Liberty Exposed: The Lefts Playbook 'Rules For Radicals'
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The conservatives and liberals in America play by two completely different strategies. Conservatives are often accused of making terrible strategic mistakes. The left, on the other hand, is, in many ways, much better at mobilizing and sticking to its tactical playbook. Their pattern of behavior is much more clear, but this did not come from nowhere but instead can be attributed to a single man.
Saul David Alinsky was an American community activist and political theorist. In 1971, he wrote Rules for Radicals, which has become the standard playbook for the practice of pushing the fanatic left-wing platform. It is no secret that the left uses the principles and tactics described in the book; however, very little is discussed about the specific rules that this book teaches and how they are implemented.
Opening Dedication
To start, one of the strangest aspects of this particular book comes from its very first pages. Where the author writes a tribute and dedicates his work to the “first rebel and radical known to man,"
“Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins—or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom—Lucifer.”
Alinsky, Saul. Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
This should be mentioned because it encapsulates the attitude and desire of the left to destroy our institutions. To dedicate the opening pages of your book to the devil seems almost comically villainess, but this should be mentioned because it encapsulates the attitude and desire of the left to destroy our institutions and sets the predicate for the consequences of this rule.
Rules
Most of these are used in tandem with each other, but the rules outlined are as follows:
Power is not only what you have but also what the enemy thinks you have.
Never go outside the expertise of your people.
Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.
Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.
Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. There is no defense. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also, it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.
A good tactic is one 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 constant pressure on the opposition.
If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its opposite.
The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.
Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.
After reading this list, it is not hard to think of examples where the left has implemented these tactics to either paint the narrative around an issue or against their opposition. A couple of these rules are not quite as apparent as the left uses consistently, however, all of which are important in order to build the narrative against conservatives.
Examples
Republicans should be particularly aware of this strategy. "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.” This is the famous tactic they use by verbally attacking conservatives with an endless number of labels: racist, sexist, homophobic, white national, and bigoted, which means that you constantly having to defend yourself against accusations, and a team that is always playing defensively can never be offensive. There are countless articles labeling conservatives with any number of insulting labels in order to discredit them.
The rule “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." This strategy is what makes people and even companies that are normal, not political, fall in line with the left-wing agenda.
The term cancel culture has become popular vocabulary. The fear of retaliation from the left is what makes companies and people believe that they must issue statements or apologize for rational things, or else the mob will descend upon them to ruin their careers and livelihoods.
Another example of the rules is to “push a negative hard and deep enough that it will break through." This falls behind how the left handles constructing the narrative of major news, from COVID-19 to the Hunter Biden laptop story. For years, Democrats and mainstream news outlets pushed the narrative about the effects of COVID and the effectiveness of masks and vaccines.
We know today that the majority of these claims were completely fabricated. With Hunter Biden's laptop, it was pushed as Russian disinformation so much that, when the truth was revealed, most Americans discredited it.
Even though conservatives are well warned of the strategies and tactics of the left, we still fall victim to them time and time again. If we know what they want and what they are going to do, then why would we play their game?
One of the most important ways that you can win in politics is through the number and effectiveness of the activists and leaders on the respective sides. In terms of their ability to mobilize, this proves that the left is much better at this subjectively than the right, and using these practices to make conservatives consistently fight backwards is a testament to their effectiveness.
The question can then be asked: If these “rules for radicals” are so effective, then why not implement them ourselves? This is a question we need to ask. One of the major strengths of conservatism is also one of its weaknesses.
There are many things that are effective in a political game that are not done because they either break our principles, are immoral, or are rude. Ultimately, this is the uphill battle that conservatives have to face. Conservatives should never compromise this; their souls for what cost?
Conclusion
Being familiar with the strategies left means that we can know what their actions and responses will be before anything even happens. Knowledge is power. When you are aware of the rules, it is very easy to recognize the patterns that the left follows.
Painting the narrative of major news stories, labeling conservatives with names, and threatening with backlash if you deviate from the leftwing narrative are all ways where Rules for Radicals shaped the activities of the left.
Use this knowledge to your advantage in order to understand your enemy.