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Blessed Are the Organized: Grassroots Democracy in America
How ordinary citizens band together to bring about real change
In an America where the rich and fortunate have free rein to do as they please, can the ideal of liberty and justice for all be anything but an empty slogan? Many Americans are doubtful, and have withdrawn into apathy and cynicism. But thousands of others are not ready to give up on democracy just yet. Working outside the notice of the national media, ordinary citizens across the nation are meeting in living rooms, church basements, synagogues, and schools to identify shared concerns, select and cultivate leaders, and take action. Their goal is to hold big government and big business accountable. In this important new book, Jeffrey Stout bears witness to the successes and failures of progressive grassroots organizing, and the daunting forces now arrayed against it.
Stout tells vivid stories of people fighting entrenched economic and political interests around the country. From parents and teachers striving to overcome gang violence in South Central Los Angeles, to a Latino priest north of the Rio Grande who brings his parish into a citizens' organization, to the New Orleans residents who get out the vote by taking a jazz band through streets devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Stout describes how these ordinary people conceive of citizenship, how they acquire and exercise power, and how religious ideas and institutions contribute to their successes.
The most important book on organizing and grassroots democracy in a generation, Blessed Are the Organized is a passionate and hopeful account of how our endangered democratic principles can be put into action.
In an America where the rich and fortunate have free rein to do as they please, can the ideal of liberty and justice for all be anything but an empty slogan? Many Americans are doubtful, and have withdrawn into apathy and cynicism. But thousands of others are not ready to give up on democracy just yet. Working outside the notice of the national media, ordinary citizens across the nation are meeting in living rooms, church basements, synagogues, and schools to identify shared concerns, select and cultivate leaders, and take action. Their goal is to hold big government and big business accountable. In this important new book, Jeffrey Stout bears witness to the successes and failures of progressive grassroots organizing, and the daunting forces now arrayed against it.
Stout tells vivid stories of people fighting entrenched economic and political interests around the country. From parents and teachers striving to overcome gang violence in South Central Los Angeles, to a Latino priest north of the Rio Grande who brings his parish into a citizens' organization, to the New Orleans residents who get out the vote by taking a jazz band through streets devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Stout describes how these ordinary people conceive of citizenship, how they acquire and exercise power, and how religious ideas and institutions contribute to their successes.
The most important book on organizing and grassroots democracy in a generation, Blessed Are the Organized is a passionate and hopeful account of how our endangered democratic principles can be put into action.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
33 people are currently reading
323 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 20, 2021
In Achieving Our Country, Richard Rorty contrasts two different books, Thomas Geoghegan's Which Side Are You On? and Fredric Jameson's Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism.
He writes,
Stout blends theory and (descriptions of) practice in a superb way. When one finishes this book, she is likely to have a clear conception of what democratic citizenship involves, including what kind of relationships, habits, and skills are needed to work towards "a genuinely inclusive republic that is free from domination" (xix). Stout never suggests that it will be easy to achieve this end. He is quite clear that, in this world, those who try to build and exert democratic power will have trouble. But, pointing to others' examples, he encourages those who try to take heart, knowing that others have overcome in their worlds.
He writes,
The latter is an equally brilliant book, but it operates on a level of abstraction too high to encourage any particular political initiative. After reading Geoghegan, you have views on some of the things that need to be done. After reading Jameson, you have views on practically everything except what needs to be done. (p. 78)Thankfully, Stout's Blessed Are the Organized is much like Geoghegan's book and nothing like Jameson's. If readers want to know how to translate democratic principles into action, then they will be hard-pressed to find a better guide. Stout writes clearly about the roles, norms, practices, and institutions that are needed in order for citizens to exercise power effectively and responsibly. He provides some illuminating examples, describing peoples' collective efforts in New Orleans, the Rio Grande Valley, and South Central LA to make changes in their communities.
Stout blends theory and (descriptions of) practice in a superb way. When one finishes this book, she is likely to have a clear conception of what democratic citizenship involves, including what kind of relationships, habits, and skills are needed to work towards "a genuinely inclusive republic that is free from domination" (xix). Stout never suggests that it will be easy to achieve this end. He is quite clear that, in this world, those who try to build and exert democratic power will have trouble. But, pointing to others' examples, he encourages those who try to take heart, knowing that others have overcome in their worlds.
