Huh? This is just a repost of the (my) Wikipedia article. Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 14, 2011, at 12:54, [email protected] wrote: > 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, 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 > Emphasize epistemic virtue, so that politics are grounded in objective reality > Build character by promoting conscious moral choices > Expand community by people creating value for each other in reciprocal > relationships > Possess a foundation of traditional values and 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 and Ross Perot, who were frequently described as representing the > radical middle due to their attempts to partisanize those portions of the > American electorate. Despite a strong showing in the 1996 U.S. presidential > election, 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 becoming 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 (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 and its book by Ted Halstead and Michael Lind, The Radical > Center (2001). Subsequent introductions to radical centrist politics include, > most notably, Matthew Miller's book The Two Percent Solution (2003) and 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's White House, and Satin was a co-author of the U.S. Green Party's > founding document from the 1980s, "Ten Key Values.") The definitive history > of "Centrism" in America, and probably the best-selling radical centrist book > to date, is John Avlon's Independent Nation (2004, pbk. 2005). In 1955, > Geoffrey Crowther, then editor of the UK publication 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] 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 and moderation. An > early use appears to be from Gordon Fee's kingdom theology course at > Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the 1970s, which helped inspire the > Vineyard Movement. He used the term "radical middle" to contrast the > evangelical focus on the future kingdom of God with the Pentecostal emphasis > on the present kingdom of God. But the first known use of the term "radical > middle" was by Jules Feiffer in a comic strip that appears in Hold Me!, a > collection published by Random House in 1962. > > Positioning > > Radical centrists are related to what is sometimes called the Vital Center in > American politics, and similarly claim to be drawing on the best of both > sides. However, they differ significantly from traditional centrism, which > prides itself on moderation and seeking political consensus amongst the > parties; radical centrists, for example, can be quite radical and populist in > their stated policies. Radical centrists also can be divisive, as opposed to > the 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 and 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 and 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') provide the basis for their critique of society, > government and other political movements. 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 through 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 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 and other socially conservative > groups (i.e. pro-life advocates, 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 -- 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
