Rules for Radicals: The Capitalist Version

Preview of chapter 10 of "Think Right or Wrong, Not Left or Right: A 21st Century Citizen Guide" (3rd expanded edition).

The 3rd expanded edition of “Think Right or Wrong, Not Left or Right: A 21st Century Citizen Guide” is close to publication. August 15th is the big day. Preorder the ebook version here. Today I’m pre-publishing the revised/expanded chapter 10 “Creating the Moral Groundswell” as an incentive to get your copy. Every ordered ebook improves the oh, so important sales rankings.

I recently finished Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals,” a book that many have heard of but, I suspect, few have read outside the hardcore political left and a smattering of NatCons hoping to beat the leftists at their own game.

Radicals for individualism, pro-individual rights, limited government and capitalism like me fight a principled battle for the morally Right. Mr. Alinsky’s radical, on the other hand, appears to be a philosophical agnostic and political opportunist/pragmatist championing a mishmash of morally Right and Wrong ends. Nevertheless, I think the methods and tactics for affecting societal change outlined in “Rules for Radicals” may be applied to any socio-political cause.

A challenge for us radicals for capitalism is that we’re busy living productive lives. Becoming community organizers in the mold of what is outlined in “Rules for Radicals” is probably one of the furthest things from our mind. But I suspect our ranks would benefit from a few principled rabble rousers who would champion the morally Right and challenge conventional collectivist/statist thinking with bold, peaceful action. Alex Epstein, author of Fossil Future, is probably the closest we have at this point.

Compared to Mr. Alinsky’s classic, chapter 10 of “Think Right or Wrong, Not Left or Right: A 21st Century Citizen Guide” is perhaps a bit timid in its suggestions for taking action to create the moral groundswell that is required to uproot millennia of collectivist/statist thinking. What do you think? I’d love your feedback in the comments. And do pick up a copy of “Rules for Radicals” as well (after you’ve preordered the 3rd edition of “Think Right or Wrong, Not Left or Right: A 21st Century Citizen Guide”). It’s a short but educational read.

Cheers!

10 CREATING THE MORAL GROUNDSWELL

More important than voting is influencing elected representatives, candidates for office, and your fellow citizens between elections. Let’s assume you want to do something, but you don’t have much time and frankly not much interest in politics. What actions will get you the best mileage?

First, promote this book to family members, friends, and colleagues, and post a review on Amazon (with a 4-star rating or above) to help it thrive. Nothing is as effective as word of mouth in spreading ideas.

Second, make your views known to your elected representatives and to candidates for office. A short, friendly, succinct email, tweet, or similar message will do the trick. These days, it is easier than ever to reach candidates and officials. At the federal level, you can contact the incumbents (those currently in office) at:

·         https://www.whitehouse.gov/get-involved/write-or-call/ (the president),

·         https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm (U.S. senators), and

·         https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative (U.S. representatives)

Your state is sure to have similar options for contacting the governor, and state senators and representatives. Most elected officials and candidates also have their own web pages along with a social media presence on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), etc., as do candidates for office.

You may wonder what impact a single email or tweet may have on a candidate’s position? You’d be surprised. A polite, positively phrased, short message goes a long way. All candidates for office and current office holders have staff or volunteers who gather and classify messages from constituents. Normally, you should focus on reaching candidates who seek to represent the relevant political districts where you live and be sure to let them know you live in their district. And candidates typically have rules of thumb for how many voters a given message represents. This is one way candidates for office and current office holders put a finger to the wind.

If you are sold on the idea of promoting the morally Right as explained in this book and you want to influence elected officials and candidates in your area, what should you tell them? Start off with an appropriate greeting, follow with a brief thank you to set a positive tone, state your message, then end politely with your name, address and contact information.

For example, if the right to manage your retirement is important to you:

Dear Representative Alvarez,

Thank you for running for office. Morally, my wife and I have the individual right to be in control of our retirement decisions without government involvement. What is your plan for making this a reality?

