Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c137IR // #c137Synthesis

The man of action views the issue of means and ends in pragmatic and strategic terms. He has no other problem; he thinks only of his actual resources and the possibilities of various choices of action. He asks of ends only whether they are achievable and worth the cost; of means, only whether they will work. To say that corrupt means corrupt the ends is to believe in the immaculate conception of ends and principles. The real arena is corrupt and bloody.

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

[Use when]

When someone demands clean hands in a dirty fight.

[Why it matters]

Alinsky's ethics: judge tactics by whether they work and whether the end is worth it — purity of means is a luxury of observers, not actors.

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.