Radical Middle Political Newsletter: Idealism Without Illusions

MONTHLY ARTICLES BY MARK SATIN
. . . author of Radical Middle: The Politics We Need Now (Westview / Perseus, 2004), winner of "Outstanding Book Award 2004" from American Political Science Association / Section on Ecological and Transformational Politics; b. 1946; former street activist, former business attorney

To view some feisty e-mails to the editor, click HERE.

Is “Democracy” What the World Needs Now?
September 2008
Stanford professor Larry Diamond’s The Spirit of Democracy may be the most important book on international relations published this year. In impressive detail, Diamond tells us how to spread democracy abroad in the least coercive and most cost-effective manner. His strategy is the exact opposite of our strategy in Iraq, and it might work. But how benign is it, really? And is U.S.-style democracy what the world needs now, or is it something deeper and wiser that’s struggling to be born?

To receive brief monthly e-mails alerting you to our latest articles (it's convenient & free!), click HERE.

Listen, Centrist! The Bible Is Contested Meta-Political Ground
August 2008
Over 70 of you sent fiery and thoughtful emails to this newsletter in response to my article “The Bible Is Our One Essential Political Book” (immediately below), and I wove some of them into a follow-up article here. It is an article, not a mere collection of responses. It is an attempt to capture & shape our many-sided, “radical middle,” collective wisdom on this issue. And our wisdom turns out to be anguished, raw, and deep.

The Bible (?!?!) Is Our One Essential Political Book
June / July 2008 (double issue)
Many Americans have been eagerly turning to the Bible for the last two decades – and no, it’s not a right-wing plot. When read in a depthful and holistic way, the Bible is our one essential political book. This article introduces you to many of those who are pioneering depthful and holistic readings of the Bible, and who are using the Bible to inspire dialogue about our values and to transcend debilitating left-right divides.

To view the Toronto Star's recent retrospective on our editor, click HERE.

What the Poor Need Now . . . Is Barefoot Coaching?
May 2008
In response to our article calling for “barefoot coaches” for America’s poor (immediately below), we received a deluge of emails and letters. And what responses! Some are just, well, altogether too nice. But some explore and deepen our proposal profoundly. And others take issue with it from perspectives ranging from compassionate-conservative to liberal to radical. We share them here for your edification and enjoyment.

What the Poor Need Now
March / April 2008 (double issue)
The capabilities of the poor are not as great as we imagine. If we want to truly help the poor, then we’re going to have to coach them one on one, as an act of love, via a national service program.

UNDERSTANDING THE 2008 ELECTION:

Barack Obama: First Radical Middle Presidential Candidate?

Post-Partisan!: The First Uniquely American Political Ideology Is Being
Born

"The largest group up for grabs in the American electorate is what . . . a McCain supporter . . . called 'the radical middle'" -- E.J. Dionne in the Washington Post

Could Common Ground on Capitalism (and Globalization) Be at Hand?
February 2008
When the 21st century began, analysts couldn’t have been further apart in their assessments of capitalism (and globalization). Righteous rhetoric still abounds -- but beneath the rhetoric, there’s an increasing amount of common ground. Just look at six key texts from 2007, by authors as diverse as global-justice crusader Naomi Klein and business school professor William Baumol.

Participants Agonize Over (and Draw Lessons From) the Death and Life of the First Transpartisan Political Organization
January 2008
Before Reuniting America, before Unity08, before the New America Foundation and the Breakthrough Institute, was the New World Alliance (1979-83, RIP). We're not going to get it right in our own time if we can't figure out why the Alliance -- full of great people and healing, cutting-edge ideas -- fell flat.

WHY RADICAL MIDDLE ACTIVISM WORKS BEST:

Critique of Paul Hawken and His Party-of-Love Strategy

Critique of David Korten and His Party-of-Alienation Strategy

Critique of George Lakoff and His Us-Against-Them
Strategy

We've had OVER TWO MILLION ARTICLE VIEWS ("pageviews") through 2007 . . . and we're on track to have another 500,000 this year. See stats at the bottom of this page.

ABOUT RADICAL MIDDLE BLOG AND BOOK

Radical Middle, edited and largely written by Mark Satin, is a "blog" (aka online newsletter) that covers policy issues, conferences, and books in the fields of politics, law, business, and global governance.

From 1999 through 2004, Radical Middle was an old fashioned printed newsletter. Rest assured that this Web site is less primitive than it looks -- it was designed to resemble the printed newsletter!

We publish original articles each month. Our focus is on holistic, sustainable efforts that transcend politics-as-usual AND bitter alienation; our goal, one economically, culturally, racially, and politically integrated world.

