How to Combat the “Luxury of Despair” Today
Master the Art of Strategic Resistance
Peter T. Coleman
The wolves are at democracy’s door, and polite petitions won’t save us. The time has come to dust off Saul Alinsky’s classic playbook “Rules for Radicals” and apply its time-tested strategies to democracy’s current crisis. Across America, we’re witnessing the steady erosion of democratic norms by politicians who speak the language of freedom while methodically dismantling its foundations. The time for wringing hands is over. What we need now is a mass movement of citizens who understand how to effectively wield their collective power.
As Alinsky taught us decades ago, power responds to power. But let me be clear: I’m not talking about violence or illegal actions. I’m talking about learning to fight smart and fight together, using the very democratic tools that autocrats fear most. The blueprint for this resistance isn’t complicated, but it demands something many Americans have forgotten: how to organize.
First, forget what you know about political change. Alinsky would scoff at today’s digital activism — retweeting isn’t organizing, and angry Facebook posts won’t save democracy. Real power comes from building coalitions that cross traditional boundaries. When the teacher’s union joins hands with the local chamber of commerce to demand election integrity, that’s power. When suburban moms and inner-city youth groups unite to protect voting rights, that’s power.
Start local, as Alinsky insisted. Your school board, your city council, your county commission — these are the laboratories of democracy, and increasingly, they’re the battlegrounds where authoritarians test their tactics. Learn the rules. Master the procedures. Show up in numbers. Make them feel the heat of public scrutiny.
But here’s the hard truth Alinsky understood: being right isn’t enough. Being angry isn’t enough. You need to be strategic. When they go low with voter suppression, go high with massive registration drives. When they flood the zone with disinformation, respond with relentless, organized truth-telling. When they try to tire you out, rotate your teams and build sustainable resistance.
The playbook of autocrats is predictable: they isolate, they intimidate, they exhaust. Your response must be equally clear: build bigger coalitions, stand your ground, and outlast them. Democracy isn’t defended in a day. It’s defended through thousands of small actions, coordinated and amplified until they become unstoppable.
Learn from successful movements, as Alinsky did. Study how they frame issues, build momentum, and maintain unity. Whether it’s the civil rights movement’s disciplined nonviolence or the labor movement’s strategic strikes, history offers proven tactics for confronting power.
Most importantly, abandon what Alinsky called the luxury of despair. Yes, democracy is under threat. Yes, the forces of authoritarianism are well-funded and organized. But they are few, and we are many. They succeed only when we surrender to helplessness or exhaust ourselves in uncoordinated action.
The choice is stark: learn to organize effectively, or watch American democracy die by a thousand cuts. Every day you wait, autocrats entrench their power further. Every excuse you make is a gift to those dismantling democratic institutions.
Democracy needs defenders who know how to fight smart, fight together, and fight to win. Alinsky gave us the tools and tactics decades ago. The only question is whether enough Americans will master them in time.
The answer to that question isn’t up to politicians or pundits. It’s up to you. What are you going to do about it today?
Peter T Coleman is a professor of psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University who studies intractable conflict and sustainable peace