Thought leaders can illuminate the way - or plunge us into darkness
Finding movement Thinkers who light the path is critical for our nation
Alfred Rosenberg was one of the most influential thinkers in the Nazi Party of Germany in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. An author, newspaper editor, teacher and cultural influencer, Rosenberg helped create and expand the intellectual underpinnings of Nazism.
On the question of the Jewish people, posed to him at a public press conference in November of 1941, he said:
“Some six million Jews still live in the East, and this question can only be solved by a biological extermination of the whole of Jewry in Europe. The Jewish Question will only be solved for Germany when the last Jew has left German territory, and for Europe when not a single Jew stands on the European continent as far as the Urals...and to this end it is necessary to force them beyond the Urals or otherwise bring about their eradication.”
Peter Longerich, Holocaust: The Nazi Persecution and Murder of the Jews, p.289
Let the chill and horror of this statement sink in. This is the work of a Thinker that became the actions of a movement.
Why on earth would I share such a horrific example? Because we cannot underestimate the power and influence of ideas and those who develop and spread them. Rosenberg’s entire career was dedicated to the development of ideologies and theories which served as the underpinnings for one of the most destructive and awful movements in the history of mankind.
In these reflective final weeks of the calendar year and amidst various holidays, I found myself thinking about the concept of light and darkness, their deep spiritual meaning and the frame of reference it can provide us as we seek a New Way in our politics in America. Nearly every religion prominently features this concept throughout its rituals. We’re in and around the Christian season of Advent and the Jewish season of Hanukkah - but I think also of the Hindu’s Diwali, the Muslim’s Hijrah and the Buddhist’s Vesak.
As a Christian I have been leaning into the more ancient, Episcopal tradition of Advent these last few years, especially impacted by Fleming Rutledge’s collection of sermons on the topic. This tradition sees Advent not as a cheery time of wreaths and presents and decorations but as a somber, serious time of allowing a full reckoning of the darkness to sink it. What I’m discovering is that we need to fully face the darkness - the evil, despair, hopelessness and pain - in order to seek out, and truly appreciate the dawning of new light.
In the movement to chart a New Way in our politics, this means taking seriously the threats to our democracy, the eroding civic order, the fraying relational fabric and the very real possibility of political violence and civil unrest in 2024.
Reckoning with that, and asking ourselves what we can do, let’s turn our attention to using this same influence for good.
Thinkers in the Movement for Good
Any real movement for lasting change must have sound, clear intellectual and philosophical underpinnings. A movement that has not thought critically about the “why” behind its motives and goals will ultimately fail to bring change as it crashes up against criticism and reality.
Thinkers do the work of deeply understanding the need for change, articulating it and presenting a variety of possible ways the change could become a reality. They put “meat on the bones” of the vision and common goals of the movement. Every movement needs Thinkers.
Many African-American scholars and writers did just this during the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Without Thinkers, movements risk becoming shallow, uncritical in their thinking and incapable of sinking deep into hearts and minds for the long-term change we desire.
If you’re a movement leader who is a Thinker you’ll spend most of your efforts on research, listening, learning, writing, speaking and critique. There is no real magic to the practical functions of a thinker in a movement that differentiates you from history’s many intellectuals.
However, for a moment or an ideology to become a movement, Thinkers must effectively interact with all seven other types of leaders a movement needs. A successful movement for lasting change will have Thinkers who are not holed up in their ivory towers writing and reading all day.
Instead, movement Thinkers need to spend significant time letting their ideas crash up against the realities and experiences of the other leaders in the movement. However wonderful non-violent ideology might have seemed to some, whether based on Ghandi or others, this ideology had to come into contact with actual lunch counter sit-ins, non-violent marches and other tactics. What did this actually look like in practice? Which ideas held up and exhibited real power? Which ones were exposed as completely impractical? This kind of real-world application is critical for every type of leader but especially for Thinkers who tend to operate in the realm of the theoretical.
If you’re a Thinker you also need to be intimately involved at every turn, not just when ideas are up for debate. You should help shape the language and ideological structures as the movement matures. And of course you should be regularly producing and critiquing written and spoken works to guide the movement. But you need to attend real-world rallies and meetings, show up at critical moments and generally see how your ideas play out in real life.
I experienced this in a powerful way at Stanford University earlier this year. I attended a conference entitled “More Parties, Better Parties” which intended to further explore the thinking around fusion voting and proportional representation introduced by my friend and movement Thinker Lee Drutman, begun here. It was a gathering of the best and brightest minds in academic political science. And yet I was the only person in attendance who was actively trying to build a new political party. That isn’t meant as a criticism - I was honored to be included. But what I found was in interacting with these thinkers I was able to bring up things in the real, on the ground world they hadn’t considered and they were able to illuminate and expand my thinking in a variety of ways. It was powerful and opened up new avenues.