Radical Middle is also an award-winning book published in 2004 by Perseus Books Group (see cover image close to this paragraph). You can get a good sense of the book by clicking on the special BOOK PAGE we've created for you. And you can purchase copies at discounts from Amazon.com (click HERE) or BarnesandNoble.com (click HERE). Alternately, please shop at your local bookstore -- and urge it to order more copies!

"Mark Satin's book [and] insightful web magazine . . . isn't the place to go [if you want] cheerleading for left activism. But it is a place for people . . . looking for fresh solutions." -- Art Levine, "Beyond Centrism," The Huffington Post, July 16, 2006

MORE MARK SATIN ARTICLES

There Is a Radical Middle in Congress, and Its Stars Are Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ)
December 2007
This month we polled 21 leading radical centrist thinkers and activists to determine the “Best Radical Middle or Post-Partisan Members of Congress.” They not only pinpointed Sen. Snowe and Rep. Holt, they threw the spotlight on 19 other members of Congress who are trying to promote creative and post-partisan new ideas. What will it take to make the Congressional radical-middle more visible and effective?

State of Our Vision 2007
November 2007
Four major books about U.S. political vision have recently hit the stands. Matt Bai shows that liberal Democrats have no vision (The Argument); Todd Gitlin offers a concrete but far too timid vision (The Bulldozer and the Big Tent); Paul Hawken portrays a “bold” but fuzzy and cloying vision (Blessed Unrest); and Ted Nordhaus & Michael Shellenberger offer a bold and concrete vision (Break Through), one that would drag activists from the “politics of limits” to the “politics of possibility.”

"In almost all public policy controversies, the antagonists represent different aspects of the real truth" -- Mark Gerzon, A House Divided (1996)

Is There an Invisible and Exceptionally Life-Loving Political Movement in Our Midst?
October 2007
Well, no. But Paul Hawken’s claim that there is -- in Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming (2007) -- is important and worth exploring. And refuting.

We Can Respond Effectively to Terrorism -- But Only if All Our Insights Are Made to Count
September 2007
Politicians, policy analysts, and pundits remain deeply divided over how to respond to the looming terrorist threat, and no wonder. Each of us -- from Republicans to Greens, from evangelicals to New Agers -- is expressing part of the truth about terrorism. If we honored everyone’s views, we could come up with a holistic and effective strategy. Can we learn to be humble (= inclusive) before it’s too late?

"Between the extreme positions . . . lies a third way[,] not simply a neutral center but a distinctive expression" -- Paul Ray & Sherry Anderson, The Cultural Creatives (2000)

Post-Partisan!: The First Uniquely American Political Ideology Is Being Born
August 2007
This summer's "Ceasefire!: Bridging the Political Divide” conference in Los Angeles (starring Michael Bloomberg & Arnold Schwarzenegger) ratified what some of us have known for quite some time: a uniquely American political ideology is arising. Its champions listen to all -- learn from all -- and strive to combine creativity with practicality. Its agenda is under construction just in time to affect the 2008 Presidential election.

Liberal vs. Conservative vs. Holistic Immigration Reform
July 2007
Once again, the Senate failed to produce a competent immigration reform bill. The problem was that Senators had been hammering out “compromises” with each other and with over 300 groups ranging from far left to far right. What we need isn’t compromise on positions, but respect for everyone’s deepest interests in the immigration debate -- and options that would allow for mutual gain. They’re easy to find once you look!

"For radical moderates like me, moving left or right is moving backwards" -- Joe Klein, author of Politics Lost, at New York City's 92nd Street Y (2002)

Mark Satin speaking with feeling at the Fall for the Book Literary Festival, September 21, 2004. Photo kindly donated to this Web site and the public domain by Penny H. Gilchrist, manager / hero of the Festival.

RADICAL MIDDLE ACTIVISM IS HERE:

Reuniting America: First “Transpartisan” Political Organization?

Unity08: The Most Promising Political Initiative of Our Time?

Repairing American Democracy: Changing the Rules Is Not
Enough!

"The extremes of right and left know where they stand, while the center furnishes what is original and unexpected" -- Alan Wolfe, Marginalized in the Middle (1996)

Re-inventing American History: When Narratives Collide, Compromise Is Not the Answer
June 2007
The political left loves Howard Zinn’s People’s History of the U.S.; the political right loves Larry Schweikart’s Patriot’s History. But the books could be about different countries! What is a whole human being to do? Fortunately, new approaches to U.S. history are gaining traction. Narratives are being built around ecology (Ted Steinberg), citizenship (Michael Schudson), freedom (Eric Foner), our connection to the world (Thomas Bender), and even our guiding visions (Zachary Karabell).

Safety and Love First: The Politics of Children’s Literature
May 2007
U.S. children’s books have spent the last 20 years celebrating “diversity," and that's fine so far as it goes. But if we want to produce good citizens and activists, then something may be more important: addressing young people's needs for safety, love, and belonging. The great children’s book author Barbara McClintock does this, which is why she’s one of the most significant political authors of our time.

