Radical centrism, also referred to as the radical center or the radical middle, is a concept that emerged in Western nations in the late 20th century. The radical in the term refers to a willingness on the part of most radical centrists to call for fundamental reform of institutions. According to writer John Avlon, centrism here refers to a belief that effective solutions require realism and pragmatism, not just idealism and emotion. Radical-centrist author Mark Satin defines radical centrism as "idealism without illusions", a phrase originally used by John F. Kennedy.Avlon (2004), p. 109.
Radical centrists borrow ideas from the political left and the political right, often melding them. Most support market economy-based solutions to social problems, with strong governmental oversight in the public interest. There is support for increased global engagement and the growth of an empowered middle class in developing countries. Some observers see radical centrism as primarily a process of catalyzing dialogue and fresh thinking among polarized people and groups.
Several countries, including Armenia, Canada, Chile, France, and South Korea, have witnessed the emergence of political parties or prominent politicians who have been characterized as radical centrists. In the United States, many radical centrists work within the major political parties; they also support independent or third-party initiatives and candidacies.Avlon (2004), Part 4.
One common criticism of radical centrism is that its policies are only marginally different from conventional centrist policies.
Influences and precursors Some influences on radical centrist political philosophy are not directly political. Robert C. Solomon, a philosopher with radical-centrist interests,Solomon, Robert C. (2003). A Better Way to Think About Business: How Personal Integrity Leads to Corporate Success. Oxford University Press. . identifies a number of philosophical concepts supporting balance, reconciliation or synthesis, including Confucius' concept of ren, Aristotle's concept of the mean, Desiderius Erasmus's and Michel de Montaigne's humanism, Giambattista Vico's evolutionary vision of history, William James' and John Dewey's pragmatism, and Aurobindo Ghose's integration of opposites.
However, most commonly cited influences and precursors are from the political realm. For example, British radical-centrist politician Nick Clegg considers himself an heir to political theorist John Stuart Mill, former Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George, economist John Maynard Keynes, social reformer William Beveridge and former Liberal Party leader Jo Grimond.Stratton, Allegra; Wintour, Patrick (13 March 2011). "Nick Clegg Tells Lib Dems They Belong in 'Radical Centre' of British Politics". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 1 February 2013. The single tax movement, developed in the 19th century by Henry George and others, has long attracted thinkers and activists from all sides of the political spectrum. In his book Independent Nation (2004), John Avlon discusses precursors of 21st-century U.S. political centrism, including President Theodore Roosevelt, Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Senator Margaret Chase Smith, and Senator Edward Brooke.Avlon, John (2004), pp. 26, 173, 223, 244, and 257. Radical centrist writer Mark Satin points to political influences from outside the electoral arena, including communitarian thinker Amitai Etzioni, magazine publisher Charles Peters, management theorist Peter Drucker, city planning theorist Jane Jacobs and futurists Heidi and Alvin Toffler.Satin (2004), pp. 10, 23, and 30 Satin calls Benjamin Franklin the radical middle's favorite Founding Father since he was "extraordinarily practical", "extraordinarily creative" and managed to "get the warring factions and wounded egos to transcend their differences".Satin (2004), p. 22.
Late 20th-century groundwork Initial definitions According to journalist William Safire, the phrase "radical middle" was coined by Renata Adler,Safire, William (14 June 1992). "On Language: Perotspeak". The New York Times Magazine, p. 193, page 006012 in The New York Times Archives. Retrieved 5 October 2018. a staff writer for The New Yorker. In the introduction to her second collection of essays, Toward a Radical Middle (1969), she presented it as a healing radicalism.Adler, Renata (1969). Toward a Radical Middle: Fourteen Pieces of Reporting and Criticism. Random House, pp. xiii–xxiv. . Adler said it rejected the violent posturing and rhetoric of the 1960s in favor of such "corny" values as "reason, decency, prosperity, human dignity [and human] contact".Adler (1969), p. xxiii. She called for the "reconciliation" of the white working class and African-Americans.
In the 1970s, sociologist Donald I. Warren described the radical center as consisting of those "middle American radicals" who were suspicious of big government, the national media and academics, as well as rich people and predatory corporations. Although they might vote for Democrats or Republicans, or for populists like George Wallace, they felt politically homeless and were looking for leaders who would address their concerns.Warren, Donald I. (1976). The Radical Center: Middle Americans and the Politics of Alienation. University of Notre Dame Press, Chap. 1. .
In the 1980s and 1990s, several authors contributed their understandings to the concept of the radical center. For example, futurist Marilyn Ferguson added a holistic dimension to the concept when she said: "[The] Radical Center ... is not neutral, not middle-of-the-road, but a view of the whole road".Ferguson, Marilyn (1980). The Aquarian Conspiracy: Personal and Social Transformation in the 1980s. J. P. Tarcher Inc./Houghton Mifflin, pp. 228–29. . Sociologist Alan Wolfe located the creative part of the political spectrum at the center: "The extremes of right and left know where they stand, while the center furnishes what is original and unexpected".Wolfe, Alan (1996). Marginalized in the Middle. University of Chicago Press, p. 16. . African-American theorist Stanley Crouch upset many political thinkers when he pronounced himself a "radical pragmatist".Author unidentified (30 January 1995). "The 100 Smartest New Yorkers". New York Magazine, vol. 28, no. 5, p. 41. Crouch explained: "I affirm whatever I think has the best chance of working, of being both inspirational and unsentimental, of reasoning across the categories of false division and beyond the decoy of race".Crouch, Stanley (1995). The All-American Skin Game; or, The Decoy of Race. Pantheon Books, p. 1 of "Introduction". .
