Tag Archives: Rules for Radicals

I have never been so happy to see the back of a book as I am to be done with Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” (R4R). Saul Alinsky is a dreadful, dreadful writer: self-indulgent, juvenile, shifty, and cute. (As just … Continue reading →

Chapter 9 of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” (R4R) is about “The Way Ahead”. It is the last chapter in the book, and consists largely of the airy, generalized leftism of the first several chapters — along with incitement to … Continue reading →

Chapter 8 of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” (R4R) is entitled “The Genesis of Tactic Proxy”. Alinsky presents it as a case study of the way that tactics are developed in response to events, and not according to a preconceived … Continue reading →

Today we return to Chapter 7 of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” (R4R), which discusses “Tactics”. There’s a lot to cover here, so let’s dive right in, and begin with a discussion of the 13 explicit rules that Alinsky cites.

Chapter 7 of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” (R4R) discusses “Tactics”. This is this big one: It contains most of the actual “rules”, and outlines Alinsky’s thoughts on trouble-making. It also gives us perhaps Alinsky’s most-quoted line (“Pick the target, … Continue reading →

Chapter 6 of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” (R4R) is entitled “In the Beginning”. It discusses how an organizer begins to work: how he gets people to listen to him, and how he creates his organization.

Chapter 5 of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” (R4R) is about “Communication”. It marks a welcome turn away from airy generalities and towards practicable specifics. This chapter’s thesis is that communication is the essence of organizing, and that the experience … Continue reading →

Chapter 4 of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” (R4R) is about “The Education of an Organizer”. It’s largely devoted to a discussion of the qualities that Alinsky thinks essential to the personality of a good organizer, and to some of … Continue reading →

Chapter 3 of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” (R4R) is “A Word About Words”. It’s an odd duck of a chapter. I like its central message. On the other hand, it’s another chapter remarkable for its lack of practical insights, … Continue reading →

Chapter 2 of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” (R4R) is “Of Means and Ends”. It is disingenuous, it contains little practical advice, and it misunderstands the saying that “the end justifies the means”. But it’s what’s in front of us, … Continue reading →