[rndn]

I think a cargo cult also has something to do with signaling, sort of like a status symbol ("They can't really be Y if they are not X!" -> "Look at us how X we are!"). It's a self-reinforcing meme that is used as a heuristic for value estimation, but usually fails catastrophically because of its heuristic and self-reinforcing nature.

[debacle]

I think that's more a result of the kind of person that adopts a cargo cult mentality.

[rndn]

What do you mean exactly? I mean that the status symbol aspect of a cargo cult is a crucial part of its self-reinforcement mechanism.