In April 1967, a high school history teacher in Palo Alto, California, faced a difficult question from his students:

“How could the German people claim they didn’t know about the Holocaust?”

Ron Jones didn’t have a good answer. So he decided to show them.

What started as a simple classroom demonstration became a terrifying social experiment.

In just five days, Jones created a fascist movement so powerful that students were willing to betray their friends, enforce strict rules, and commit acts of violence—all in the name of the group.

He called it The Third Wave.

Day 1: Discipline

Monday. Jones’s Contemporary World History class at Cubberley High School.

Jones started with a simple exercise in discipline:

“Everyone, sit up straight. Feet flat on the floor. Hands behind your back.”

The students complied, amused.

“When you speak, you must stand beside your desk. Address me as ‘Mr. Jones’ or ‘Sir.’”

They practiced. Over and over. Students entering the room, taking their seats, sitting at attention.

Jones explained: “Discipline brings power. Power brings success.”

The students loved it. The slouching, unfocused class became crisp and efficient.

Class participation tripled.

Jones was surprised. What had started as a one-day lesson was working too well.

Day 2: Community

Tuesday. Jones decided to continue.

He introduced The Third Wave salute: a cupped hand moving in a wave motion, representing strength through discipline.

Students had to salute each other in the hallways.

He created a motto: “Strength through Discipline. Strength through Community.”

Jones emphasized belonging:

  • “You are part of something special.”
  • “You are no longer just students—you are members of The Third Wave.”

Students started saluting each other outside of class. In the hallways. In the cafeteria.

Membership grew from 30 students to over 200.

Day 3: Action

Wednesday. The movement intensified.

Jones added a third principle: “Strength through Action.”

He gave students specific tasks:

  • Design a Third Wave banner
  • Recruit new members
  • Report students who weren’t following the rules

Students became enforcers.

Third Wave members began policing each other:

  • Correcting posture
  • Enforcing the salute
  • Reporting “traitors”

Jones created membership cards. Some cards had a red “X”—these students were designated as informants, tasked with reporting anyone who criticized The Third Wave.

Students turned on their friends.

Three students who refused to participate were ostracized. One was bullied so severely he stopped coming to school.

Day 4: Pride

Thursday. The movement had grown beyond Jones’s control.

He introduced: “Strength through Pride.”

Students had made banners, armbands, and membership cards. They marched in formation. They drilled in perfect unison.

Over 200 students were now members. Athletes, popular kids, outcasts—everyone wanted to belong.

Jones decided he had to end it, but he needed a dramatic conclusion.

He announced: “The Third Wave is not just a classroom experiment. It’s a nationwide movement. Tomorrow, the national leader will announce the formation of a Third Wave Youth Program on TV.”

Students were ecstatic. They had been part of something bigger all along.

Day 5: The Reveal

Friday. The auditorium was packed with over 200 students.

They sat in perfect attention, waiting for the televised announcement.

Jones turned on the TV.

Static.

There was no national leader. There was no movement.

Jones turned to face the students:

“There is no Third Wave Youth Program. You have been manipulated. You have been used.”

He showed them footage from Nazi Germany—rallies, salutes, crowds chanting in unison.

“This is what you’ve become. In just five days.”

The room fell silent.

Students wept.

Some were ashamed. Some were angry—at Jones, at themselves. Some refused to believe it.

Jones explained:

  • You thought you couldn’t be Nazis. But you followed blindly.
  • You thought you were special. But you were just following orders.
  • You thought you were part of something great. But you ostracized those who dissented.

In five days, ordinary American high school students had recreated the mechanisms of fascism.

What the Third Wave Revealed

1. The Seduction of Belonging

Humans crave belonging. The Third Wave offered:

  • Purpose
  • Identity
  • Community
  • Status

Students who were previously disengaged became zealots.

2. Discipline Becomes Authoritarianism

What started as “sit up straight” became rigid enforcement of arbitrary rules.

Discipline isn’t inherently bad—but unchecked, it becomes oppression.

3. In-Group vs. Out-Group

Within days, members saw non-members as enemies.

The three students who refused to participate were bullied, ostracized, and threatened.

Tribalism is fast and brutal.

4. Ordinary People Enforce Tyranny

Jones didn’t force anyone. Students voluntarily:

  • Reported their peers
  • Enforced rules
  • Punished dissent

Fascism doesn’t require monsters. It requires ordinary people who want to belong.

5. The Big Lie Works

Students believed there was a national movement because Jones told them so.

People believe what they want to believe, especially when it makes them feel important.

The Ethical Controversy

Jones’s experiment was never approved. There was no oversight. Students weren’t debriefed properly.

Some students were traumatized:

  • Those who bought in felt manipulated and ashamed
  • Those who resisted were bullied
  • Everyone was left questioning their own morality

Could this experiment be conducted today? Absolutely not.

But the lesson remains.

In the Real World

The Third Wave mirrors historical and modern movements:

Nazi Germany

The experiment was designed to answer “How could Germans fall for Hitler?”

The answer: Easily. Just like American high schoolers in 1967.

