Radical Centrism: A Unifying Paradigm of Civil Society

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A RADICAL CENTRIST PLATFORM FOR CALIFORNIA
An Open Letter to Gubernatorial Candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger

http://RadicalCentrism.org/platform_ca2003.html

Dear Mr. Schwarzenegger:

Congratulations on your bid to become governor of America's most populous state. We know that much of the world considers this recall (and your campaign) little more than a wacky California joke. But we believe that the recall, despite its background of petty partisanship and sometimes childish rage, is a refreshing reminder that citizens want, need, and deserve good governance. And we applaud you for your goals of wanting to be pro-business, pro-environment, pro-education, and pro-fiscal responsibility, all at the same time.

Of course, we know where roads paved with good intentions can lead. Everyone is wondering how you are going to translate these lofty, even paradoxical, ideals into concrete proposals, policies, and priorities-- in short, into a real political platform. In case you are still hammering out the details of yours, we wanted to tell you about ours.

We are part of an emerging political movement called Radical Centrism. [1] We reject the extremism of an individualistic Right and a paternalistic Left, as well as the complacency of the so-called "sensible center." We believe that it is still possible to build a broad-based governing coalition to pursue fundamental change by pursuing three common-sense values:

  1. Listen critically to everyone
  2. Make the hard decisions openly
  3. Admit to your mistakes

The problem with professional politicians isn't that they're particularly evil or stupid; it's just that they've fallen into the very human trap of believing only their friends and ignoring their critics. As a result, they find themselves making ever greater compromises to maintain the allegiance of ever narrower vocal minorities. The only way out is not to worry whether your "core constituency" likes you, but instead to get the broad majority to respect you. That starts by treating everyone with respect, including and especially those who disagree with you (an approach sometimes called Aikido Politics). [2]

In particular, we would like to recommend to you a Radical Centrist platform focused on a few key areas:

A. Fiscal responsibility

California's financial system reflects a tortured history of ideological and political battles. Each individual fight was often noble, but the end result was losing the war of financial discipline. We urge you to reform the process [See note A] of how financial decisions are made, and to create a tax and budget process that is fair, transparent, and sustainable--regardless of who wins and loses. [3] Admit the truth: when we've spent ourselves into the indebtedness that our state has, there's no painless way out. We believe, however, that people are willing to accept painful decisions as long as they know that the process is honest, the pain will be shared, and the results will benefit everyone.

B. Professionalized education

The fundamental problem with public education isn't financial, but structural. Education reform is currently trapped between conservatives who seemingly want to abandon public education, and liberal teachers' unions and colleges who appear committed to protecting the present mediocrity. We believe that the best way to improve education is to train and reward teachers like professionals rather than bureaucrats. [4] In exchange for that newfound respect, however, parents and communities need to be able to hold educators accountable for their results, similar to what we expect from businesses and elected officials. It won't be easy, and it won't be cheap, but people are amazingly willing to make sacrifices if they believe that it will really help our kids.

C. Cost-effective Justice

If there's one thing citizens demand from their government, it is public safety. So it's time to admit that we aren't getting our money's worth from our antiquated and expensive criminal justice system. We need a justice system focused on directly addressing the causes and effects of crime, at both the individual and community level, rather than simply locking people up so we don't have to think about them. Many organizations are developing models based on the ideas of collaborative, therapeutic, or restorative justice, which focus on transforming communities yet still hold individuals accountable. [5] What is needed is leadership from someone tough enough to turn these models into reality.

D. Energy AND Environment

It's time to explode the myth that economic development and environmental stewardship are incompatible goals. With our natural, human, and technological resources, California has an opportunity to reap the rewards of making the world a better place. The National Energy Policy Initiative [6], an alliance of energy producers and environmental activists, shows that it is possible to find a common ground that can lead us to a money-making, lifestyle-enriching, environmentally- sustaining future. If did that in our state, we could show the world how to save both our trees and our SUVs. [7]

E. Political reform

You probably know better than anyone that this recall presents a unique opportunity to take your message directly to the people. Although it has generally served us well for centuries, the two-party system has now led to gatekeeper primaries where candidates are tested for ideological purity, as defined by the faithful few who show up. The end result is a calcification of political thought and a dearth of candidates who can represent majority viewpoints. To reinvigorate the political process, we encourage you to adopt (a) "instant runoffs" [actually, Approval Voting; see note C]where voters rank candidates in order of preference, and (b) proportional Presidential voting, where the states' electors are divided based on the proportion of votes each candidate received. [8] Both might wreak havoc with existing party politics, but ultimately would improve both the choices and the impact of California citizens.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. We know that you have some smart people on your staff, so hopefully they'll come up with even better ideas than these. But if nothing else, we hope that this encourages you to think "outside the box," and dare to make a radical change--a Radical Centrist change--in California. And perhaps the powers that be will discover that, even if the recall is a joke, it is a practical joke. On them.

Sincerely,
Your Friends at RadicalCentrism.org
August 19th, 2003

RadicalCentrism.org is an anti-partisan think tank based near Sacramento, California, which is seeking to develop a new paradigm of civil society encompassing politics, economics, and philosophy. We are dedicated to developing and promoting the ideals of Reality, Character, Community & Humility as expressed in our Radical Centrist Manifesto: The Ground Rules of Civil Society.

NOTES

[1]
Radical Centrist thought is exemplified by such books as The Third Way (Anthony Giddens) and The Radical Center (Halstead & Lind), as well as Mark Satin's The Radical Middle Newsletter (See http://RadicalCentrism.org/links.html)
[2]
For a working example of Aikido Politics, see the Rocky Mountain Institute's definition of "Positive Action." http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid154.php
[3]
For innovative thinking on taxation in the digital age, see The Radical Center (above), pp. 128-147.
[4]
The Radical Middle Newsletter, September / October 2002, "What Our Schools Need Now: Great Teachers, Great Teachers, Great Teachers." http://www.radicalmiddle.com/x_teachers.htm
[5]
As one example, The PFI Centre for Justice and Reconciliation defines Restorative Justice as "a systematic response to wrongdoing that emphasizes healing the wounds of victims, offenders and communities caused or revealed by the criminal behavior." http://www.restorativejustice.org/
[6]
The National Energy Policy Initiative is a non-governmental, non-partisan, foundation-funded project designed to support the development of a stakeholder-based national energy policy. http://www.nepinitiative.org/
[7]
See the Rocky Mountain Institute's Hypercar(TM) project, which aims to spur development of vehicles such as a 70 miles-per-gallon SUV.
[8]
See Halstead & Lind's in-depth analysis of electoral reform in The Radical Center (above), pp. 109-123, arguably the most compelling section of the book.

ADDENDUM

[A]
The best suggestion for structural reform we have seen so far is analysts' recommendations for improving California's bond ratings. While analysts undoubtedly have their own biases, at least they aren't directly tied to California politics, so this is as objective an assessment as we're likely to get.
[B]
Interestingly, cost-based prison reform is starting to be adopted in a number of states, due to an unlikely coalition of liberals who wants to decrease punishment, and conservatives who want to avoid spending more on prisons.
[C]
After further analysis, we now recommend Appproval Voting, where voters simply vote 'yes' for one or more candidates, over Instant Runoff. Studies show that Appproval Voting offers the same benefits as Instant Runoff, at far lower cost and with fewer negative side effects. Brian Olson has drafted preliminary legislation for enabling modern voting in California .