Alinsky Quotes

A list to add to.

From the great teachers of Judaeo-Christian morality and the philosophers, to the economists, and to the wise observers of the politics of many, there has always been universal agreement on the part that self-interest plays as a prime moving force in man's behavior. The importance of self-interest has never been challenged; it has been accepted as an inevitable fact of life.--Page 53 RULES FOR RADICALS

A society devoid of compromise is totalitarian. If I had to define a free and open society in one word, the word would be "compromise". ---Page 59 RULES FOR RADICALS

An organizer must become sensitive to everything that is happening around him. He is always learning, and every incident teaches him something. He notices that when a bus has only a few empty seats, the crowd trying to get on will push and shove; if there are many empty seats the crowd will be courteous and considerate; and he muses that in a world of opportunities for all there would be a change in human behavior for the good.
----Page 78 RULES FOR RADICALS

(The community organizer) must have an unreserved confidence in one's ability to do what he believes must be done. And organizer must accept, without fear or worry, that the odds are always against him." -----

Page 78 of RULES FOR RADICALS