But while it's true that one of three epigraphs on an introductory page (not a dedication page) of Rules for Radicals characterizes Lucifer as the "first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment," the book is neither dedicated to Lucifer, nor need it be read as an endorsement of devil worship or Satanism.
The name "Lucifer" appears nowhere else in the book, nor does the name "Satan." The word "devil" is used several times, but only in the generic sense of "enemy." By contrast, there are many references to Christianity — particularly early Christianity, the adherents of which Alinsky characterizes as "revolutionary" and compares to the young radicals of his own time (the book was first published in 1971). And, though Alinsky's book is a paean to neither Satanism nor Christianity, he does claim his principles rest on Judeo-Christian values.
The point is this: Whatever else it may be and however one may feel about his ideas, Rules for Radicals is not a brief for Satan. Alinsky's opening acknowledgment of Lucifer is a literary allusion to one of the oldest stories of rebellion against authority in Western civilization. On careful reading, there's no evidence he intended it to be understood in any deeper or darker sense.
Have you read the book?
Didn't think so.
Maybe you should actually read the book.
