Straight From the Radical's Mouth

From Gordonskene at Crooks and Liars:

The name Saul Alinsky rings few or no bells with most people these days, aside from near constant references by the likes of Gingrich and Beck to paint him as the personification of evil. As a figure in the social movements going back to the 1930's he was well known as probably one of the cornerstone figures in community organizing, whose ideas became the foundation for much of the 60's social movements in civil rights and protest to the Vietnam War. Affiliated with no political organizations and not having much use for mainstream political leaders, Alinsky sought to give power to people who had no power. He once said that Machiavelli's book The Prince was written as a blueprint for the Haves to hold on to power, while Alinsky wrote Rules For Radicals as a blueprint for the Have-nots on how to take it away.

At the time of this interview, in February 1970 for Harper's Magazine and their weekly radio program At Issue, Alinsky is interviewed on the occasion of the reissue of his 1946 book Reveille For Radicals and discusses where the radical movement has gone and where it's going.

So now you know when someone asks you who Saul Alinsky is.

That's why we're here.

I highly recommend the deeply misrepresented Alinsky classic Rules for Radicals. If nothing else, it will teach you that making fundamental change is hard, tedious, time-consuming, discouraging, long-term work and not for the faint of heart.