Clive Crook's "Radical Centrism"
Split-the-difference centrism is often necessary in a democracy, and not to be despised, but that isn’t how I think about issues. I’ve supported a bigger and longer lasting stimulus, a view usually associated with the left. I’ve supported Obamacare (flaws notwithstanding), a view usually associated with the left. I’m for higher taxes on investment income, a view usually associated with the left. I see public-sector unions as opposed to the public interest and would like to see their power curbed, a view usually associated with the right. I’m for partial privatization of social security, because I’d like to advance the ownership society, a view usually associated with the right. I think the federal government has taken on too much and that the balance of political power should be pushed back to the states, a view usually associated with the right. I could go on. Neither party wants anything to do with me, obviously. Perhaps that makes me a centrist -- but not a split-the-difference centrist. I prefer to think of myself as a radical centrist. Big difference.
