The term Radical Middle refers to a type of third way philosophy as well as an associated political movement, which defines itself by simultaneously affirming both sides of an apparently contradictory issue, whether that be Left-Right politics or a false dilemma. Both the movement and the philosophy are sometimes called the Radical Center, and are often associated with politicians such as Tony Blair in the U.K. and John McCain in the U.S.

Contents

1 Radical Middle Philosophy 2 Radical Middle Politics 3 History of the terms 4 Positioning 5 Radical Centrist Organizations 5.1 Howard Dean alleged to be of the Radical Center 6 External links 6.1 General/Philisophical Uses 6.2 Political Organizations 6.2.1 Howard Dean links

Radical Middle Philosophy

Various groups have recently adopted the radical middle as a term to describe a form of third way thinking that paradoxically affirms the core principles of two apparently opposing extremes. Radical middle thought can thus be considered as emphasizing epistemic virtue in the pursuit of truth, as opposed to blind adherence to dogma.

Historical examples of what might be considered radical middle thinking are the wave-particle duality of physics, the Christian doctrine of Jesus Christ as both God and Man, and the federalist balance between national and state authority in the United States Constitution. The terms radical center and radical middle are often used interchangeably, though it is sometimes useful to distinguish between the specific political movement and the general philosophical approach.

Radical Middle Politics

The political application of radical middle philosophy is represented by a cluster of loosely related terms and movements: radical middle, radical centrist, responsive communitarian, third-way, etc. As a relatively grass-roots movement, especially in the United States, there is no definitive statement of radical middle politics. However the following represent some common issues, and the key issues of certain Radical Centrist organizations:

• Maximize citizen choice and individual empowerment (such as through civil rights and referendums)
• Maximize everyone's potential
• Be of genuine help to those in the developing world
• Be realistic, acknowledging absolute truth, relative knowledge, and complex value
• Build character by promoting conscious moral choices
• Expand community by people creating value for each other in reciprocal relationships
• Possess a foundation of traditional values and Common sense
• Rational environmentalism, called the productive middle, usually based around the concept of enlibra

History of the terms

The term radical middle appears to have been spontaneously invented by several different communities around the turn of the millennium, apparently in response to frustration with the violence of extremism and tepidness of temperance. An early use appears to be from Gordon Fee's kingdom theology course at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the 1970s, which helped inspire the Vineyard Movement. He used the term radical middle to contrast the evangelical focus on the future kingdom of God with the Pentecostal emphasis on the present kingdom of God.

The first known use of the term was by Jules Feiffer in a comic strip that appears in Hold Me!, a collection published by Random House in 1962.

While the term radical center has been used in various ways since at least the 1970s, the modern movement by that name draws its inspiration from the book The Third Way by Anthony Giddens (1998) and Giddens's highly-regarded follow-up book The Third Way and Its Critics (2000). In the U.S. third way politics is most actively represented by the New America Foundation and its book by Ted Halstead and Michael Lind, The Radical Center (2001). Subsequent introductions to radical centrist politics include, most notably, Matthew Miller's book The Two Percent Solution (2003) and Mark Satin's book Radical Middle: The Politics We Need Now (2004). (Interestingly, Lind was once a promising young conservative, Miller was once an aide in President Clinton's White House, and Satin was a co-author of the U.S. Green Party's founding document from the 1980s, "Ten Key Values.")

Positioning

Radical centrists are related to what is sometimes called the Vital Center in American politics, and similarly claim to be drawing on the best of both sides. However, they differ significantly from traditional centrism, which prides itself on moderation and seeking political consensus amongst the parties; radical centrists, for example, are often quite radical and populist in their stated policies. Radical centrists also can be divisive, as opposed to the non-partisan approach of traditional centrism. This leads to many moderates questioning whether radical centrism deserves to be called centrist at all (perhaps analogous to how the Left and Right often distance themselves from their respective radical wings). For their part, radical centrists are quick to dissociate themselves from traditional moderates, whom they often contrast as the "sensible center", or deride as the "squishy center."

Radical centrists can be found in both left-wing and right-wing political parties, but (like other centrists and independents) are usually penalized for being out of step with that party's dominant ideology. This leads to tension between what might be called separatist factions, who want to shed an unhelpful party label in order to run as independents, and puritans who want to reform (or take over) the party from within. This tension is particularly acute in countries with strong two-party traditions, since it is difficult for third-party candidates to win office or create governable coalitions absent significant electoral reform.

