Self-Help Scams
» Self-Help
Michael Shermer writes:
Surrounding SHAM is a bulletproof shield: if your life does not get better, it is your fault—your thoughts were not positive enough. The solution? More of the same self-help—or at least the same message repackaged into new products. Consider the multiple permutations of John Gray’s Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus—Mars and Venus Together Forever, Mars and Venus in the Bedroom, The Mars and Venus Diet and Exercise Solution—not to mention the Mars and Venus board game, Broadway play and Club Med getaway
The Self-Help and Actualization Movement has become an $8.5-billion-a-year business. Does it work?