In his influentialSatin (2004), p. 10. 1995 Newsweek cover story "Stalking the Radical Middle", journalist Joe Klein described radical centrists as angrier and more frustrated than conventional Democrats and Republicans. Klein said they share four broad goals: getting money out of politics, balancing the budget, restoring civility and figuring out how to run government better. He also said their concerns were fueling "what is becoming a significant intellectual movement, nothing less than an attempt to replace the traditional notions of liberalism and conservatism".Klein, Joe (24 September 1995). "Stalking the Radical Middle". Newsweek, vol. 126, no. 13, pp. 32–36. Web version identifies the author as "Newsweek Staff". Retrieved 18 January 2016.
Relations to the Third Way In 1998, British sociologist Anthony Giddens claimed that the radical center is synonymous with the Third Way.Giddens, Anthony (1998). The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy. Polity Press, pp. 44–46. . For Giddens, an advisor to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and for many other European political actors, the Third Way is a reconstituted form of social democracy.Giddens, Anthony (2000). The Third Way and Its Critics. Polity Press, Chap. 2 ("Social Democracy and the Third Way"). .
Some radical centrist thinkers do not equate radical centrism with the Third Way. In Britain, many do not see themselves as social democrats. Most prominently, British radical-centrist politician Nick Clegg has made it clear he does not consider himself an heir to Tony Blair; further, Richard Reeves, Clegg's longtime advisor, emphatically rejects social democracy.Reeves, Richard (19 September 2012). "The Case for a Truly Liberal Party". The New Statesman, p. 26. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
In the United States, the situation is different because the term Third Way was adopted by the Democratic Leadership Council and other moderate Democrats.Smith, Ben (7 February 2011). "The End of the DLC Era". Politico website. Retrieved 31 December 2016. However, most U.S. radical centrists also avoid the term. Ted Halstead and Michael Lind's introduction to radical centrist politics fails to mention itHalstead and Lind (2001), p. 263. and Lind subsequently accused the organized moderate Democrats of siding with the "center-right" and Wall Street. Radical centrists have expressed dismay with what they see as "split[ting] the difference", "triangulation"Burns, James MacGregor; Sorenson, Georgia J. (1999). Dead Center: Clinton-Gore Leadership and the Perils of Moderation. Scribner, p. 221. . and other supposed practices of what some of them call the "mushy middle".Satin (2004), p. ix.Ray, Paul H.; Anderson, Sherry Ruth (2000). The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World. Harmony Books/Random House, pp. xiv and 336. .
21st-century overviews
The first years of the 21st century saw publication of four introductions to radical centrist politics: Ted Halstead and Michael Lind's The Radical Center (2001), Matthew Miller's The Two Percent Solution (2003), John Avlon's Independent Nation (2004) and Mark Satin's Radical Middle (2004).Satin (2004), p. 10 (citing "big-picture introductions" by Halstead-Lind and Miller).Wall, Wendy L. (2008). Inventing the 'American Way': The Politics of Consensus from the New Deal to the Civil Rights Movement. Oxford University Press, pp. 297–98 n. 25 (citing Avlon, Halstead-Lind, and Satin as contemporary calls to the creative center). . These books attempted to take the concept of radical centrism beyond the stage of "cautious gestures"Avlon (2004), p. 3. and journalistic observation and define it as a political philosophy.
The authors came to their task from diverse political backgrounds: Avlon had been a speechwriter for New York Republican Mayor Rudolph Giuliani;Avlon (2004), pp. 378–79. Miller had been a business consultant before serving in President Bill Clinton's budget office;Miller (2003), p. xiv. Lind had been an exponent of Harry Truman-style "national liberalism";Lind, Michael (1996). Up from Conservatism: Why the Right Is Wrong for America. Free Press / Simon & Schuster, p. 259. . Halstead had run a think tank called Redefining Progress; and Satin had co-drafted the U.S. Green Party's foundational political statement, "Ten Key Values".Gaard, Greta (1998). Ecological Politics: Ecofeminism and the Greens. Temple University Press, pp. 142–43. . However, there is a generational bond: all these authors were between 31 and 41 years of age when their books were published (except for Satin, who was nearing 60).
While the four books do not speak with one voice, among them they express assumptions, analyses, policies and strategies that helped set the parameters for radical centrism as a 21st-century political philosophy:
Assumptions
Our problems cannot be solved by twiddling the dials; substantial reforms are needed in many areas.Halstead and Lind (2001), p. 16.Satin (2004), pp. 3–5. Solving our problems will not require massive infusions of new money.Miller (2003), pp. ix–xiii. However, solving our problems will require drawing on the best ideas from left and right and wherever else they may be found.Miller (2003), pp. xii–xii.