May 1, 2012
“Democratic political power derives from being organized.” Every seminary student, college radical, know-it-all “activist”, well-meaning do-gooder and non-profiteer should read this book, and soon. Stout champions Saul Alinksy-style organizing as a crucial missing piece of the democratic puzzle. He travels with IAF organizers, clergy and laypeople through the successes and challenges of grassroots organizing—from Katrina refugees in Houston to the shantytowns north of the Mexican border. Along the way, he carefully and precisely gives historical examples to underwrite his analysis of true democratic practices. Stout shows how power is built one meeting at a time; how elites can be held accountable by citizens; how Churches must be the anchor for nodes of associations; and how and why citizens win. If you’re not as interested in political theory and what this all means for religion in America, Michael Gecan’s excellent Going Public is the first book to read on Alinsky-style organizing.
October 21, 2022
Stout reviews the health of American democracy (not so great) and spends time with broad based community organizing work to look at how members of a democratic society can hold powerful interests accountable and advance justice for the populace.
The chapter on "the power of face to face" is significant.
"Grassroots democrats ... speak as if there are kinds of value that are distinct from utility and as if there are bearers of intrinsic value..." (225)
Five ways an organization like GBIO (or another broad based power organization) can go badly: (237-238)
1) A group "stops being concerned with the project of inclusive nondomination and beings using its power to conserve its own position against the aspirations of emergent groups."
2) "demonize opponents or otherwise treat them unjustly"
3) "organizers or core leaders. dominate the rank-and-file"
4) incorporated by "the economic-political establishment, rather than maintaining enough independence to hold that establishment accountable."
5) "a charismatic grassroots democratic leader, perhaps unwittingly, becomes a front for people and groups with antidemocratic agendas"
Why the economic establishment is so dominant today
1) "an overall decline in the organizational strength of ordinary citizens"
2) "the elites' increased ability in the age of mass media to translate economic power into political power"
3) "the political exclusion of two large segments of the underclass" - resident aliens and incarcerated and formerly incarcerated disenfranchised people - both disproportionately black and brown
The chapter on "the power of face to face" is significant.
"Grassroots democrats ... speak as if there are kinds of value that are distinct from utility and as if there are bearers of intrinsic value..." (225)
Five ways an organization like GBIO (or another broad based power organization) can go badly: (237-238)
1) A group "stops being concerned with the project of inclusive nondomination and beings using its power to conserve its own position against the aspirations of emergent groups."
2) "demonize opponents or otherwise treat them unjustly"
3) "organizers or core leaders. dominate the rank-and-file"
4) incorporated by "the economic-political establishment, rather than maintaining enough independence to hold that establishment accountable."
5) "a charismatic grassroots democratic leader, perhaps unwittingly, becomes a front for people and groups with antidemocratic agendas"
Why the economic establishment is so dominant today
1) "an overall decline in the organizational strength of ordinary citizens"
2) "the elites' increased ability in the age of mass media to translate economic power into political power"
3) "the political exclusion of two large segments of the underclass" - resident aliens and incarcerated and formerly incarcerated disenfranchised people - both disproportionately black and brown
December 11, 2018
This book is mostly interesting and useful because it articulates both the how and the why of faith-based (and some secular) broad-based, relational organizing. Stout really fronts the details of particular people and their stories and fights, which makes this an engaging read, and then there's more theorizing about democracy in the second half, which I wasn't expecting. A good inside scoop of what IAF organizing is all about.
September 28, 2021
Specific stories and examples are critical for anyone trying to learn something new. In a field saturated with theory, this book holds so many beautiful moments of successful and unsuccessful community organizing. Inspirational.
October 26, 2016
just started this book but am already hooked. course it helps to iknow some of the protaganists personally, including yours truly. interested in stories of grassroots democracy as forged by some of the best organizers in the country? then this book is for you.prof. Stout has a captivating writing style that makes it difficult to put the book down.
October 2, 2013
Good review on grassroots movement with limited scope and perspective on catastrophic events and working to aide communities to recover from them. The book has a political bias which can be helpful from both perspectives.
December 3, 2016
Well written--thought provoking
Excellent examples of community organizing. Very good analysis of power and domination. Provides hope for those searching approaches to advancing justice.
Excellent examples of community organizing. Very good analysis of power and domination. Provides hope for those searching approaches to advancing justice.
Currently reading
March 6, 2013need to pick it up again. . .
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews