cargo cult

• Terme désignant initialement des pratiques religieuses apparues dans les sociétés mélanésiennes après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, où les autochtones imitaient le comportement des forces militaires coloniales dans l'espoir d'obtenir des biens matériels. Dans l'usage moderne, il décrit tout groupe qui imite les procédures superficielles d'un système qui réussit sans en comprendre les principes sous-jacents, souvent employé dans les contextes économique et technologique.

A term originally referring to religious practices that emerged in Melanesian societies after World War II, where indigenous people imitated the behavior of colonial military forces in hopes of receiving material goods. In modern usage, it describes any group that imitates the superficial procedures of a successful system without understanding the underlying principles, often used in business and technology contexts.

1. Religious or social movementC1formal

   A belief system or practice, especially among some indigenous peoples in the Pacific, that involves rituals to attract material wealth (cargo) from Western societies, often based on misinterpretation of colonial encounters.

   culte du cargo

   • The cargo cult emerged in Melanesia after World War II.
   • Anthropologists studied the rituals of the cargo cult.
   • The islanders built imitation airstrips as part of their cargo cult practices.

2. Metaphorical usageC2informal

   A term used to describe any group or practice that imitates the superficial aspects of a successful system without understanding its underlying principles, often in business or technology.

   culte du cargo

   • The startup's approach was a cargo cult, copying features without understanding the market.
   • Some software teams engage in cargo cult programming, following methodologies blindly.
   • His management style was a cargo cult, mimicking successful leaders without the core values.