“The seventh rule of the ethics of means and ends is that generally success or failure is a mighty determinant of ethics. The judgment of history leans heavily on the outcome of success or failure; it spells the difference between the traitor and the patriotic hero. There can be no such thing as a successful traitor, for if one succeeds he becomes a founding father.”

Source: Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals (1971), p. 34

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Saul D. Alinsky photo
Saul D. Alinsky 28
American community organizer and writer 1909–1972

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