Radical Community Organizing

The Meaning of Radical Community Organizing

In a society in which acquiescence to the status quo is treated as a virtue, and in which the individual, rather than the community, is celebrated, it could be argued that any form of community organizing is radical. Yet collective mobilization to address common problems, to seek the redress of grievances, or to advocate for a redistribution of power, resources, status, and opportunities has a long and glorious history in the United States (Bystydzienski & Schacht, 2001; Fisher, 1994; Myers, 1989; Pardun, 2001). What, then, distinguishes radical community organizing from other forms of community organizing? In particular, what are the distinctions among radical community organizing and other methods of progressive organizing, such as feminist organizing, multicultural organizing, and class-based or labor organizing?

In this chapter, radical community organizing encompasses a dynamic set of theories, goals, ideologies, values, and practices that are focused on the attainment of social justice and fundamental structural and institutional changes in communities and society. Radical community organizing pursues these goals through a combination of analysis of the root causes of existing societal conditions; the development of alternative economic, political, social, and ideological systems; and the use [Page 288]of nontraditional strategies and tactics. A structural theoretical approach underlies both the analysis and the development of practice strategies, with an emphasis on the replacement of oppressive institutions, conditions, systems, and practices with ones that reflect principles of justice, equity, and respect for human diversity.

As in other branches of social work, the concept of radical community organizing has been defined differently inside and outside the profession. Like other social work radicals, radical community organizers focus on “first causes of oppression or injustice” (De Maria, 1992, p. 237) and broad egalitarian goals. Radical views of organizing, however, may be less clearly articulated than those of organizers with other ideological perspectives or those that focus on pragmatic, less clearly ideological objectives. In general, radical organizing regards the market economy as the primary source of individual and social problems and favors both a major redistribution of resources and a fundamental restructuring of institutions to prevent or correct them.

Not all organizers who are labeled “radical,” however, support socialist solutions, especially those that require the creation of large, state-run industries. In fact, some radicals of an anarchist or quasi-anarchist inclination share the suspicions of conservatives about the role of government; others regard the state as the primary arena of political struggle and the primary instrument of social progress. Some radical organizers adhere to Marxist or neo-Marxist analyses and have been associated with communist or socialist parties. Others do not identify with a particular ideology or political organization—in fact, they often deliberately downplay their ideology—yet they share many of the causal explanations and goals of those groups on the political left (Aronowitz, 1996; Buhle, 1998; Cantor, 1978; Rorty, 1998; Rubin & Rubin, 2001; Stephens, 1998; Wood, 1997).

The Evolution of Radical Community Organizing in the United States

Organizing for radical causes has existed in the United States since the colonial period. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, radical groups attempted to mobilize support around such issues as slavery, women's suffrage, the rights of workers, and the dangers of excessive government interference in people's lives (Foner, 1976; Shor, 1997; Wood, 1997; Young, 1993). After the Civil War, radical organizing often took on a more explicitly anticapitalist tone. The tumultuous environment of the late 19th century had a significant influence on the emergence and initial development of social work (Fisher, 1994; Kraditor, 1981; Shor, 1997).

...