Politics is for Power - Eitan Hersh

Come join Triangle Common Good for a discussion on Eitan Hersh's Politics is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change.

As the club begins reviving and expanding a volunteering and organizing wing, we'll be reading Eitan Hersh's Politics is for Power and discussing critically the limits of our own intellectual discussions on politics.

Hersh argues in Politics is for Power that many who regularly consume and discuss political news and count themselves as politically informed are not meaningfully engaged in the work of politics. Politics is treated as a discussion topic and tied to satisfying certain needs, but not towards building tangible power in the political system and enacting a long-term will and agenda.

The book begins with the stories of various grassroots and community organizations that everyday Americans have started as a way of outlining what political advocacy and organizing at the local level can look like, before turning to an analysis of why political parties have turned away from bottom-up organization, local mobilization, and stronger party structures with precinct level presences.

Our interest in this book will be thinking through what meaningful political action looks like and how to encourage in our own lives and club activities a move away from political hobbyism.

Note that we will not use this as an excuse to deny the importance of history, theory, and the intellectual side of politics, but more as a chance to shift our focus.

Book Excerpt:
https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/eitan-hersh-politics-power/

Article on Hersh's book:
https://archive.ph/Z4Li0