But properly understood — and it rarely is — centrism embodies the best of American politics. And it provides the only real path forward for a diverse, fragmented and highly contentious democracy under strain. In fact, embedded within centrism are the precise tools we need to fix what ails our democracy.
A dive into true centrism reveals its power and utility. But first, we have to dispense with some things that centrism is not. Centrism isn’t a mushy tendency to compromise. It isn’t a brain-dead fondness for style over substance. Above all, it is not to be confused with “moderation” — the futile and frankly foolish attempt to carve out a space halfway between the extremes of MAGA authoritarianism on the right and rabid nihilism from the left.
If climate change is a fact, to take one example, then splitting the difference with climate deniers is nonsensical. And if the MAGA movement assaults truth, then telling half of the truth or telling the truth half the time isn’t centrism. It’s absurdism, and a sure path to meaninglessness and nihilism.
Centrism, rather, is a mind-set. It’s more than humility, tolerance and restraint, although all of those are necessary elements. Above all, it’s an approach to governance, and not a list of specific policy prescriptions. It can be bold, pragmatic and popular.
And there’s nothing squishy about it.
Centrists don’t start coups
At its best, centrism appreciates that wisdom does not exist solely on one side or the other of the political spectrum, and it demonstrates the flexibility to combine the best of both traditional conservatives and progressives. Traditional conservatives have something to offer in defense of free-market capitalism, and they provide necessary caution against the unintended consequences of dramatic change. Progressives’ devotion to equal opportunity and willingness to remediate historic inequalities are essential as well.
Thus, being a centrist requires a willingness to admit that all wisdom does not reside on one side of the spectrum. It also requires flexibility to incorporate good ideas that may seem contradictory. Centrism recognizes that capitalism and regulation, individual merit and social justice, and diversity and cohesion not only can coexist but must operate in tandem within a healthy, balanced society. Centrism, in short, stands for the proposition that ideological tensions are best resolved when we incorporate elements from conflicting perspectives.
And here’s what’s so special about centrism: It works. Centrism can tame even the most serious divisions in heterogeneous societies.
Since President Biden’s stunning announcement that he will not run for reelection, praise has poured in not only for his selfless decision but also for a term of immense accomplishment. It is no coincidence that a quintessential political centrist achieved so much and now can provide Vice President Harris an enviable record on which to run. As we examine his presidency, we should not ignore the effectiveness of his centrist outlook in steadying the country during a tumultuous time.
Biden has combined spending with deficit reduction, and a historic investment in green energy, with market-based incentives. He found allies across the aisle despite disagreement on everything from infrastructure to microchip production to (finally) aid for Ukraine. His goals have been progressive, but in exuding moderation and borrowing the right amount of policy from right and left, he brought ballast to the presidency at a turbulent time.
Biden’s brand of centrism has produced one of the most successful legislative records in decades, reduced inflation and unemployment, goosed growth and contributed to a vast reduction in crime.
Centrism is also an electoral winner. In Britain, the Labour Party succeeded by moving to the center, providing a reasonable alternative to the faltering Tories. Its journey to the far left under Jeremy Corbyn was a disaster; its return to the center a stunning success. Biden’s centrism carried him to victory in the hard-fought 2020 Democratic primary, then went on to attract millions more votes than any presidential candidate in history in that general election. Going into this fall’s election, Biden centrism endures as a fundamentally strong platform, especially in contrast to the ever-more-radical agendas of many in the GOP. The latter turns out to be quite unpopular.
Biden has also been a stalwart defender of democracy — another issue incompatible with halfway compromise. In fact, centrism is the ultimate insurance policy for democracy. Specifically, centrism safeguards critical democratic norms, such as respect for the rule of law, willingness to accept election results and the rejection of violence. Such norms stem not simply from personal virtue, but from the heart of centrism — the understanding that your side’s defeat does not mean the apocalyptic fall of the nation. Centrism rejects Manichaeism, allows the natural ebb and flow of political power and respects coequal branches of government.
Plus, centrists don’t start coups. And they certainly don’t tolerate those who do.
