Principles of Activism 3: Head in the right direction
by Joseph Rowlands
I've been asked many times over the years how I expect to get from where we are now to where we want to be. How do I expect to create an Objectivist world? I think they were expecting me to pull out a notebook with a timeline, some graphs, and a list of milestones, and titled "The Master Plan". Maybe they don't expect the details to all be worked out, but they want the general plan. They don't want to be involved in any activism unless they know it's going to succeed for sure.
As I freely admit, I don't have that plan. If anyone does, please let me know. But the reality is we have a long way to go and I don't think there is a sure-fire method of getting there. There's no guaranteed way of winning the hearts and minds of others. That may intimidate some, but it doesn't leave us helpless. Just because we don't have a clear path to the destination doesn't mean we're lost in the woods.
The solution isn't very complicated. Just start heading in the right direction. You don't need to know the full route to move closer to your goal. You just have to figure out where you're going and be able to tell if you're getting closer or not.
It's not always easy to tell if you're moving in the right direction. Outwardly, it may appear that a venture is very successful. SoloHQ was a good example. Growth rate was high, name recognition was strong, momentum was solid. It looked like a healthy venture despite some obvious problems. One of the problems I saw was that it wasn't actually accomplishing what it was intended to. It acted more as a distraction than a means of accomplishing anything. It was an impressive step, but not entirely in the right direction.
To really be able to tell whether you're moving in the right direction, you have to have a very clear idea of where you're trying to reach, and how each step works to get you closer to it. For instance, someone may be interested in reducing the welfare state. But if they don't recognize that it is a byproduct of the morality of altruism, any wins will be short-lived. Maybe you can get rid of Social Security. How long will it last if people squander their money and end up old and poor? Without questioning the altruistic assumption, the slide towards a welfare state is inevitable.
There's plenty we can do knowing that we're moving in the right direction. Creation of new books and articles are a real win. Even if they accomplish nothing else, they give the next generation of activists more tools. Discovering new ideas or applications of ideas is similarly useful. Exposing more people to Objectivism is a win.
In trying to create and organize an Objectivist organization, this has been one of my main considerations. I try to make progress while continuing to move in the right direction. Often this means growing the organization in a way to take advantage of our strengths and reduce our weaknesses. I try to increase the membership without compromising the goal. When I find that an idea doesn't work, I find some way to remedy it.
Instead of a fixed plan for changing the world, I think the right idea is to follow a robust method. The method consists of many parts. It involves taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves and looking to create new opportunities. It involves reducing weaknesses and focusing on strengths. It requires correctly assessing your situation and recognizing what you're able to do. It requires learning and growing, while adapting to new situations and arguments.
So there's no simple plan to follow, and no guaranteed path to the end. But by following the proper means, we can make progress and accomplish a lot while keeping the bigger goal in mind. That destination acts as a standard of activist value, where we can weigh our choices against one another and decide which moves us closer to our target.
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