the good thing about the marketing driven consumerist west is that what has historically been black-magic,  gets eyeballs, and metamorphoses into things like NLP(tm) or RPM ,and eventually feed back into the mainstream in a positive avatar (Tony). 

instead of the altars of Jesus or Krishna, we have the altar of personal-development and productivity and personal wealth towards which people direct their devotion and energy. Eventually, science is brought to bear upon fads, and their verdict becomes part of human collective knowledge. I find this to be extremely democratic.

this also covers deep cog-sci research that easily become atomic habits, psychology insights that become i'm-ok-you're-ok or rock-paper-scissors(kopp),  and esoteric practices that easily become Transcendental Meditation , or , TM(tm)

all cults are false, some cults are useful. cults are co-operation-systems at best, and domination-systems at worst (remember, sheep are eaten once they stop giving wool). 

cults care about spirituality as much as a parent cares about a barbie doll or a GI Joe figure ( nothing, as long as the child doesn't want it)

i foresee the end of the last desert cult will be via a pop culture fad that creates alternates to everything that it offers, soon rendering it unappealing to the modern mind,  appealing only to the closed/damaged/deranged/off-center minds, and hence takes its place in the tapestry as another high-delta , off-centre accumulation of weirdos that lend the centre definition.

human economic systems comprise of agents driven by need. currently, it is driven by humans kept on the bottom rung of the maslow pyramid. without these, the engines of capitalism come to a stop. we hope AI can bring changes to this, however, i am not certain that mankind's utility-sorters and resource-shifters (howard bloom) can envision a planet which doesn't need misery, or one in which mankind's count is small and stable