Critical MLM Studies: an introduction to the field and its fault lines

As the future of work becomes increasingly precarious, self-employment is promoted as both remedy and risk. Multilevel marketing (MLM) is a controversial form of so-called self-employment that is marketed as a pathway to financial freedom, flexibility, and personal growth. Behind these promises lies a business model built on contradiction; participants invest money, time, and relationships, often discovering that losses in all of these are common. Advocates celebrate MLM as entrepreneurial empowerment, while critical scholarship has been comparatively scarce or marginalised. This chapter introduces the field of Critical MLM Studies, positioning MLM as both an object of study and a site of contestation. It brings together multidisciplinary perspectives to interrogate MLM strategies, impacts, and implications for work, regulation, and justice. By foregrounding participant experiences, examining the systemic distribution of risk and reward, and tracing the entanglements of ideology, regulation, and organisational strategy, we argue that Critical MLM Studies offers a framework for understanding MLM as a global industry and an under-examined phenomenon.