"Rules For Radicals; A pragmatic primer for realistic radicals"
Published in 1971 by Saul D. Alinsky (1909-1972)
RULE 1: "Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks
you have." Power is derived from 2 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: "Never go outside the expertise of your 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, go outside the expertise of the enemy."
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, send 30,000 letters. You
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? They want to create anger and fear.)
RULE 6: "A good tactic is one your 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 that 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
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." Keep trying new things
to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one
approach, 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 you push a negative hard enough, it will push through
and become a positive." Violence from the other side can win the
public to your 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." Never let the enemy score points because you're
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." Cut off the support network and isolate the target from
sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster
than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct,
personalized criticism and ridicule works.)
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