Re: [RC] Thoughts on this tenet?

[David R. Block]

Title: “A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow can have no respe

You PREFER an Oxymoron??? Color me shocked. You can be contradictory all you want, Ernie. But, in my view, there goes the claim to "rational." David “A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow can have no respect for the dignity of the individual and cannot really know freedom.”—Fredrich August von Hayek   On 1/10/2012 11:16 AM, Dr. Ernie Prabhakar wrote: On Jan 10, 2012, at 8:42 AM, Chris Hahn wrote: 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. 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”? I'm with Chris; great insight, but potentially confusing terminology. How about: - scientific centrism - progressive centrism (adjective instead of noun) - progressive design - evolutionary centrism - activist centrism - improvisationalism Not quite there yet, but worth working on.  As usual, I prefer a name that is oxymoronic and paradoxical in order to inspire cognitive dissonance. A good test would be whether it infuriates Solomon. :-) -- Ernie P.   Chris     From: radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com [mailto:radicalcentrism@googlegroups.com] 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 <RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --  Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org