"To hold the center is to listen to the voice of the inner mind" -- Lao-tzu, Tao Te Ching (c. 600 b.c.)

The One-State Solution for Israel-Palestine Is the Most Visionary AND the Most Sensible
April 2007
Under the radar, increasing numbers of Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans are saying that the two-state solution for Israel-Palestine is unworkable, and that a sensibly designed “one-state” solution could induce all parties to the conflict to finally grow up, accept each other’s rights and needs, and create a 21st century civilization together. (See some powerful responses to this article HERE under "June 1.")

Politicians, Pundits, and Activists Are Having a Culture War. The Rest of Us Are Nuanced or Ambivalent and Looking for New Directions
March 2007
Read the newspapers and the political Web sites and you’ll be convinced we’re in the middle of a culture war. But talk with ordinary people and you’ll soon realize that the vast majority of us are nuanced or ambivalent and open to healing new directions. So says political scientist Morris Fiorina in a greatly expanded new edition of his book Culture War?, and so says sociologist Wayne Baker in his brilliant paper “Purple America.”

"[The Radical] Center . . . should involve much more than a compromise between Democrats and Republicans!" -- Amitai Etzioni, Next: The Road to the Good Society (1999)

Are the Best Conservative Thinkers Becoming Radical Middle?
February 2007
Most radical-middle thinkers and activists are refugees from the left. But with the collapse of “small-government” conservatism and the incoherence of the Bush agenda, some innovative conservative thinkers and activists (many of them Gen-X or -Y) are beginning to sound more radical-middle than Republican. One giant step for the integral radical-middle project!

The Human Qualities We Need Now
January 2007
Prominent social scientists like Alan Wolfe and Ronald Dworkin are blaming the decline of our democracy on the ignorance and self-centeredness of the American people. But their proposed solutions (better schooling, etc.) lack depth. So we turned to the recently chosen “best novels” of the last 25 years -- Toni Morrison’s Beloved and J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace -- to see if they could give us a sense of the human qualities we need now . . . and we found that they do.

"Our problems and possibilities are not within the reach of the left / right scheme. [Thus] the idea of the radical centre" -- Anthony Giddens, The Third Way (1998)

EVEN MORE MARK SATIN ARTICLES

To view our archive of articles by Mark Satin, click HERE.

"Mark Satin is the best practitioner in the U.S. today of the I.F. Stone style of courageous, carefully researched, very original commentary. His perspective is more visionary than Stone's, and his writing is more personal" -- Michael Marien, editor, World Future Society's Future Survey

ARTICLES BY JOHN AVLON
. . . author of Independent Nation: How the Vital Center Is Changing American Politics (Crown / Random House, 2004) and Radical Middle Newsletter advisor; b. 1973; worked on Bill Clinton's re-election campaign, then worked for Mayor Giuliani from 1997-2001 and 2006-08:

To view our archive of articles by John Avlon, click HERE.

"It is admittedly far easier to divide than to unite. But while dividers may win battles, uniters win wars" -- John Avlon, Independent Nation (2004)

ARTICLES FROM NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION
. . . Washington DC's leading radical-middle think tank; founded by Gen-Xers Ted Halstead and Michael Lind, authors of the book The Radical Center (Anchor / Doubleday, 2001); chaired by Atlantic Monthly national correspondent and Radical Middle Newsletter advisor James Fallows:

To view the latest articles by New America fellows & senior fellows, click HERE.

"The Radical Center [is] interested not in tinkering at the margin . . . but rather in promoting, when necessary, a wholesale revamping" -- Ted Halstead & Michael Lind, The Radical Center (2001)

THIS WEBSITE'S GREATEST HITS
(during the third quarter of 2008)

Articles

1. Ten Best American Political Novels

2. Post-Partisan! The First Uniquely American Political Ideology Is Being Born

3. The Bible (?!?!) Is Our One Essential Political Book

4. There Is a Radical Middle in Congress (2005-08)

5. Modest Women, Honorable Men

Sidebar Pages

1. Radical Middle, the Book

2. Manual for Draft-Age Immigrants to Canada

3. Over 50 Great Radical Centrist Blogs

4. About the Editor

5. New World Alliance

“One of the most important things to do is to keep cutting deliberately through political lines and barriers and emphasizing the fact that these are largely fabrications” -- Thomas Merton, The Hidden Ground of Love (ed. 1985)

Referrals from Other Websites

1. Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia (at least 13 Wikipedia pages link to us)

