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I read this article by George Lakoff this morning and it has some good information. I want to focus on what Lakoff says about moving to the center. I have written about this topic here, here, and here. Check out what Lakoff has to say about it...
7. The Centrist Trap
There is a common belief that there is an ideological "center"--a large group of voters either with a consistent ideology of their own or lined up left to right on the issues or forming a "mainstream," all with the same positions on issues. In fact, the so-called center is actually made up of biconceptuals, people who are conservative in some aspects of life and progressive in others. Voters who self-identify as "conservative" often have significant progressive values in important areas of life. We should address these "partial progressive" biconceptuals through their progressive identities, which are often systematic and extensive.
A common mistaken ideology has convinced many progressives that they must "move to the right" to get more votes. In reality, this is counterproductive. By moving to the right, progressives actually help activate the right's values and give up on their own. In the process, they also alienate their base.
We don't need politicians that speak to the center, we need politicians that speak to the people about their shared values and who aren't afraid stand up for their beliefs.
3 comments:
Actually, I always thought that people were lined up with libertarians on one end and totalitarians on the other. "progressives" (ie leftists) and conservatives are just people who believe in liberty for some areas of their lives and state control for other areas. But, we should be focusing on human liberty and focus on those issues where the other person believes in liberty. So, on which issues do you believe in state control or totalitarianism?
I basically believe that the state should make sure all people have the most basic needs covered (healthcare, education, safety in the workplace, clean environment, etc). What the person does with that is up to them, as long as it does not harm someone else.
Want to quantify where you stand on economic and social liberty? Try taking this test.
The Dalai Lama and I are looking for two more for a foursome. It's pretty lonely in the third quadrant.
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