Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c127IR // #c127Synthesis

The fourth rule is: Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.

— In our words · Source: Rules for Radicals (Saul D. Alinsky)

[Use when]

When an institution preaches one thing and practices another.

[Why it matters]

No institution can survive full compliance with its own stated standards — so demand exactly that.

More from Rules for Radicals

#c124Always remember the first rule of power tactics: Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.When you're outnumbered and need to look bigger than you are. #c125The second rule is: Never go outside the experience of your people. When an action or tactic is outside the experience of the people, the…Before trying a tactic your people have never seen before. #c126The third rule is: Wherever possible go outside of the experience of the enemy. Here you want to cause confusion, fear, and retreat.When you're planning how the enemy will react to something new.