Cults

Jim Jones (no relation), Heaven’s Gate, NXIVM—all used the same mechanisms:

  • Belonging and identity
  • Discipline and ritual
  • In-group loyalty
  • Charismatic leadership

Political Movements

Modern populism, extremism, and radicalization use Third Wave tactics:

  • “We are special.”
  • “They are the enemy.”
  • “Strength through unity.”

Corporate Cultures

Tech startups with cult-like devotion:

  • “We’re changing the world.”
  • “We’re disrupting everything.”
  • “If you’re not all-in, you’re against us.”

In Tech and Software

The Third Wave dynamics appear constantly in technology:

Startup Culture

“We’re Not Just a Company—We’re a Movement”

CEO: "We're changing the world. You're either with us or against us."
Employees work 80-hour weeks, believing they're part of something revolutionary
Dissent is crushed: "You're not a culture fit."

Discipline → Community → Action → Pride → Burnout

Tech Tribalism

“Emacs vs. Vim. React vs. Angular. Tabs vs. Spaces.”

Developers form tribes around tools
Mock and dismiss the "other side"
Nuance disappears
Identity becomes tied to the tech stack

Open Source Movements

“The One True Way”

Project leaders create strict rules and rituals
Contributors become zealots
Dissent is labeled "toxic"
Community becomes cult-like

Agile/Scrum Cultism

“Agile Is the Only Way”

Teams adopt Scrum like a religion
Question the process? You're not a "team player"
Rituals (standups, retros, planning) become sacred
Original principles forgotten, dogma remains

Cryptocurrency and NFT Hype

“HODL, Diamond Hands, To the Moon”

Community forms around a coin
Members recruit aggressively ("Have fun staying poor")
Doubt is crushed ("FUD")
Critics are enemies
Groupthink leads to financial ruin

AI Hype Cycles

“AGI Is Inevitable”

True believers vs. skeptics
Dissent is dismissed as "not understanding"
Tribalism around AI models (OpenAI vs. Google vs. Anthropic)

Warning Signs You’re in a Third Wave

1. Unquestioned Leadership

If criticism of leadership is taboo, you’re in a Third Wave.

2. Us vs. Them

If outsiders are dismissed as “not getting it,” you’re in a Third Wave.

3. Rituals and Symbols

If your team has special salutes, phrases, or symbols that create in-group identity, be cautious.

4. Enforcers

If members police each other’s behavior and report dissent, you’re in a Third Wave.

5. The Big Promise

If you’re told you’re part of something world-changing and special, question it.

6. Dissent = Betrayal

If questioning the group is seen as disloyalty, you’re in a Third Wave.

How to Resist the Third Wave

1. Question Authority

Just because leadership says it doesn’t make it true.

  • “Why are we doing this?”
  • “What evidence supports this?”
  • “What happens if I disagree?”

2. Protect Dissenters

Dissent is healthy. If your organization punishes it, you’re on a dangerous path.

3. Avoid Tribal Symbols

Be wary of:

  • Exclusive language (“Googlers,” “Amazonians”)
  • Special salutes or gestures
  • Rigid dress codes or symbols

4. Check Your In-Group Bias

Ask:

  • “Am I dismissing criticism because it comes from outside the group?”
  • “Am I defending this because I’m part of it?”

5. Remember It’s Just a Job/Project/Tool

Your company, your tech stack, your methodology—it’s not your identity.

6. Walk Away if Necessary

If you’re in a Third Wave culture, sometimes the only ethical choice is to leave.

What Ron Jones Learned

Jones later reflected:

“I was terrified. I had created something I couldn’t control.”

He realized:

  • The students weren’t evil—they were human
  • Fascism isn’t about ideology—it’s about belonging
  • He, too, had been seduced by the power

Jones became part of his own experiment.

He enjoyed the control, the obedience, the success. He almost didn’t want to stop.

Even the person running the Third Wave got caught in the Third Wave.

The Uncomfortable Truth

You want to believe you wouldn’t fall for it.

But you already have.

Every time you:

  • Defended your company’s culture without question
  • Dismissed criticism as “not understanding”
  • Enforced unwritten rules to fit in
  • Ostracized someone for not being “culture fit”

You were participating in a Third Wave.

The Question

Ron Jones asked his students:

“How could Germans claim they didn’t know?”

After five days, the answer was clear:

They didn’t know because they didn’t want to know. They were too busy belonging.

Key Takeaways

  • ✅ Fascism can emerge anywhere, given the right conditions
  • ✅ Belonging is a powerful motivator that can override morality
  • ✅ Discipline and structure can quickly become authoritarian
  • ✅ Ordinary people enforce tyranny when they feel part of a group
  • ✅ Tribalism creates in-groups and punishes out-groups
  • ✅ Dissent is essential to prevent dangerous groupthink

It took five days to turn a classroom into a fascist movement.

In your workplace, your community, your team—how long would it take?

The Third Wave isn’t history. It’s human nature.

Watch for it. Question it. Resist it.

Because the next Third Wave might have you saluting.