Saul Alinsky


 



"
Ridicule is man"s most potent weapon."
 


 

 

 

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Rules
For
Radicals
Rules for Radicals

In 1971, Saul Alinsky wrote a text on grassroots organizing titled "Rules for Radicals" (Prologue).  Those who prefer cooperative tactics describe the book as out-of-date.  Nevertheless, it provides some of the best advice on confrontational tactics.  Alinsky begins this way:

What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be.  The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power.  Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away.

His "rules" derive from many successful campaigns where he helped poor people fighting power and privilege

For Alinsky, organizing is the process of highlighting what is wrong and convincing people they can actually do something about it.  The two are linked.  If people feel they don't have the power to change a bad situation, they stop thinking about it.

According to Alinsky, the organizer -- especially a paid organizer from outside -- must first overcome suspicion and establish credibility.  Next the organizer must begin the task of agitating: rubbing resentments, fanning hostilities, and searching out controversy.  This is necessary to get people to participate.  An organizer has to attack apathy and disturb the prevailing patterns of complacent community life where people have simply come to accept a bad situation.  Alinsky would say, "The first step in community organization is community disorganization."

Through a process combining hope and resentment, the organizer tries to create a "mass army" that brings in as many recruits as possible from local organizations, churches, services groups, labor unions, corner gangs, and individuals.

Alinsky provides a collection of rules to guide the process.  But he emphasizes these rules must be translated into real-life tactics that are fluid and responsive to the situation at hand.

RULE 1: "Power is not only what I have, but what the enemy thinks I have."  Power is derived from two main sources -- money and people.   "Have-Nots" must build power from flesh and blood.

(These are two things of which there is a plentiful supply.  Government and corporations always have a difficult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost exclusively with economic arguments.)

RULE 2: "I never go outside the expertise of 'my people'."  It results in confusion, fear and retreat.  Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone.
 
(Organizations under attack wonder why radicals don't address the "real" issues.  This is why.  They avoid things with which they have no knowledge.)

RULE 3: "Whenever possible, I go outside the expertise of the enemy."  I look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.

(This happens all the time.  Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)

RULE 4: "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules."  If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, I send 30,000 letters.  I can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules.

(This is a serious rule.  The besieged entity's very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)

RULE 5: "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon."  There is no defense.  It's irrational.  It's infuriating.  It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.

(Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh?  He wants to create anger and fear.)

RULE 6: "A good tactic is one 'my people' enjoy."  They'll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more.  They're doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones.

(Radical activists, in this sense, are no different than any other human being.  We all avoid "un-fun" activities, and but we revel at and enjoy the ones that work and bring results.)

RULE 7: "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag."  Don't let it become old news.
 
(Even radical activists get bored.  So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics.)

RULE 8: "Keep the pressure on. Never let up."  I keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance.  As the opposition masters one approach, I hit them from the flank with something new.

(Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.)

RULE 9: "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself."  Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist.
 
(Perception is reality.  Large organizations always prepare a worst-case scenario, something that may be furthest from the activists' minds.  The upshot is that the organization will expend enormous time and energy, creating in its own collective mind the direst of conclusions.  The possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in demoralization.)

RULE 10: "If I push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive."  Violence from the other side can win the public to my side because the public sympathizes with the underdog.

(Unions used this tactic.  Peaceful [albeit loud] demonstrations during the heyday of unions in the early to mid-20th Century incurred management's wrath, often in the form of violence that eventually brought public sympathy to their side.)

RULE 11: "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative."  I never let the enemy score points because I'd be caught without a solution to the problem.

(Old saw: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.  Activist organizations have an agenda, and their strategy is to hold a place at the table, to be given a forum to wield their power.  So, they have to have a compromise solution.)

RULE 12: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it."  I cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy.  I go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.

(This is cruel, but very effective.  Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)

According to Alinsky, the main job of the organizer is to bait an opponent into reacting.  "The enemy properly goaded and guided in his reaction will be your major strength."

Thanks Kelly . . .

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