Organizing and Publicizing a Movement

Care to comment on "Organizing and Publicizing a Movement?" Let Us Know!

Atlas Shrugged, 1957, Ayn Rand —
“The most subversive political implication of ‘Atlas Shrugged’, is that individual freedom is possible only to those who are strong enough, psychologically and morally, to withdraw their sanction from any system that coercively thrives off their productive energies.”
(Sciabarra — “The Russian Radical”, pp. 301-302)

Grassroots Organizing - Building a Green Party Local So you're not into being green? So what? This pdf file is a good place to get a grip on what it takes to organize a movement locally.

How To Organize a Demonstration This article has some good ideas that may apply equally as well for promoting a fledgling political party.

EXTREME DEMOCRACY ~ The Book and Discussion Forum for Networked Activists I got a headache just clicking the link for this site, but I assume there might actually be something of value here. I could be wrong.

On distributed effort, the power of the people and the internet Today, political blogs on the internet are analogous to the underground papers of the 70s. They attract a particular audience, each their own niche. As such, they are able to effectively disseminate information to those who already agree with and know about them, but are unlikely to sway many new supporters.

“Don’t Mourn. Organize” - the last words of Joe Hill, as he was taken to his executioner: An American labour activist and songwriter, Hill was convicted of murder after a controversial trial (many say he was set up by local officials because of his workers’ rights activism). After his death, he became the subject of a famous folk song. This appears to be a pdf manual for "Hip Hop Activism." I didn't read it - just skimmed it. Seems like there might be some ideas in there. See also: Hip-Hop Activism: Will They Come to Vote?

Internet Fosters Local Political Movements by Ron Fournier: Frustrated by government and empowered by technology, Americans are filling needs and fighting causes through grass-roots organizations they built themselves — some sophisticated, others quaintly ad hoc. This is the era of people-driven politics. From a homemaker-turned-kingmaker in Pittsburgh to dog owners in New York to a "gym rat" here in southwest Florida, people are using the Internet to do what politicians can't — or won't — do. A small forum that will hopefully grow to be a unique well of ideas and information.

Forward Progress? The Fall and Rise of an American Political Movement: The work presented here outlines the historical background for the rise of the Right and the fall of the Left, describing the trend towards consumer politics and some of the new strategies being employed to respond to it. It lays out a comprehensive theory about why the Progressive movement has become so disempowered in recent years, and it offers an innovative new solution for increasing coordination and collaboration among Progressive agents.

Watch Out for the Echo-Boom: Why Politicians Had Better Start Paying Attention to the Millennial Generation 80 million teens and twenty-something's are ready to make their mark on American politics. Is the growing youth climate movement - now poised to explode off campuses and into the nation's capitol for Power Shift 2007, the first national youth climate summit - the vanguard of a new progressive, pro-environment youth political movement?

Dangerous Liaisons: Center-Left Governments & the Grassroots by Raúl Zibechi | December 7, 2004: Grassroots movements often become prisoners of their own success. This is the essential paradox and challenge of popular struggle. When movements develop the ability to mobilize large numbers of people and gain influence in the political arena, they create a new scenario that often turns against them. Too often, their success weakens and even divides social justice movements, thereby leading to a period of withdrawal and demobilization. Latin America has seen the rise of center-left governments, or governments that before assuming power embraced an anti-neoliberal program.

Galt Or Roark? An interesting blog discussion on whether or not the tactics employed by J. Galt (Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand) could be put to use regarding the IRS/Income Tax.

How the Arizona Tax Revolt will succeed where our elected officials have failed: It’s all about Grassroots activism. Together we are building the critical mass needed to change Arizona’s property tax system. All of us citizen patriots that are “Mad As Hell” at outrageous property tax increases and the flawed system that permits those increases can and will succeed! Let me share with you this excellent article by Alan Keyes that explains how Grassroots and the Arizona Tax Revolt works...

As a right-wing conservative LIBERTARIAN, the "Daily Kos" and their ilk really kind of bug me (when I pay attention to them), but they are masters at organizing & explaining how to be activists:

What are the basic building blocks of a successful social movement?

A discontented group of politicized persons who share the perception that they have common grievances they want society to address;

A powerful and lucid ideological vision linked to strategies and tactics that have some reasonable chance of success;

The recruitment of people into the movement through pre-existing social, political, and cultural networks;

A core group of trusted strategic leaders and local activists who effectively mobilize, organize, educate, and communicate with the politicized mass base;

The efficient mobilization of resources that are available, or can be developed, to assist the movement to meet its goals;

An institutional infrastructure integrating political coordination, research and policy think tanks, training centers, conferences, and alternative media.

Opportunities in the larger political and social scene that can be exploited by movement leaders and activists;

The skillful framing of ideas and slogans for multiple audiences such as leaders, members, potential recruits, policymakers, and the general public.

An attractive movement culture that creates a sense of community through mass rituals, celebrations, music, drama, poetry, art, and narrative stories about past victories, current struggles, and future successes.

