Centroids: In the mid-1990s, I have traced this as far back as 1995 in letters from that time period in my files, I first became interested in Radical Centrism. What appealed the most to me was how it was possible, as an expression of RC philosophy, to combine otherwise disparate political positions almost always identified with either the Left or the Right into a coherent political platform. Not a hypocritical campaign slogan, something actually worth believing in. In 1995 many of my Radical Centrist ideas were not carefully thought through; a few ideas that have become important in the 2000s were not even on my radar at the time. But here is a personal list of my 10 most important Radical Centrist political positions. You are free to disagree, and equally free to borrow any or all of these ideas for your own purposes. The following list consists of pairs of related issues, pro vs. con in some cases. In each case the current identification of these issues with Right or Left or Other is indicated in 10 point typeface. Several are neither Left or Right but are Independent or Libertarian -or Radical Centrist, i.e., a unique solution to political problems. 10 Issues to identify Radical Centrism with -in the public mind The strongest possible opposition to homosexuality. This is not reflexive conservatism by any stretch of the imagination. Everything is research-derived and based on behavioral science. The case to be made is empirical and follows the views of some of the best known names in the history of psychology. Hard Right; Liberal-inspired reasoning.. The strongest possible advocacy of gender partnership values in which men and women are seen as essential to each other in every way imaginable. The ideal should be clear to one and all: Marriage between men and women, child raising, and personal self-actualization as much as this can be done in a nurturing family. Anything that interferes with this value can only be interpreted as completely unacceptable and morally sick. This necessarily means the strongest possible criticism of pornography of all kinds, but making a distinction between hard porn and erotic arts. This has nothing to do with so-called soft porn or sexually suggestive humor. Liberal-inspired but congruent with emphasis on family values on the Right to the extent that this is a fusion position. You can also identify this position with Libertarian values although a corollary is that strong families need to be part of healthy communities that are supportive of family formation and family success. Hence this is also a communitarian position. ----- The strongest possible opposition to Islam (with the qualification that not all Muslims are alike, and the fact that none of this is intended to indicate bias against Arabs or Iranians or Pakistanis, etc, indeed, ethnically we are pro-Arab, pro-Iranian, pro-Pakistani, etc ) This position is generally identified with the Right but in origin it has everything to do with how Liberal values, especially as found in the US Constitution, are in direct and almost total conflict with Muslim values. Strongly in favor of both Bible study and Comparative Religion in the schools Bible study is associated with the Right, Comparative Religion is generally associated with the Left. The specific approach desired is unique to Radical Centrism and blends Left and Right and "Other."
----- The strongest possible agreement with sociobiology / evolution. Generally very supportive of science and social science. Liberal / classic Socialist (Not contemporary so-called socialist) The strongest possible desire for creating new models for education that take full advantage of online learning, computer tech, etc Neither Left nor Right; we are simply interested in what works, what is good, and how to make the most of creative ideas. ----- The strongest possible opposition to strip mining of coal (but otherwise pro-coal, pro-Keystone pipeline, pro-natural gas) Left - Liberal viewpoint. Congruent with parts of Green politics. But also congruent with some conservative objectives. Critical of both Keynes and laissez faire economics Priority: new economic theory Re: Denning , etc Independent viewpoint. ----- Strongly in favor of major changes in African-American culture. We don't need affirmative action, we need a new paradigm for black achievement though education, job opportunity, and new values. This does mean strong criticism of Rap so-called music but simultaneously strong advocacy of Jazz as a unique American musical art form. Independent viewpoint with some conservative inspiration. Strongly in favor of Free Speech. This means strong criticism of the mass media and its regime of blatant bias in favor of the agenda of the political Left. This also means willingness to consider ideas from the entire political spectrum except authoritarian systems, especially Nazism / Fascism and Communism. This means strong sentiments in favor of Israeli success, and strong opposition to anti-Semitism. We are singularly unimpressed with most forms of Anarchism while recognizing that the systems advocated by Tolstoy and Kropotkin are in a different category. Independent - Libertarian inspired. -- -- 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 --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
