The phrase “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun” is a quote from Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China. It means that, ultimately, political power is derived from the use of force or violence.
If we continue to follow traditional power politics, which is based on control and manipulation, we will ultimately fail. Instead, we need to take a non-#mainstreaming path, one that does not rely on traditional power structures. The “silo path” versus the “aggregation path” means we need to move away from centralized control and towards more decentralized, organic structures. The “organic intellectual with muddy feet” is someone grounded in the real world and understands the practical implications of ideas.