Re: ALINSKY and STALIN vs. SARTRE

At 01:55 AM 04/24/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>I am quite critical of Alinsky myself, for many of the reasons Jonathan
>Feldman lists.  I posted the earlier piece because I was interested in.

Nor did I mean to imply that I agree with Alinsky's approach or all he had 
to say about means ends when I thanked John for posting some of his 
comments.  Actually I was most interested in finding out how many people 
had read or even heard of Sarah E.V. Emery.  I am still curious about that.

But while I am here I shall weigh in on the discussion of means and ends.


>The example is a very simple one on which none of us are going to disagree,
>although there are countless examples in real life in which there are many
>more shades of gray.  The point is that Alinsky's approach, with its
>(supposed) value-neutrality, is not the be-all and end-all of organizing for
>truly progressive social transformation.  Nevertheless, a dose of Alinsky
>can be a salutary antidote to the tendency of too many activists to avoid
>thinking about power, or the tendency of sectarianism, or the idea that
>politics is about grandstanding and moral witnessing rather than organizing
>people to make actual change.

But the change should not mean simply an "amelioration of the state of 
affairs," such as price gouging.  It should also include actions aimed at 
transforming social structures (the capitalist economy) whenever 
possible.  Yes, some conditions call for immediate relief and some for 
extreme measures as well.

Yes, I agree that ends (consequences of social action), in and of 
themselves, never justify the means there are other considerations.  But to 
get beyond the comments made so far on means and ends consider the following.

First, there are not only the ends which are intended but there are always 
unintended consequences to nearly all social actions.  Moreover, the 
consequences of social actions are almost always both positive and 
negative.  By negative, I mean destructive oppressive, or unwanted. 
Positive outcomes are wanted and/or must lead toward survival or 
flourishing for both the individual and collective.  Social actions may 
result in positive consequences for one social group (or individual) and 
negative consequences for another group (or individual) or dialectically, 
result in both negative and positive consequences for the same social group 
(or individual).  One implication of this understanding is that no person, 
social group, or social actions is all "evil" or all "good."  And when 
planning actions, whether group or individual, it is necessary to take into 
account all consequences, negative and positive, intended and 
unintended.  It may not be possible to   eliminate all negative outcomes 
only to minimize them.

Second, the means are often just as important and sometimes more important 
than the ends.  The means or process of liberation is important for not 
just changing social structures but also in changing people.  The obvious 
example is giving people some sense of empowerment and self-worth -- which 
can occur even if the ends are not fully or even partly realized.  It is 
not just the transformation of social structures but also (and relatedly) 
the transformation of individual persons.

Third, the above implies, that means and ends must be consistent whenever 
possible.  Thus, for example, democracy is not just a form of government 
but a process and a way of thinking and doing.  Democracy is best brought 
about by democratic means.  Though this sometimes requires changing the 
pre-conditions to make democratic means possible.

So in considering the means one must always to take into account the ends, 
as both goals and consequences, the context (both social and historical), 
and the attributes or capacities of those doing the action.

In the current super militarized world, the use of violent means has to be 
rejected whenever possible.  That decision is much easier for people who 
are comfortable than for people who, in oppressed conditions, have little 
hope.

So, I too agree with some of Alinsky and Trotsky but not all.

walter







>
>"[C]apital comes dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood 
>and dirt."
>--Marx, Capital, Vol. 1, Chapter 31
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"[C]apital comes dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and 
dirt."
--Marx, Capital, Vol. 1, Chapter 31

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