All the best,

John Smith, Lexington, KY

JS@xyz.com

(280 characters)

If you care about your right to be in control of your healthcare decisions:

Hello Candidate Brown,

Thank you for running for office. Morally, I have the individual right to be in control of my health care decisions without government involvement. What is you plan for making this a reality?

Best regards,

Sue Wilkins, Minneapolis, MN

Vikingsfan@qrs.com

(272 characters)

And if your children’s education is close to your heart:

Hi Ms. Johnson,

Thanks for running for our school board. Morally, my partner and I have the individual right to be in control of our children’s education without government involvement. What is you plan for making this a reality?

Cheers,

Olivia Hernandez, San Diego, CA

Olivia@stu.com

(280 characters)

Rinse and repeat for any other cause where pursuing a morally Right capitalist solution is important to you.

The shorter and more to the point your message is, the more likely it is to be noticed. The above examples meet the X 280-character limit. You can obviously make a message longer in an email, but in this day and age of shortened attention spans, a longer message may not buy you much. Better to spend additional time on reaching out to more people.

You may think that starting a sentence with “Morally” sounds a bit harsh. But remember that we’re creating a moral groundswell, so it’s critical to make it part of your message even if it makes the reader (and perhaps you) a tad uncomfortable. And the fact that it’s unusual will make it stand out. The first time it is received, it may be disregarded. But if a second or a third arrives from fellow moral crusaders, the message is more likely to get noticed.

It is important to reach your federal and state frontrunner candidates from both major parties, since a moral crusade to return control of your life to you is currently not a priority on either the political left or right. You’ll be able to reach most candidates in your area with an hour of effort using the approach we just outlined.

Getting more deeply involved is easy if you have additional time and interest. If you like writing, you can try your hand at op-eds and letters to the editor and support your writing with social media posts. This may be of particular value if you have professional credibility to back up your arguments. For example, a nurse, doctor, or health insurance specialist writing about the moral Right to control our healthcare decisions carries more weight than if someone outside the profession writes about it. And students posting to a popular online forum about their and their parents’ rights to be in control of their education are more likely to get attention than if someone without a direct stake in the game does it. But if writing is not your thing, perhaps posting videos on YouTube or TikTok, or creating a Facebook page, or retweeting other people’s writings, is more up your alley.

Another way of spreading the morally Right message is to promote fellow moral crusaders who are professional activists, already established voices, or people who otherwise allocate more time to the cause than you are willing to do. With a relatively minor effort, you can like and share their writings, podcasts and interviews on social media, thereby increasing their following, and making them more noticed and promoted by the “algorithm.” And if you have the resources, don’t hesitate to support them financially.

If you’re a business owner or leader, one of the most impactful ways to set the moral groundswell in motion is speaking up for your industry and financially supporting intellectuals, advocates, activists, think tanks and other organizations who are fighting the morally Right battle for you. Unfortunately, the American business community has a record of not standing up for its individual rights. With few exceptions, it has instead elected to engage in cronyism and lobbying for short-term preferential treatment, rather than mounting a principled moral defense of its moral Right to be free of government regulations, tariffs, subsidies, and taxes.

If you’re a graduate of a higher education institution, don’t reflexively support your alma mater. Be highly selective with your donations as unfortunately large numbers of faculty members and administrators at our colleges and universities work to undermine capitalism with both their teachings and research. Ensure your donations are earmarked for initiatives supporting individualism, individual rights, limited government, and capitalism.

Finally, if you decide to kick it up another notch, other types of activism available to you include supporting or joining advocacy groups, trying to influence a political party from within, attending and asking questions at candidate Town Hall meetings, volunteering for a candidate, or running for office. Just make sure this type of activism is a priority for you. Crusaders who sacrifice more important values in life such as work, family, and friendships for “the cause” often end up disillusioned. This is especially true if fighting for long term change like the morally Right where the explicit rewards may initially be few and far between. Remember, it is your life, and the fact that you should be in control also means that you should always try to maintain the right priorities. But if you have your priorities straight and want to be involved in a major way for the long haul, don’t let anyone stop you. Just let me know if you plan a march on Washington to abolish Medicare, Social Security or government (public) education, and I’ll make sure to join you.