Radical centrists see themselves as building majority consensus for radical reforms by sidestepping (or confronting) what they consider the obsolete, polarized and non-productive ideologies of (social Conservatism/economic Liberalism) and (social Liberalism/economic Conservatism). Radical centrists assert that their principles represent the fusion of the best aspects of Conservatism and Liberalism, and thus interpolate at the level of philosophy rather than policy. They claim these ideological moorings (the 'root' behind their sociological use of the term 'radical') provide the basis for their critique of society, government and other political movements.

Radical Centrist Organizations

• Mark Satin, editor of the Radical Middle Newsletter

• The New America Foundation, the premier radical centrist think tank in the U.S.

• RadicalCentrism.org http://RadicalCentrism.org , founded by Ernest Prabhakar

• Radical Center American Party http://www.radicalcenter.org , not quite a political party, for now it is just a website with some political thoughts and some links to other Radical Center sites and thought. It even has its own Wiki http://www.radicalcenter.org/radicalcenterwiki/ for you to contribute to American Radical Center thought and political-party evolution.

Howard Dean alleged to be of the Radical Center

In late 2003, several people* made the claim that Howard Dean, then the front-runner for the United States Democratic Party presidential nomination, represented the radical center. While this may well have been a defensible description of his policies as Vermont Governor, his loss of the nomination to John Kerry was commonly attributed to his being perceived, even by Democrats, as excessively liberal (in the U.S. sense of the word), rather than any form of centrist.

External links

General/Philisophical Uses

• Media Literary for a New Millennium: Finding the "radical center" http://www.acmecoalition.org/radicalcenter.html

• Quest for the Radical Middle: A History of the Vineyard http://www.vineyardusa.org/about/history/quest.htm

• New Bishop Frank Griswald claims to stand at 'radical center' of Episcopalian church http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/7ta/7ta072.html

• The Centrist Moment http://anglicansonline.org/resources/essays/whalon/centrist.html in the Anglican Church

• Yahoo! Radical Middle discussion group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/radical-middle/ , a spin-off of PoMoXian http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pomoxian

• Toward The Radical Center: A Karel Capek Reader http://www.catbirdpress.com/bookpages/reader.htm

• The Quivira Coalition for harmony between humans and nature at the Radical Center http://www.quiviracoalition.org/documents/Invitation.asp

• Ground Rules of Civil Society: A Radical Centrist Manifesto http://RadicalCentrism.org/manifesto.html

Political Organizations

Media coverage of the 'radical middle' phenomena in (mostly American) politics:

• Richard D. Kahlenberg's analysis of "The Radical Center" http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/21/kahlenberg-r.html

• Leif Utne's article The Radical Middle http://www.utne.com/pub/2004_125/promo/11350-1.html in The Utne Reader

• The New American Idol http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.09/idol_pr.html Wired on Arnold Schwarzenegger as the start of 'radical' centrism.

• Environmentalist Robert Olson's article "The Rise of 'Radical Middle' Politics" http://www.wfs.org/revsatinjf05.htm in The Futurist

Information from self-described Radical Middle/Radical Centrist organizations:

• Welcome to the Radical Middle http://www.radicalcentrism.org/middle by RadicalCentrism.org http://www.radicalcentrism.org/about.html

• The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy http://www.lse.ac.uk/Giddens/ThirdWayCriticsPR.htm

• The Responsive Communitarian Platform http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/platformtext.html

• The Radical Center: The Future of American Politics http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=book_Rev&pubID=1011

• The Radical Middle Newsletter http://radicalmiddle.org/ , home of Radical Middle: The Politics We Need Now http://www.radicalmiddle.com/book.htm

• Hans Masing http://masing2004.com/platform.php , Radical Middle candidate for U.S. Congress, Michigan

• The Thom Hartmann Program, http://www.thomhartmann.com/radicalmiddle.shtml a radio commentator calling for a Radical Center

• EarthOps.org's Radical Centrist Party Political Platform? http://earthops.org/political_plank.html

• Colorado Voices: The Radical Center http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~156~1780422,00.html where "compassionate, common-sense solutions" come from.

Howard Dean links

• Michael Cudahy on Dean http://www.greaterdemocracy.org/2003_08_01_gd.html as representing the Radical Center
• David Ellis, self-proclaimed part the radical center http://www.salonmag.com/opinion/letters/2003/09/19/clark_right/ responding to Salon's article on Howard Dean and Wesley Clark.
• CalPundit blog on Dean http://www.calpundit.com/archives/001555.html as more radical centrist than liberal.
• Article quoting Mark Wiener on Dean being an "exemplar of the radical middle" http://deandefense.org/archives/000877.html