The ability of recruits to craft a coherent and functional identity as a movement participant.

This list is based on the work of Goffman, Zald, McCarthy, Meyer, Gamson, Snow, McAdam, Benford, Klandermans, Johnston, Ewick, Silbey, Polletta, and many other scholars. This discussion is part of a larger page on how social movements work at PRA's PublicEye.org website, which itself reflects input from a study on mapping social movements for women donors conducted by PRA founder Jean Hardisty with Ana Perea.

"WE'RE AS MAD AS HELL AND WE AREN'T GOING TO TAKE IT ANY MORE!": SEIZING THE REIGNS OF POWER THROUGH FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS by Allan M. Hunchuk, Thiel College. A short article on the concept.

Leadership in Social Movements This appears to be a collection of course outline notes.

Organize Neighborhoods for Freedom What I am about to describe is a strategy that involves neighborhood/precinct organizing that has no need for the mass media publicity that in the past we thought we were dependent on. With the campaign’s move towards getting a precinct leader in each precinct, and providing tools that will support them in getting people out to vote, this is just the beginning of precinct/neighborhood organizing which could in the long run make a huge difference.

THE LIVABLE NEIGHBORHOODS PROJECT has step by step guides to helping people work together to better their neighborhood. This link was embedded in the article linked above.

How the Grassroots Works Any political strategy that depends on broad grassroots support for its success needs to be based on a sound understanding of how the grassroots works. Without such an understanding, the strategy will tend to miscalculate its approach to handling the grassroots, resulting in failure. The fact is, the "grassroots" is not like anything else in politics. By its very nature, it's fiercely resistant to central control--yet it can be incomparably loyal and self-sacrificing. Properly understood and respected (as well as properly organized), it has the potential to alter an entire culture. Approached incorrectly, it will turn on those who seek to exploit it.

The Web as a Political Tool The internet is an amazing resource for information and communication that transcends many traditional obstacles to political activity, such as age, location, and income. Today college students, who may not have the financial means for the latest computer and internet services, now have internet access through their college or universities. However, when it comes to using the internet for political purposes, as an advocate, activist, political staffer, elected official, or political researcher you need more than simple searching methods to help you succeed.

Building an Intergenerational Movement: With the United States’ rich histories of struggle and the volumes of analysis written on them from multiple perspectives of politics and identity, there is an alarming lack of writing and dialogue around ageism in the movement, particularly as it relates to young activists. More basically, there is a little discussion of how activists from different generations communicate, relate, and organize together— a dearth that is perhaps more debilitating than recognized.

Introduction to Sociology/Social Movements - Wikibooks An interesting article. As with ALL things Wiki, however, you gotta check the facts and assumptions.

WHY AMERICA NEEDS A NEW POLITICAL PARTY by Stephen E. Ambrose & Richard D. Lamm. There is no divine right of political parties any more than there is a divine right of kings. Political parties were not part of the vision of our founding fathers, and are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. George Washington actually opposed the formation of political parties. They were necessary, however, as a way to focus political choice in the new republic. Being a pragmatic people, Americans needed some way to organize various philosophical and policy differences. Philosophical differences soon emerged as the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Americans kept these two parties only as long as they played a useful function, and then easily developed new parties when the old ones ossified or failed to face the political needs of the country.

Throw the Hypocritical Rascals Out! - Jack Gargan - 2-16-01: An interesting (tho dated) example of using the internet (after he used some 600+ newspapers) to campaign.

DIY - “Do It Yourself”: In a previous post (How About Some Honesty?) I touched on a subject of immense importance: honesty when arguing a political point of view. But honesty is a much more important concept than I maintained in that previous post. Actually, when arguing for a certain state of things, i.e., a normative, there is no reason to assume someone else will do the work. If you really want something to change in a certain direction with a specific end goal, then why would you not invest time, labor, and money into making it happen?

Activist Skills and Experiences Questionnaire: This is a list of useful skills and experiences for social change activists. It can be used for self-assessment, goal setting, or progress evaluation. Consider including your applicable experience in non-social change activities too.

Glossary of Terms Used to Study Social Movements: The purpose of this glossary is to provide a basic vocabulary of terms used in studying social movements. Like all key concepts, the terms listed here are open to multiple interpretations and occur in significant variations. Thus, these particular definitions are not intended to be the last word, but rather a beginning point for further elaboration.

Purchase Links: Food & Seeds    Gear    Medical    Tools
                              Weapons & Ammo      Computer/Internet

US Military Gear: Air Force    Army    Marines    Navy
Also: Coast Guard    Law Enforcement (Working on it)

(Purchasable Item links based on bug-out/preparation lists)

Please Read The Website Disclaimer!
Copyright 1986-2012, The Survival & Self-Reliance Studies Institute (SSRsi), All Rights Reserved
Site conceptualized, designed, created & maintained by MEG Raven
Snail Mail: SSRsi, PO Box 2572 Dillon, CO. 80435-2572