How ideas guide a movement
So how do ideas really impact a movement? Let’s return again to Rosenberg for an example. He was involved in many aspects of building the Nazi movement. This included writing books and articles, becoming editor of a magazine, establishing “institutes” for the study of various facets of culture and even institutions of higher education. In each of those roles he produced many volumes of written material while also shaping the writing and thinking of other types of leaders. He provided much of the “intellectual framework” for the justification of the awful atrocities committed by Hitler and his leaders. Not so much a pure “academic” as an opinion leader, Rosenberg’s impact on the building of the Nazi movement is indisputable.
But Thinkers can just as easily be more focused on academics and teaching, exerting your primary and most far-reaching impacts through your writing and speaking. The great Reformation religious leader Martin Luther, for example, while a man of many talents, exerted his largest influence as a Thinker through his written word and theological study.
Luther, a priest, pastor and scholar by vocation, wrote his “95 Theses” originally to be included in a letter to his Bishop challenging a very specific doctrine (indulgences) in a carefully formed intellectual and theological treatise. It was a rather “mundane” act, all things considered, just to express his opinion. But in his challenging of the Roman Catholic Church and the Papacy in particular he launched what has become one of the most significant religious movements in all of history.
Interestingly, Luther’s work did not so much create a new thing as it gave fresh structure and inspiration for people to rally around a very old thing – in his case, the most basic teachings of the Bible.
It’s important for movement Thinkers to deeply understand history, especially in the area you’re trying to impact. This is key in presenting credible, relevant ideas for a way forward. But Thinkers also need to challenge old ways. You should question outcomes and ask, “why was it done that way?” Then you need to present new ways of doing things – some building on history, some offering entirely new and innovative ways.
A great movement Thinker will also have a good measure of humility. There’s a necessary confidence for any thinker. After all, by putting your idea on paper you’re at least saying it’s worth hearing. But great movement Thinkers will recognize that their ideas need to help achieve a tangible outcome that brings the desired lasting change, not just think for its own sake.
Here again we return to the Civil Rights Movement. The NAACP had a network of lawyers talking and strategizing about how best to tackle the legal challenges to Jim Crow, discrimination and racism more broadly. But these lawyers, many of whom were movement Thinkers, had to figure out how to actually implement their theories. Sometimes that meant giving up the “highest and best” ideological goals to more practical, incremental wins. That’s where other leaders – like Reformers – become vital. The aim of the original Montgomery bus boycott, for example, was not for desegregation at all – but for a back to front/ front to back seating, and blacks never having to give up a seat to whites. The NAACP actually criticized the Montgomery Improvement Association’s negotiations on that front, under Martin Luther King’s leadership.
Thinkers in real life
As a Thinker, you must bring your ideas for achieving the goals of the movement to the other types of leaders and allow your ideas to be shaped by the experience and challenges of realities “on the ground.” You must evolve and improve your ideas until you are both shaping and responding to the realities of the movement.
I have found that Thinkers often clash with a few other types of leaders. Visionaries, for example, often cannot be bothered to be 100% intellectually consistent. This drives Thinkers crazy. They want a neat system of thought. You have to work this out and move forward. These disagreements can paralyze a movement if you don’t.
Or Builders & Makers often say things like, “that sounds nice, but it will never work.” Thinkers are right to be deeply invested in the purity of their ideas but a Builder & Maker is trying to figure out how to make it work in real life to bring the desired change.
So, it becomes vital to have Guides, for example, to help preserve strong relationships while these other types of leaders work through the implementation of the Thinker’s ideas. During that time, it’s important for the Thinker to remain open-minded and flexible.
If you’re a Thinker, it’s very possible your impact will be among the most enduring. You will leave behind your words and those words will endure as tangible marks and guides for the movement for decades or centuries to come. So, go forth passionately but thoughtfully as you help shape the movement you care about.
Without Thinkers, the movement will lack the critical foundation, thoughtful frameworks and well-defined “why” necessary to see the change you want. Every movement needs Thinkers.
In this season of light, let’s seek truth together, and find Thinkers who can illuminate the path ahead.
I wondered where you were going with such a dark reference as I woke up thinking mainly about what I need for Christmas dinner. But got the membranes moving as always Joel. Would like to think about how early in a movement, when leaders of any type are few, is there an order or priority that can help shape progress in terms of the 7 types?