Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“Rules for Radicals, published in 1971, was intended as a tactical guide for organizers to challenge adversaries and entrenched power structures. Aimed initially at the disenfranchised, educated elites and their children picked up the manual and ran with it. Its tactics include psychological warfare, relentless pressure, and turning adversaries’ strengths against them through dissembling and distortion. For decades, the American Left adopted Alinsky’s playbook with zeal …. the American Left beat Alinsky’s rules to death. And this led to a spectacular backfire in 2024. … The ultimate irony? The Right co-opted Alinsky, using his rules against the Left. Figures like Donald Trump employed ridicule, personalization, and constant pressure to portray progressives as radicals, turning the playbook against them. The Right even started to think of themselves as both victors and victims. But just as the Right figured out how to do it, it flamed out.” (12/15/25)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/rules-for-radicals-is-worn-out