Via David Weinberger I found An Organizer's Guide to Trusting the People, which is an honest and sharp self-reflection - in part an attack on leftist condescension - by Zack Exley, who worked in the US as a union organiser, was then heavily involved in MoveOn during the 2004 US election campaign, as well as working for the British Labour Party during the 2005 election campaign.
Exley's three main points, which he substantiates at length with examples from his own and others' experience (and which look stark and simplistic in their unsubstantiated state) are:
- All groups of people - even very small ones - are strong and brilliant. This is not true of all individuals.
- Leadership is not a role played only by "leaders," but equally by "followers" in the act of temporarily and voluntarily granting to leaders their special role. Also: leadership is ephemeral in individuals and is sometimes expressed by the most unlikely people.
- Groups will fight for a cause only if (A) it is worth of fighting for and (B) they can see a winning plan.
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