2. Moderate Voice

3. Bookforum ("JUL 14 2008 1:00 PM")

4. Celibacy.info (ONLY because they link to our Wendy Shalit review!)

5. Advocates for Self-Government

6. Light Party

7. Centrist Coalition

8. Donklephant

9. Yahoo! Directory of U.S. Political Magazines

10. Vietnam War Resisters in Canada

"An agenda for the radical middle . . . will require that the nation reach beyond purely economic considerations" -- Rudolph Penner & Isabel Sawhill, Updating America's Social Contract (2000)

AWARDS
10
"Top 10 e-newsletters for an emerging culture"
-- iShift, monthly e-zine of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, August 2006

RADICAL MIDDLE's predecessor newsletter, New Options, won Utne Reader's first "Alternative Press Award for General Excellence: Best Publication from 10,000 to 30,000 Circulation." It also made the Washington Post's chart of 10 periodicals spearheading "The Ideology Shuffle."

"Over the years, Satin has unabashedly challenged tired thinking on any part of the political spectrum" -- Helen Cordes in the Utne Reader

OUR WONDERFUL PLEDGERS

In order to survive (and flourish), we developed an innovative approach to self-support that doesn't rely on rich people, grant-givers, or moonlighting.

In the spring of 2005, we invited our readers to pledge to support one or more (symbolic) Parts of the online publication, at $50 / Part per year for a minimum of three years. We fixed the number of Parts at 300 -- making us one of the few nonprofit organizations in the country that's put a ceiling on the amount of money it's asking for! (A radical-middle idea if ever there was one.)

Over 190 people took us up on that invitation.

If you'd like to find out more, see a list of our 190+ Pledgers (they come from 34 states: not your usual Boston-to-Beltway crowd), or consider making a pledge for one of the few remaining Parts, click HERE. All contributions are tax-deductible.

"I [have] the vision of a radical pragmatist. I affirm whatever I think has the best chance of . . . being both inspirational and unsentimental" -- Stanley Crouch, The All-American Skin Game (1995)

ARRANGEMENT WITH AMAZON.COM

As an "Associate" of Amazon.com, we earn a substantial referral fee (at no cost to you) whenever you "click" on a book we've highlighted in blue and purchase it from Amazon.com. (Our "Best Books" sections include many such books. So do most of our articles.)

We earn a smaller but not insignificant fee (at no cost to you) on any items you buy after entering Amazon.com through the logo below.

So if you've been enjoying our writings, please help support our efforts by buying from Amazon.com through this website. We're one of the few political newsletters that's 100% independent of advertisers, Big Foundations, corporate largesse, and wealthy "publishers" . . . and we'd like to keep it that way.

"The Radical Center is not neutral, not middle-of-the-road, but a view of the whole road" -- Marilyn Ferguson, The Aquarian Conspiracy (1980)

POCKET POLICY GUIDE

INNOVATIVE, RADICAL-MIDDLE PATHS TO:

Budget Reform

Corporate Reform

Democracy Reform

Education Reform

Energy Independence

Foreign Policy Reform

Health Care Reform

Immigration Reform

National Service

Poverty Abatement

Terrorism Control

"What American politics urgently needs . . . is not a new left, but a new center . . . re-centered around a handful of fundamental goals on which all of us can agree" -- Matthew Miller, The Two Percent Solution (2003)

YES, LOGO?

This logo was created for us by the talented young founder of Openartist, Paul Bloch. Although we appreciate it no end (and bloggers are free to copy and use it, as was done HERE), I think a third creature representing imaginative new ideas -- owl? wolf? rhinoceros? -- needs to be in there somewhere.

"While most issues in contention are presented as having just two sides . . . there usually exists a third [from which] the truth of each competing point of view can be appreciated" -- William Ury, The Third Side (rev. 2000)

STAT SHEET

. . . or, how a Web site gets built via word of mouth (we do no advertising):

Year 2000    25,521 article views (aka "pageviews")
Year 2001    93,267
Year 2002    127,539
Year 2003    181,262
Year 2004    193,719
Year 2005    431,285
Year 2006    518,862
Year 2007    528,761

Total through 2007 2,100,576 article views

[If you'd like to verify by seeing our printouts, just send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to P.O. Box 70188, Oakland CA 94612.]

"I reject none, accept all, then reproduce all in my own forms" -- Walt Whitman, "By Blue Ontario's Shore" (1856)

THE RADICAL MIDDLE CONCEPT:

Why "Radical Middle"?

Over 40 Good People (Try to) Describe the Radical Middle

50 Best Radical Middle Books of the '00s (so far)

Ten Best Radical Middle Magazines, annotated

Over 20 Arguably Radical Middle National POLITICIANS

GREAT RADICAL MIDDLE GROUPS AND BLOGS:

NEW:
Over 250 Great Radical Centrist Groups and Organizations - all linked to their home pages AND to our articles!

Over 50 Great Radical Centrist Blogs - all with their bloggers named and described!