The Rules of Power Tactics
on
February 23, 2006
The Rules of Power Tactics
I've just finished reading "Rules for Radicals" by Saul Alinsky. These tactics seem to be as applicable today as they were in 1971, when he published the work.
Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have
Never go outside the experience of your people
Wherever possible, go outside the experience of the enemy
Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules
Ridicule is man's most potent weapon
A good tactic is one that your people enjoy
A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag
Keep the pressure on
The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself
The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition
If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside
The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative
Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it
Saul also wrote something that points directly to the power of Reeds Law (the edge tool-EventFinder that we deploy enables this exact type of activity):
"The Los Angeles Times carried a front-page story on the proxy tactic. Soon we were deluged with mail, including sackfuls of proxies to different corporations. One letter read, "I have $10,000 to invest. What kind of stock should I buy? What kind of proxies do you need? Should I buy Dow Chemical?" But the two most important letters provided the accident that pointed to the next step. "Enclosed please find my proxies. I wonder whether you have heard from anyone else in my suburb? If you have, I would appreciate receiving their names and addresses so that I can call a housemeeting and organize a San Fernando Valley Chapter of Proxies for People." The second letter said "I'm all for it but I don't know why you should have the right to decide which corporations should be attacked-after all, they are our proxies and we would like to have something to say about it. Also, we don't know why you should go to the board meetings with our proxies-why can't we go with our proxies, of course all organized and knowing what we want, but we would like to go ourselves."
"The Los Angeles Times carried a front-page story on the proxy tactic. Soon we were deluged with mail, including sackfuls of proxies to different corporations. One letter read, "I have $10,000 to invest. What kind of stock should I buy? What kind of proxies do you need? Should I buy Dow Chemical?" But the two most important letters provided the accident that pointed to the next step. "Enclosed please find my proxies. I wonder whether you have heard from anyone else in my suburb? If you have, I would appreciate receiving their names and addresses so that I can call a housemeeting and organize a San Fernando Valley Chapter of Proxies for People." The second letter said "I'm all for it but I don't know why you should have the right to decide which corporations should be attacked-after all, they are our proxies and we would like to have something to say about it. Also, we don't know why you should go to the board meetings with our proxies-why can't we go with our proxies, of course all organized and knowing what we want, but we would like to go ourselves."
ashawley April 11, 2006
Ralph Nader recently reread and suggested this book for others to read to inspire new activism in the US. His along with your comments make it worth checking out.
leed25d March 1, 2006
Thought that you might be interested in this:
http://www.readthebill.org/
Given your politically disruptive bent. I didn't really know of another way to get this to you than by commenting inappropriatly on one of your blog entries.
What? Lee make an inappropriate comment? don't be silly!