The role of the courts
Centrism is critical not only to elected branches but to the courts as well. Centrists jealously guard the independence of the courts, and are especially attuned to the danger to democracy when courts are politicized, lose esteem and undermine respect for the rule of law.
In recent years, be it in Poland, Turkey or the United States, politicization of the judiciary at the hands of right-wing ideologues has endangered liberal democracy itself. A judiciary co-opted by reactionary politicians soon loses the qualities that the rule of law — an essential aspect of liberal democracies — provides. Politicized judges who reflexively side with the politicians who appoint them inevitably discard precedent and strain to reach predetermined outcomes — the antithesis of centrism. They accelerate rather than block their side’s power grabs. In doing so, they jettison their own legitimacy. Any court that earns the scorn of voters soon earns efforts to impede its independence and limit its jurisdiction.
There can be no better example than the current U.S. Supreme Court. Compare Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy — two former Republican-appointed justices widely regarded as centrists — with Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and the trio of Donald Trump appointees: Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. In selecting O’Connor and Kennedy, President Ronald Reagan put on the bench justices widely respected for their independence, common sense, flexibility and restraint. They went on to help the high court stay tethered to a modern America, moving incrementally and adhering to precedent on hot-button issues such as affirmative action and abortion. Public support remained high for decades.
By contrast, a court transformed into a pugilist for right-wing partisans has tanked its public approval and spread legal chaos, which inevitably follows radical departures from precedent. When voters come to see judges as something other than neutral arbitrators, the courts lose legitimacy. Such courts wind up endangering the foundational principles of liberal democracy.
Ending all-or-nothing politics
We can attribute democracy’s woes around the world to failure to spread economic prosperity, demographic change and the decline of civics education, as well as religious fundamentalism, information bubbles and globalism. Some combination of these factors inevitably leads to support for strongmen who vow to fix intractable problems that “messy” democracy cannot solve. But we are looking in the wrong places for our answers.
We can address all those challenges provided the spirit of centrism prevails. Centrism can accommodate diversity, secure democratic norms, and preserve a credible and independent judiciary, all essential and foundational to liberal democracy.
If one sincerely believes there are no permanent victors and no permanent losers; that solutions to problems stem from no single ideological pedigree; and that humility, tolerance and pragmatism are essential to governing complex, diverse modern countries, then sizable, even staggering, problems — from climate change to endemic poverty, from injustice to income inequality — can be effectively addressed within the context of liberal democracy.
“Radical centrism” might sound like an oxymoron. But centrism is certainly worth pursuing passionately and unreservedly. Having previously resided within the old, pro-democracy conservative Republican Party, I can appreciate the efficiency of markets, the need for a strong military defense and limited government. In my post-Republican years, I now see the necessity to combine markets with strong government investment, the folly of military adventures without clear endpoints and the need for administrative flexibility (rather than deference to scientifically illiterate courts).
I can also attest that neither side has all the answers. My political heroes are those who combine the best of each to reach workable solutions.
Currently, the political incentives in America reward extremists, but those incentives can change. Much of our polarization is driven by systemic incentives — particularly primaries and gerrymandering — that reward the extremes. So we can promote centrism with real political reform. A number of promising ideas are gaining traction around the country: term limits for Supreme Court justices (with each president getting a set number of appointments); ranked-choice voting that disadvantages extreme candidates; presidential Cabinets that include members of the opposite party; ending partisan gerrymandering; and campaign finance reform.
All these changes would help dilute extremism and cultivate greater respect for and accommodation of contrasting views. They could bring into the system people who are not burning to destroy their political opponents but rather who are devoted to ending all-or-nothing politics.
No, centrism currently is not viewed as sexy or daring. But neither is it well-understood. Both those things can be changed, but it will require the voices of more proud centrists to do it. In a time of turmoil and ideological rigidity, of shouting from the extremes with no interest in solutions, what America needs more than anything is for more people to declare themselves to be bold, dogged centrists.
Because history has shown us what happens to liberal democracies when the center does not hold.
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