Rules for Radicals

"I recently browsed through the book and remembered that Alinsky said ‘The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the have-nots on how to take it away.’ Let me give you an anecdote which stuck with me – an example of being creative and entrepreneurial in terms of influencing opinion makers and getting things done, because that is really what it boils down to. Alinsky was in Rochester, New York and he was concerned that Eastman Kodak was not hiring Afro-Americans. He knew that the wives of the corporate executives at Eastman Kodak loved having a symphony orchestra as a benefit every year. This was one of the most important events, the social event in Rochester. So what he did was he bought up a lot of these concert tickets for underprivileged and indigent people, for blacks. Then he met with the wives, the corporate ladies, and advised them who would be coming and that he was going to give them prunes before they entered the concert hall. He pointed out that if one eats prunes, very often one ends up emitting a certain odor and certain noises, which might disrupt the concert. The ladies were concerned about this happening and so they lobbied their husbands to engage in affirmative action. I thought that was a fascinating story. Lobbying or influencing may be lot more sophisticated if you go to De Tocqueville and talk about interest group behavior. It can be a lot more subtle and more sophisticated. But you have to be creative, and that’s what I found: as a Machiavelli in a different era Alinsky had a perfect understanding of how to get from here to there. I’m not sure. I think Alinsky says that at times the appropriate ends determine the appropriate means. Take, for example, Daniel Ellsberg’s decision to leak the top secret Pentagon Papers to the press to try to stop the Vietnam War. What is more intriguing to me is how one can creatively use one’s resources. I am a peculiar lobbyist because I don’t make campaign contributions. I sit at Brookings, I teach at Georgetown. I have never been in a situation, hopefully, where I have done unethical things, but again, it’s another window into the human character. You have to decide what you can live with. Even though it may be counterproductive in the long-term, whenever I visit with a member of Congress I talk about the arguments for my position, and then I talk to them about the arguments against my position. Then I give them the phone numbers and addresses of people who oppose me. Maybe it is Machiavellian, maybe it is an Alinsky approach, that by doing this you end up creating an environment where you do have more influence. But in The Lobbyists — which I just reread parts of – even when you have people who disagree with me, they respect me. I have credibility. I don’t think most corporate lobbyists…well perhaps that’s unfair. He’s not common reading at Georgetown Public Policy Institute where I taught last year. When did I run into Alinsky? I read Rules for Radicals when I was an undergraduate, and it struck me. I was at Swarthmore College from 67-72, so I read it then, and then it came to my attention again with the election of President Obama. Which is another reason why it should be an important book to those who take this profession seriously. Because if policymakers read it, we lobbyists need to read it, it can’t be all about philosophy. There’s practical wisdom there. I would suggest reading The Prince because Stalin read it and I would suggest reading Rules for Radicals, because the two most significant figures in Democratic politics have read it."