Christian discussion of Radical Centrism –2009

Posted: August 14, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Centroids | Leave a comment
A very intelligent take, or at least one that mirrors my own. 🙂
from the site : Jesus Creed

January 9, 2009

Third Way as the Radical Center

Adam Hamilton’s Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics is a perfect blog book. I would love to see a host of evangelical churches using this book for group studies and discussions. It will surely bring out how it is that many think about various topics; it will also reveal what folks think.

What Hamilton makes clear to me is that the Third Way is not the way of compromise; instead, it is the way working out a Christian view of things regardless of which “party” prefers that option. It is a refusal to be an ideologue, a refusal to say “liberal is always right” or “conservative is always right.”

Do you think the middle is expanding? Do you see a trend for those on the right to move to the middle? Is a radical center attractive to you? Both politically and theologically? Overall, what do you think of this book?
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The Honest Way to Teach Comparative Religion

Posted: April 20, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Centroids | Leave a comment

An Open Letter from Billy Rojas to the Harvard Divinity Bulletin
http://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/bulletin_mag/

Editor:

A letter by Leo Shatin which appears in the Winter/Spring 2011 issue of HDB deserves serious comment. It is all well and good to teach about religion, following the template of Comparative Religion or similar programs, and do so starting at the public school level. As a retired teacher of history and Comparative Religion myself I can hardly argue with that premise.

This is crucial in a pluralistic democracy which is home to hundreds of millions of people who identify with a multitude of faith traditions. And it is crucial for anyone who intends to have dealings with people who live in other nations –India, China, Ethiopia, Iran, Japan, Brazil, Russia & etc– which do not share many of the assumptions and values that are foundational to American culture. It is a really good idea to promote the kind of education which allows US citizens to get along with each other and to understand the outlooks of the peoples of the Earth.

Cyrus the Great understood exactly this principle in the 6th century BC, which is what his famous Cylinder advocating religious tolerance throughout the polyglot Persian Empire was all about. And we can find similar sentiments expressed in such diverse sources as Malachi 1: 11 in the Bible, the Lotus Sutra, and Ludlul Bel Nimeqi, “I will praise the Lord of Wisdom,” of ancient Mesopotamia.

All of this said, however, Shatin made a vital point. If we are to teach religion truthfully shouldn’t we , as he put it, “incorporate historical instances and examples of misuses of religion” ? The reasons should be so obvious that further elaboration is not necessary. But there is an implication within this excellent suggestion that must be spelled out so that its importance is not lost.
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Billy Rojas: 10 Principles of Radical Centrism

Posted: November 22, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Centroids | 1 Comment

A great summary of general principles we seek to follow. — Ernie P.

Prepared by :  B Rojas  /   Nov 8 , 2010  /  Revised  Nov 10,  2010

10 Principles of Radical Centrism

( 1 ) RC is anti-partisan, it is more than “non-partisan”
This principle should not be taken too far. About specific issues partisanship
may well be in order. And there is respect for partisanship when it is appropriate,
such as among leaders of a political party, or at various “inspire the troops” events.
But party-line thinking is abhorrent to RC. It is axiomatic that each major party
will be wrong about 40 % of the time, with the 20 % difference ( between the two
parties ) in the category of uncertainty ,  or right-and-wrong .Obviously this general
idea  also applies to “other” parties or political philosophies.

( 2 ) RC seeks to learn whatever is useful or good
from all political movements or causes.
The exceptions, in principle, are totalitarian ideologies  Yes, even here, it is
worthwhile to study the hard Left or the far Right, but the point is that
extreme caution is necessary and ANY ideas which might be borrowed
from either persuasion need to pass serious tests to screen out even
a hint of authoritarian values. Otherwise we are open to new and useful

ideas  from just about anywhere on the political spectrum, Greens, Libertarians,
Social Democracy, the Constitution Party, and you-name-it, even if, by
the nature or American politics, most, by far, of what we are all about
is within a range of views from Democrats on the Left to
Republicans on the Right.

( 3 )  RC seeks creative “out of the box” solutions to problems .
This says that partisanship  –any party–  blocks some solutions
because there are pre-established priorities set by a political ideology.
Therefore, forget partisanship and seek a new solution from scratch
if, that is, objectively the new solution is really worthwhile.

( 4 ) RC seeks to solve problems by seeking to find a synthesis
between extremes that incorporates the best from Left and Right.
The qualification is that this is just one option, it is not  the only option to seeking
to solve problems. This makes RC partly Hegelian, which, as I see it,
is all for the Good.  It is important to note, however, that RC is NOT

a fusion of Social Liberalism and Fiscal Conservatism, a combination
that has sometimes inaccurately been designated as Radical Centrism.
Actual RC is issue-by-issue in character such that Radical Centrists
may well be 60 / 40 conservative on social issue and 60 / 40 liberal
on fiscal issues, or still other configurations, 70 / 30, 50/ 50 and so forth.

( 5 ) RC is based on ”  cafeteria politics.”
RC offers a platform for Independent voters to put together, as seems
smart and good to each Indy, a combination of  positions on issues taken from
both Left and Right  –and sometimes Other– in new ways. This obviously
is also only one alternative within RC.  But the point is that a significant number
of issues are pretty much set in concrete,  and not much can be added by way of
discussion to what they are. The problem of diminishing returns applies
to political ideas too. How much additional research or deep thinking
can possibly “refine” the abortion debate further ?  Same for teaching
evolution in the schools. To use these examples as metaphor for all other
such issues, one is a typical Right view, the other a typical Left view.
A Radical Centrist may say that both are Good, combining clearly
solid Left and solid Right positions.And this may be the case for
100 other issues. But if it really is RC there will be an approximate
balance, over all, although the exact mix may vary, year to year.

