Yes to Moderation, No to Centrism - Dionne

[Donnachaidh]

http://truthout.com/yes-moderation-no-centrism/1311860569

Washington - What the country yearns for is moderation. What we hear about is the political center. But centrism has become the enemy of moderation.

Moderation in politics is about balance. It means believing in a vibrant and innovative private sector and a government substantial enough to do what the private sector doesn't and to enforce sensible rules for economic competition. It means incentives for success, help for those making their way up, and security for the sick, the aging, the poor, the unlucky. It means equilibrium between our love of individualism and our desire for community. This, in turn, means that reducing the budget deficit can't rely only on cutting programs. Yes, taxes need to go up.

All the polls I have ever seen peg the vast majority of Americans as moderate by this definition.

Centrism is something altogether different. It's not a philosophy. It's a position based on calculation. It doesn't start with fixed principles. It measures where everyone else stands on some political spectrum at a given moment and then frantically adjusts.

MORE at the link --

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[Bluenorthwest]

2. Centrism is in fact nothing more than a dereliction of duty

in favor of calculating short term self service. Look at the very worst forces in political history and know a centrist would gladly meet that half way.

[n2doc]

3. Centrism needs to be destroyed

See:
http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2011/07/only-nixon-can-go-to-nixonland.html