I can go with "rational evolvement". Popper called the concept "piecemeal social engineering". He thought the difference between piecemeal and utopian engineering was, "the difference between a reasonable method of improving the lot of man, and a method which, if really tried, may easily lead to an intolerable increase in human suffering. It is the difference between a method which can be applied at any moment, and a method whose advocacy may easily become a means of continually postponing action until a later date, when conditions are more favorable. And it is also the difference between the only method of improving matters which has so far been really successful, at any time, and in any place, and a method which, wherever it has been tried, has led only to the use of violence in place of reason, and if not to its own abandonment, at any rate to that of its original blueprint.
On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 11:42 AM, Chris Hahn <[email protected]> wrote: > I like your concepts, but I don’t like the word progressivism. It will be > too easily be confused with American progressivism which already has a > meaning. Instead of rational progressivism, how about “rational > improvement” or “rational evolvement”?**** > > ** ** > > Chris**** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Mike Gonzalez > *Sent:* Tuesday, January 10, 2012 9:32 AM > *To:* radicalcentrism > *Subject:* [RC] Thoughts on this tenet?**** > > ** ** > > I want to home-in on this particular tenet and get to the heart of the > point (tempered optimism + our brand of centrism = rational progressivism): > > When pessimism infects centrism, it becomes angry populism. When apathy > blends with centrism, it creates the traditional view of the lazy, > valueless independent. What is needed, instead, is a tempered positivity in > scientific centrism, channeling the best aspects of an ideology that > believes in the application of workable solutions in individual, piecemeal > fashion to civil society. Consequently, a rejection of pessimism and apathy > in favor of sober belief in a society's ability to improve itself is an > essential aspect of centrism. The result of this is a rational > progressivism that supports testable change to improve the lot of the > entire populace, rather than the traditional American progressivism which > moves toward some moralistic utopia.**** > > -- > 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 > -- 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
