That is not analysis. That is not governance.

That is cargo‑cult thinking.

When I pointed out that this was literally the definition of a cargo cult, he looked embarrassed, but not enough to stop the project. Public money was spent. The cycleway was built.

And the cyclists never came.

The bamboo tower stood. The sky remained empty.

Vanity Projects, Boondoggles, and Bureaucratic Mythology

Cargo‑cult thinking explains almost every modern boondoggle:

• cycleways nobody uses
• “innovation hubs” that produce no innovation
• cultural centres with no measurable outcomes
• climate plans with no costings
• “wellbeing frameworks” that cannot be evaluated
• committees that exist only to exist

These projects are not designed to solve problems. They are designed to look like problem‑solving.

They are ritualistic. They are symbolic. They are performative.

They are cargo cults with spreadsheets.

Why Bureaucracies Love Cargo Cults

Cargo cults flourish in government because they offer:

• political signalling (“We’re doing something!”)
• bureaucratic expansion (new committees, new staff, new budgets)
• ideological comfort (the project aligns with the narrative)
• immunity from accountability (no measurable outcomes means no measurable failure)

Cargo cults are safe. Evidence is dangerous.

Cargo cults are easy. Analysis is hard.

Cargo cults are politically fashionable. Cost–benefit analysis is politically inconvenient.

The Real Danger: Cargo Cults Become Policy

When ritual replaces reason, failure becomes inevitable — but invisible. Bureaucracies simply declare success, regardless of outcomes. They publish glossy reports. They hold launch events. They produce “case studies” that read like marketing copy.

Meanwhile:

• the cycleway is empty,
• the innovation hub is silent,
• the cultural centre is unused,
• the wellbeing framework measures nothing,
• and the public pays the bill.

Cargo cults don’t just waste money. They erode trust. They replace governance with theatre. They turn democracy into performance art.

Conclusion: Cargo Cults Are Not Primitive — They Are Universal

The islanders built bamboo towers because they misunderstood cause and effect. Modern governments build policy towers for the same reason.

The materials have changed. The superstition has not.

Whenever you hear a public official say:

• “If we build it, they will come,”
• “The benefits are intangible,”
• “The outcomes are emergent,”
• “The value is in the journey,”
• “We don’t need a cost–benefit analysis,”

…you are not hearing governance. You are hearing a cargo cult.

And the sky will remain empty.

Cargo cults aren’t primitive; they’re universal. Whenever government builds something because it believes the outcome will magically appear, you’re not looking at planning. You’re looking at bamboo control towers with better branding.....The full article is published HERE

Colinxy regularly blogs at No Minister