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'''Saul David Alinsky''' (January 30, 1909 - June 12, 1972) was a liberal community organizer in Chicago who developed a method of local organizing that was widely copied by Democrats, and influenced [[Barack Obama]] and [[Hillary Clinton]]. He is credited with coining the term "community organizer."  His most well-known accomplishment was the book ''Rules for Radicals''.  He wanted reform inside the system by pressuring government officials to take into account the needs and wants of neighborhood residents.

'''Saul David Alinsky''' (January 30, 1909 - June 12, 1972) was a liberal community organizer in Chicago who developed a method of local organizing that was widely copied by Democrats, and influenced [[Barack Obama]] and [[Hillary Clinton]]. He is credited with coining the term "community organizer."  His most well-known accomplishment was the book ''Rules for Radicals''.  He wanted reform inside the system by pressuring government officials to take into account the needs and wants of neighborhood residents.

He was opposed by far-left radicals who wanted to destroy [[capitalism]] and who feared that Alinsky was strengthening it by resolving the issues most important to the poor, and was nicknamed "The Red" for his radicalism -- his book was dedicated tongue-in-cheek to Lucifer, the first radical. <ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&PageId=76170 Guess who recommended Obama to enter Harvard] [[WND|Worldnetdaily]], September 24, 2008</ref>

He was opposed by far-left radicals who wanted to destroy [[capitalism]] and who feared that Alinsky was strengthening it by resolving the issues most important to the poor, and was nicknamed "The Red" for his radicalism -- his book was dedicated tongue-in-cheek to Lucifer, the first radical.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&PageId=76170 Guess who recommended Obama to enter Harvard] [[WND|Worldnetdaily]], September 24, 2008</ref>

Alinsky's approach to community organizing stressed "self interest as the generating reality of life." This view arose from his experiences in the [[Congress of Industrial Organizations]] (CIO) as an organizer in the style of labor union leaders [[Samuel Gompers]] and [[John L. Lewis]]. Alinsky produced notable results like the Back of the Yard and the Woodlawn organizations in Chicago. Alinsky and his Industrial Areas Foundation utilized confrontational tactics and dramatic protests to help members gain bargaining status and a larger share of the local pie. He disavowed with increasing vigor any national issue strategy or ideological outlook. The weakness of his emphasis on the organizer as a tactician only and the granting of control to those organized was that racist goals could be chosen by the membership as a whole.<ref> Alan S. Miller, "Saul Alinsky: America's Radical Reactionary." ''Radical America'' 1987 21(1): 11-18. 0033-7617 </ref>  

Alinsky's approach to community organizing stressed "self interest as the generating reality of life." This view arose from his experiences in the [[Congress of Industrial Organizations]] (CIO) as an organizer in the style of labor union leaders [[Samuel Gompers]] and [[John L. Lewis]]. Alinsky produced notable results like the Back of the Yard and the Woodlawn organizations in Chicago. Alinsky and his Industrial Areas Foundation utilized confrontational tactics and dramatic protests to help members gain bargaining status and a larger share of the local pie. He disavowed with increasing vigor any national issue strategy or ideological outlook. The weakness of his emphasis on the organizer as a tactician only and the granting of control to those organized was that racist goals could be chosen by the membership as a whole.<ref> Alan S. Miller, "Saul Alinsky: America's Radical Reactionary." ''Radical America'' 1987 21(1): 11-18. 0033-7617 </ref>  

==Early Life==

==Early Life==

Alinsky was born on January 30, 1909 in Chicago, Illinois, to Russian-Jewish<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404700151.html Saul David Alinsky]</ref> parents Benjamin and Sarah Tannenbaum Alinsky.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tKxOpAh78IsC&pg=PA12 American Social Leaders and Activists]</ref>

Alinsky was born on January 30, 1909 in Chicago, Illinois, to Russian-Jewish<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404700151.html Saul David Alinsky]</ref> parents Benjamin and Sarah Tannenbaum Alinsky.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tKxOpAh78IsC&pg=PA12 American Social Leaders and Activists]</ref>  While living in Chicago, he attended Marshall High School.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=sWzWAAAAMAAJ Let Them Call Me Rebel: Saul Alinsky, His Life and Legacy], p. 551</ref>  His parents divorced when he was thirteen.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=AC9c8DbURckC&pg=PT220 The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame]</ref>

He attended the [[University of Chicago]], where he received a doctorate in archaeology.  In addition, he was awarded a fellowship in sociology, which he never completed.  

After moving to California with his Father and graduating from Hollywood High School,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=NN5GAAAAMAAJ American Social Leaders], p. 12</ref> he attended the [[University of Chicago]], where he received a doctorate in archaeology.  In addition, he was awarded a fellowship in sociology which he never completed.  

==Community Organizer==

==Community Organizer==

Through a process combining hope and resentment, the organizer tries to create a “mass army” that brings in as many recruits as possible from local organizations, churches, services groups, labor unions, corner gangs, and individuals.

Through a process combining hope and resentment, the organizer tries to create a “mass army” that brings in as many recruits as possible from local organizations, churches, services groups, labor unions, corner gangs, and individuals.

Alinsky provides a collection of thirteen rules<ref>page 127</ref> to guide the process. But he emphasizes these rules must be translated into real-life tactics that are fluid and responsive to the situation at hand.<ref name=playbook>[https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/293203/still-alinsky-playbook Still the Alinsky Playbook], [[National Review]]</ref>

Alinsky provides a collection of thirteen rules<ref>Rules for Radicals, page 127</ref> to guide the process. But he emphasizes these rules must be translated into real-life tactics that are fluid and responsive to the situation at hand.<ref name=playbook>[https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/293203/still-alinsky-playbook Still the Alinsky Playbook], [[National Review]]</ref>

[[File:Rules for Radicals.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Rules for Radicals]]

[[File:Rules for Radicals.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Rules for Radicals]]

* Rule 1: ''Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.'' If your organization is small, hide your numbers in the dark and raise a din that will make everyone think you have many more people than you do.

* Rule 1: ''Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.'' If your organization is small, hide your numbers in the dark and raise a din that will make everyone think you have many more people than you do.

==Quotes==

==Quotes==

* "Power goes to two poles: to those who've got money and those who've got people."<ref>[Rules for Radicals, page 127.  See footnote]</ref>

* "Power goes to two poles: to those who've got money and those who've got people."<ref>Rules for Radicals, page 127.  See footnote</ref>

* "We must believe that it is the darkness before the dawn of a beautiful new world; we will see it when we believe it."<ref>[Rules for Radicals, page 196.]</ref>

* "We must believe that it is the darkness before the dawn of a beautiful new world; we will see it when we believe it."<ref>Rules for Radicals, page 196</ref>

* "The greatest enemy of individual freedom is the individual himself."<ref>[Rules for Radicals, Prologue, page xxiv.]</ref>

* "The greatest enemy of individual freedom is the individual himself."<ref>Rules for Radicals, Prologue, page xxiv</ref>

==See also==

==See also==