( 6 ) RC insists that all positions one takes should be researched.
The ideal is the informed voter. RC places a premium on education
as a general rule which applies specifically to politics. “Research”
assumes serious thinking, testing ideas, and all the rest.

( 7 )  RC prefers market solutions to problems.
However, this principle does not say “only” market based solutions.
It is easy to think of a good number of areas where government has offered
the best alternatives, from the Interstate highway system created under
Dwight D Eisenhower to development of the ARPENET and then the Internet,
to today’s work at NASA in developing a host of new technologies with considerable
potential for the entire US economy. But we prefer market solutions as much as
possible, including solutions which arise from competition in the “marketplace of ideas.”

( 8 ) RC requires that all issues anyone champions should be moral.
Exactly what this morality should consist of is open to discussion and debate
but it is safe to say that one version of this morality compares to the morality
of Evangelical Christians. However, this also says that compatible moralities
for example of many or most Buddhists, is also Radical Centrist in character.

( 9 ) RC finds its highest political ideals in the US Constitution
before all other sources
This hardly says that there aren’t other sources, everything from the Code of Hammurabi
to British common law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but the
US Constitution has a special place in RC thought and no ideas advocated
by Radical Centrists which can be deemed “unconstitutional” are acceptable.
When Radical Centrists arrive at new ideas which the Constitution does not address,
or when functional problems with the Constitution or its amendments are identified,
it is always acceptable to suggest new amendments.

( 10 )  RC is dedicated to responsible free speech
This means exactly what it says. Not all speech is responsible and free speech rights
can be abused. But otherwise Radical Centrists take the view that the First Amendment
is inviolable and essential to any kind of valid politics  –and much else. People should
be free to express their honest thoughts. Censorship, either de jure or de facto,
is abhorrent on principle. But in exercise of free speech it is our responsibility
to be constructive, fair, and honest. This may mean controversy, it may mean
criticisms of  vested interests and of public persons, but when we feel we should,
in conscience, speak out, that is our prerogative.   For this reason we feel an

affinity with many libertarians, who share this outlook,  even though, because
we regard morality as social necessity and libertarians seem to have
no obvious morality,  we are not libertarians ourselves even if some of us
are influenced by libertarianism. But others may be more influenced
by Teddy Roosevelt or a variety of personal heroes,

The Second Order Of Business

Posted: November 16, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Centroids | Comments Off on The Second Order Of Business

[Originally posted on November 16, 2006]

The following books seem to share a common mindset about the nature of modern business that represents a radical break from conventional thinking. But, what exactly *is* the common thread that ties them all together? I don’t know, but I hope that listing all their key findings here will leading to conceptual unification — what I call “Kepler’s Hedgehog.”

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The Purpose of Business: Sustainable Capitalism (2.0)

Posted: October 5, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Centroids | Comments Off on The Purpose of Business: Sustainable Capitalism (2.0)

[Originally posted on October 5, 2005]

Eureka! Thanks to John Mackey’s debate with Milton Friedman, I believe I’ve finally figured out the subtle flaw in the neo-classical formulation of capitalism:

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Islam, rioting, and Danish cartoons

Posted: February 8, 2006 | Author: | Filed under: Centroids | Comments Off on Islam, rioting, and Danish cartoons

Like much of the blogosphere, we’ve been having a spirited discussion of the significance of the rioting, sweeping the Middle East in response to some provocative cartoons in European newspapers, and what should/could be done about it. Here’s a few of the threads:

* What  can we do? What should we do about this?
* Open  Letter to Muslims Offended by the Danish Cartoon
* Islam  and hypocrisy
* Media  and hypocrisy

Let us know  what you think.

Billy Rojas: The Politically Incorrect Martin Luther King

Posted: November 7, 2005 | Author: | Filed under: Centroids | Comments Off on Billy Rojas: The Politically Incorrect Martin Luther King

Our resident historian Billy Rojas just published
a two-part series on the ideology, theology, and political orientation of Martin
Luther King, Jr. Read the rest of this entry »

Katrina versus Libertarians

Posted: October 2, 2005 | Author: | Filed under: Centroids | Comments Off on Katrina versus Libertarians

Like much of the blogosphere, Centroids has been
discussing the fallout from Katrina and what it tells us about
both government and Libertarian philosophy — specifically, the
limits of both. Read the rest of this entry »

Billy Rojas’ Radical Centrist Manifesto, Part I

Posted: August 22, 2005 | Author: | Filed under: Centroids | Comments Off on Billy Rojas’ Radical Centrist Manifesto, Part I
The prolific Billy Rojas has just posted another
impressive article, on the detailed philosophical and historical basis of
Radical Centrism:
The Radical Centrist
Manifesto
A PLATFORM
for CRITICAL-MINDED MORAL POLITICS
By :
Billy Rojas

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Radical Centrist Philosophy ? In Quotes!

Posted: August 16, 2005 | Author: | Filed under: Centroids | Comments Off on Radical Centrist Philosophy ? In Quotes!
Billy’s on a roll! He just posted a(nother) very
impressive two-part series outlining the basis of a Radical Centrist philosophy.
The first part is primarily a collection of fascinating quotes from
classical, modern, and current thinkers (including yours truly :-). The second
is what I might call an early historical analysis of the emergence of radical
centrism.
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