Saul Alinsky most likely was not a good person. He praised Lucifer in his seminal work Rules for Radicals.
Still, the iconic leftist’s brand of revolutionary activism continues to influence even though he died nearly 50 years ago. Although many are aware of Alinsky’s ideas, few understand their true effect.
Alinsky’s family fled Russia during the far-left insurgency that would ultimately become the Bolshevik revolution. While Alinsky’s father may not have participated in revolutionary activities, the spirit animating the violent, far-left radicalism in his homeland of Russia would emerge in his son.
Aided by a sympathetic leftist establishment and media, Alinsky aggressively fomented leftist revolution but rebranded it as “community organizing.” One of his key tactics was to deliberately stoke resentment, presumably including racial resentment, to further the cause. This tactic included using black and Hispanic Americans as pawns, inculcating an identity of victimization among them to be used as a tool to attack and transform American institutions. Doing so, that is, without regard to whether the actual underlying problems facing those vulnerable communities were even addressed in the first place.
Another tactic, taken directly from rule 13 in Rules for Radicals, was labeling those who disagree with leftist ideology as hateful bigots standing in the way of progress, instead of treating them as fellow Americans who just happen to see things differently; a tactic which would help usher in the polarized politics we see today. A third was the use of flat-out lies without remorse — not a surprise for one who venerates Lucifer, the very father of lies.
Finally, the use of threats against one’s opponent’s livelihood in order to scare adversaries into submission proved effective and would be a precursor to today’s cancel culture. Specifically, consider 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.
And rule 13, “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. These two rules alone provide a perfect description of the formula which has been used to cancel countless honorable men and women who dared to challenge leftist ideology. A testament to the success of Alinskyism is that organizations from the National Education Association to the military to Fortune 500 corporations have all adopted some permutation of these core components of Alinskyism, even if they’re not fully aware that these ideas came from Alinsky.
The most recent example would be critical race theory. The impact on our nation of Alinsky institutionalizing these tactics cannot be understated. But sadly thus far, even though there have been sporadic victories at times, such ruthlessness has proven to be a terribly tough opponent for the American people. So the question that will define the future is, can a new generation of Americans stand up and go toe-to-toe with the Alinskyist leftist revolutionary zeal which defines so much of how our country operates today?
Can our people balance maintaining Christian love and mercy with the toughness and guts to step up to the enemy and defeat him? I believe the answer is yes, for with God, all things are possible.
Ben Carson is the founder and chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute and the former 17th secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
