Mike : Any chance you can tell us more ? On no set schedule I carry out searches to see what others are saying about the idea of Radical Centrism, or what others have said in the past. We are sort of groping our way toward a functional philosophy of RC. Actually we are further along than that, but as one aspect of our quest. I could not access the text of the article for which there only is the short reference posted. But the issue of tradition, it seems clear, deserves some attention.. About which I have become sensitive because of some "new third way" people I now know, Europeans of the political New Right. For them, as you can guess, tradition is a fundamental element of everything even if, in the 21st century, their "take" on tradition is effectively Post-Modern. Burke, of course, made much of tradition. The trouble with this, of course, is that there is no science involved, everything comes down to the equivalent of natural law philosophy. That is soft stuff ; heck it can be downright squishy. Still, it is impossible to fail to see its importance. But if one does argue on the basis of tradition, which tradition ? Sure, in the early 1800s America revived the spirit of Jonathan Edwards' Great Awakening of more than a half century before, but the Revolutionary era itself was dominated by Deist thinkers or free thinkers best exemplified by Ben Franklin, or by sophisticated Anglicans, and not by Baptists or Presbyterians or other Evangelicals. So, what objective criteria does one use in deciding which tradition to use for your purposes ? OR, how can we use the best of each of our traditions for modern purposes? A few thoughts on the subject. Billy Rojas -------------------------------------------------------------------- message dated 8/25/2011 8:33:09 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
Coincidentally, I've lately been looking at the role of "tradition" being shifted toward institutionalized rules of action (based on empirical knowledge, natch), rather than set solid principles (ie: traditions as logical formulae as opposed to one-size-fits-all solutions). Doing that creates some type of flexible growth-oriented conservatism. On Aug 25, 11:18 am, [email protected] wrote: > faqs.org > > Post-traditional civil society > and the radical center > Article Abstract : > Many political scientists have called for a sense of community within the > nation state. However, this sense of community within the civil society is > inseparable from tradition. Tradition rarely leaves room for innovations and > social change. To be able to effect social change, there must be a > willingness to accept individuation. Tradition often leads to cultural > segmentation and social disintegration. Community can only be effective if it > acknowledges autonomy and democratization. > > Author: Giddens, Anthony > Publisher: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. > Publication Name: New Perspectives Quarterly > Subject: Political science > ISSN: 0893-7850 > Year: 1998 > > Beliefs, opinions and attitudes, Social structure, Giddens, Anthony, > Social scientists -- 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
