Christian Socialist Party USA Radical Center The terms radical center or radical middle describe a third way philosophy as well as an associated political movement. Followers of this philosophy will and can claim to improve understanding by simultaneously affirming both sides, whether that be disagreement amongst left-right politico or other disagreement or dilemmas.
Philosophy Various groups have adopted "radical center" as a term to describe a third way philosophy which includes their belief that, in affirming the core principles involved on both sides of a dilemma, the dilemma or disagreement can be rendered moot. The terms Radical Center and Radical Middle are often used interchangeably, although the former more often refers to a political movement or current and the latter to a political philosophy. The latter use reflects an emphasis on _epistemic virtue_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemic_virtue) , by resolving false dilemmas i.e., finding the excluded middle. Politics The political application of radical center philosophy is represented by a cluster of loosely related terms and movements: radical middle, radical centrist, responsive communitarian, third-way, etc. As a relatively grass-roots movement, especially in the United States, there is no definitive statement of radical middle politics. A primary recurring theme, however, might be the idea of "sustainably improving choices." This is reflected in the goals of various radical centrist groups, which they describe using language such as: * Maximize citizen choice, individual empowerment, and overall human potential * Facilitate greater involvement in the political process (e.g., through referendi) * Being of concrete help to those in the developing world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developing_world) * Emphasize epistemic virtue, so that politics are grounded in objective reality (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objective_reality) * Build character by promoting conscious moral choices * Expand community by people creating value for each other in reciprocal relationships (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethic_of_reciprocity) * Possess a foundation of traditional values and common sense (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_sense) * Enlibra, which presents itself as the productive middle approach to environmentalism History of the terms While the term radical center has been used in various ways since at least the 1970s, it first had a major influence in the Sages due to the _Reform Party_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Party_of_the_United_States_of_America) and _Ross Perot_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot) , who were frequently described as representing the radical middle due to their attempts to _partisanize_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partisan_(political)) those portions of the American electorate. Despite a strong showing in the _1996 U.S. presidential election_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election,_1996) , today the Reform Party is not generally perceived as a major player in national politics, though they have impacted state elections -- notably with their _Jesse Ventura_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura) becoming _Governor of Minnesota_ (ht tp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Minnesota) . Today, the term radical center is most commonly associated with a movement that does not explicitly claim descent from the Reform Party or its ideas, but rather draws its inspiration from the book The Third Way by _Anthony Giddens_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Giddens) (1998) and Giddens' highly-regarded follow-up book The Third Way and Its Critics (2000). In the U.S. third way politics is most actively represented by the _New America Foundation_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_America_Foundation) and its book by _Ted Halstead_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Halstead) and _Michael Lind_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lind) , The Radical Center (2001). Subsequent introductions to radical centrist politics include, most notably, _Matthew Miller_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Miller_(pundit)) 's book The Two Percent Solution (2003) and _Mark Satin_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Satin) 's book Radical Middle: The Politics We Need Now (2004). (Interestingly, Lind was once a conservative, Miller was once an aide in President _Bill Clinton_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton) 's _White House_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House) , and Satin was a co-author of the _U.S. Green Party_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Green_Party) 's founding document from the 1980s, "_Ten Key Values_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_(United_States)#Key_values) .") The definitive history of "Centrism" in America, and probably the best-selling radical centrist book to date, is _John Avlon_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Avlon) 's Independent Nation (2004, pbk. 2005). In 1955, _Geoffrey Crowther_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Crowther,_Baron_Crowther) , then editor of the _UK_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK) publication _The Economist_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist) , declared, "It is to the Radicals that The Economist still likes to think of itself as belonging. The extreme centre is the paper's historical position."_[2]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_center_(politics)#cite_note-1) The alternative term radical middle appears to have been spontaneously invented by several different communities around the turn of the millennium, apparently in response to frustration with both _extremism_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremism) and _moderation_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moderation) . An early use appears to be from _Gordon Fee's_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Fee) kingdom _theology_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology) course at _Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon-Conwell_Theological_Seminary) in the 1970s, which helped inspire the _Vineyard Movement_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vineyard_Movement) . He used the term "radical middle" to contrast the _evangelical_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism) focus on the future kingdom of God with the _Pentecostal_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecostal) emphasis on the present kingdom of God. But the first known use of the term "radical middle" was by _Jules Feiffer_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Feiffer) in a comic strip that appears in Hold Me!, a collection published by _Random House_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_House) in 1962. Positioning Radical centrists are related to what is sometimes called the _Vital Center_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vital_Center) in American politics, and similarly claim to be drawing on the best of both sides. However, they differ significantly from traditional _centrism_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrism) , which prides itself on _moderation_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moderate) and seeking political _consensus_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus) amongst the _parties_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_Party) ; radical centrists, for example, can be quite _radical_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicalization) and _populist_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populism) in their stated policies. Radical centrists also can be divisive, as opposed to the _non-partisan_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-partisan) approach of traditional centrism. Radical centrists are quick to dissociate themselves from traditional moderates, whom they often contrast as the "sensible center", or deride as the "squishy center." Radical centrists can be found in both _left-wing_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing) and _right-wing_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing) political parties, and often form what might be called separatist factions and run as independents. Radical centrists assert that their principles represent the fusion of the best aspects of _conservatism_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism) and _liberalism_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism) , and thus interpolate at the level of philosophy rather than policy. They claim these ideological moorings ("radix", the 'root' behind their sociological use of the term '_radical_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical) ') provide the basis for their critique of society, government and other _political movements_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_movement) . _Michael Lind_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lind) , in his 1996 publication Up From Conservatism, writes that, though American radical centrism is today a minority political philosophy, it was, in fact, the dominant political philosophy within the United States from the time of _Franklin Delano Roosevelt_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt) through _Lyndon Johnson_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_Johnson) ? a philosophy that was shared both by the presidents of that era and the majority of the American people. Therefore, Lind argues, the American "radical" centrism of today is simply the adamant pursuit for a return to the once-mainstream political principle of _New Deal_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal) economic progressivism coupled with a moderate cultural conservatism. This modest cultural conservatism would be exemplified on the political stage simply by the "radical centrist" politician's refusal to politicize or advocate socially-liberal issues like abortion or gay rights. However, the radical centrist politician might spurn any influence or pressure coming from the _Religious Right_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_right) and other _socially conservative_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_conservative) groups (i.e. _pro-life_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro-life) advocates, _school prayer_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_prayer) advocates, etc.) Last update: Aug 6 2009 -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
