Principles of Activism 2: Low Hanging Fruit
by Joseph Rowlands
In continuing with the identification of principles to make our activism more effective, we need to turn to a very simple one. The principle is to aim for the low hanging fruit. It means we should be seeking the easy accomplishments first instead of jumping at the most challenging.
To see the contrast, imagine trying to convince a dedicated post-modernist to accept the ideas of Objectivism. You can argue day and night and not get anywhere. If you do manage to eventually persuade him, which is entirely unlikely, you'll have spent countless hours, days, or months getting there, and you're left with a single new ally. Now imagine providing a copy of the Fountainhead to 30 college students. Or better yet, to a handful of students in the college libertarian group. Which sounds more likely to be successful? Which sounds like the most effective use of resources?
Every success makes our job that much easier. If you spread these ideas to others, they can spread them on even further. If you convince someone of the merits of Objectivism, you have created a potential ally. If you give them the means to convince others, you've multiplied your effectiveness.
So what is low hanging fruit? There's going to be some disagreement on how to put this principle into practice, but I can offer my own thoughts and how I've applied it in the past, and where I personally intend to put my efforts. No agreement is necessary, of course.
First, I think the lowest hanging fruit are people who are actively interested in Objectivism, and want to learn all about the philosophy. It requires no effort to convince these people, as they are usually already persuaded by Rand's ideas. But they may still need to be educated. Reading Atlas Shrugged may get them excited and ready to learn the philosophy, but the process of learning can be very challenging.
So an effective form of activism consists of providing the tools and support to those actively interested in the ideas. Getting them through some of the hardships that come from transitioning to a new worldview can make a world of difference. Explaining the ideas in a clear way, or a way that is easier to grasp given their context, speeds up the process. There are so many people interested in Objectivist ideas, but find reading the literature daunting or painful. Or they may leap a little too fast trying to convince all of their friends, and end up just irritating them instead of attracting their attention.
What's the next level of low hanging fruit? It might be speaking to an audience that has some similar ideas. Libertarians, for instance, may be already sympathetic to Objectivism. Or admirers of Ayn Rand's fiction might be a more likely audience. Or maybe it's young people interested in new ideas? The point is to pick an area where you expect positive results.
It may be that the low hanging fruit isn't in finding new Objectivists, but in popularizing certain ideas. Objectivism has unique perspective on politics that even Libertarians don't have, and we could seek to make a shift in their thoughts towards our own ideas. Or perhaps we aim at a much wider audience, emphasizing the morality of self-interest and an approach to living on earth that seeks happiness.
Another reason for following this principle of activism is that you get used to success and learn to take it seriously. If you spend time on grandiose projects that fail over and over, you get nowhere and lose your belief in the possibility of change. If you create a solid record of success and accomplishments, you know that you can make a difference, and it gives you the fuel you need to keep a positive, realistic view of the world and your place in it. Too often I've seen people throw their hands up in defeat, claiming the impossibility of making a difference. They're wrong, and the defeats are only a sign that their own strategies have failed.
This principle is a reminder to keep focused on results. There's no point in making things overly complicated. Success should be the goal, and we should measure our actions accordingly. If there are easier ways of accomplishing the goal, we should find them and pursue them.
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