SEEING THE RULE

At the heart of Alinsky’s Rule #11 is the premise of most debate theory, which states that the negative position is much easier to establish than the affirmative. Affirming or building positive arguments takes work and constructive ideas. Knocking down the other side on some particular point or on some particular issue is much easier. Watch for this rule in action; and turn it on your opponent if appropriate.

USING THE RULE

This rule is another way that Alinsky proposes using the opponent’s fear against them. Their fear will often lead to mistakes, particularly in the form of threats and wrongdoing. This reaction becomes your opportunity to highlight the negatives on your opponent’s ideas. If you do this with dignity and virtue, you come out ahead and with the sympathy of the audience.

When an ideological opponent is picking a fight with you, just know that they are seeking to connect a negative with you that they can capitalize upon. If you are a campaign organizer, be sure to discuss this as a group and train your people to maintain proper decorum and stay within proper behavior – thus denying your opponent the opportunity to be able to jump on your mistakes, and creating opportunities to highlight their negativity. Here’s an example from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about how pushing a negative created a positive opportunity for rational free speech:

“If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside… every positive has its negative.”