> ... She wrote her college dissertation on Saul Alinsky, so she
> should have some smarts about political ideology.
Patrick Bond: Really? What political ideology do you get from Alinsky, exactly?
Probably shoulda written political strategy there. Community organizing model ala ACORN. Others here, I'm sure, with way more organizing experience in these type of groups can say more. But, to put some type of characterization on it, militant, populist, neighborhood based and/or church based, builds up from the demand for the proverbial stop-sign.
Anyone here ever read the J. David Greenstone book on the War On Poverty and "Maximum Feasible Participation of the Poor." The intersection of community organizations, urban Democratic political machines and the Johnson Admin. is a good case study. An early film by Saul Landau on the Newark, New Jersey SDS/ERAP experience in the early 60's is probably still worth seeing.
Maybe Michael Katz has some good material in his books on this. The Piven and Cloward book, Poor People's Movement's, " needs a revision. Wonder if they would be so "anti-organizational" riffing off of Robert Michels anymore. Last piece I saw from Piven was a few yrs. ago on globalization in Monthly Review.
Here are a couple of books that look good, the Fisher was blurbed by Harry Boyte (back in the early 80's, Social Review had many pieces kicked off by his work on the, "New Populism), Robert Wuthnow, is prolific, mostly on religion. Has another book, , "Communities of Discourse, " well worth looking at, even some work on Habermas and Wallersteinian stuff too. Let the People Decide: Neighborhood Organizing in America, Vol. 1 by Robert Fisher. Loose Connections: Joining Together in America's Fragmented Communities by Robert Wuthnow.
Finally, a bio of Alinsky was published by Pantheon a few yrs. back, Sanford Elwitt, the author.
Michael Pugliese