(Unverified Report)
The country’s most ardent advocate for multi-level marketing, Dr. Lasdwun N. Luzes, has condemned a recently published slide presentation on YouTube by Robert FitzPatrick that identifies and defines multi-level marketing (MLM) as “the world’s largest and least examined cult movement.”
Dr. Lasdwun N. Luzes is a sought-after consultant to MLM companies and traders of crypto currencies. He is the author of the provocative booklet, In Defense of the Pyramid Scheme. His views and his biography are posted on the Federal Trade Commission website.
Dr. Luzes argues that the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) support and endorsement of MLM rule out the “cult” identity. “Real business cannot be a cult,” Dr. Luzes declared. “The Federal Trade Commission defines MLM as legitimate direct selling. Consumers should trust the FTC. Case closed!”
In particular, Dr. Luzes referred to the address given by the former Director of the Consumer Protection Bureau, Andrew Smith, to the Direct Selling Association, in which Mr. Smith stated:
“I was just asked immediately prior to this talk whether the FTC has changed its position on multilevel marketing, and the answer is an emphatic no. That multilevel marketing continues to be legal, that there’s nothing inherently unlawful about the direct selling model. I personally think that multilevel marketing can be superior in many ways to traditional retailing…”
“How could MLM be a “cult,” Dr. Luzes asked rhetorically, “when the Director of Consumer Protection said MLM is inherently lawful and is a legitimate sales model?” Further, Dr. Luzes stated that what FitzPatrick and others call MLM’s “coercive control” in MLM is highly successful sales and marketing.
Dr Luzes also reiterated his view that the 99% loss rate among MLM participants is consistent with the wealth and income disparity of the country at large, and that MLM’s “endless chain” income proposition perfectly mirrors the quest for the American Dream today.
