The Centre Line (2)

I was going to put down some more ideas of what a centrist holds to, but there have been a good number of great responses to the initial list from yesterday and I thought it might be best to include them in this post. Some of these suggestions are quite evocative and well thought out.

From Facebook

Christopher notes - "I like your definition of progressive centrist, especially "•believes in evidence-based research and practice and not some kind of political dogma". Unfortunately, we'll get more political dogma from the Conservatives over the next four years with more prisons, trying to shut Insite, ignoring climate change, etc. ... Liberals believe being centrist means being all things to all people. Selling a conservative side to conservatives and talking more about progressive initiatives than actually taking action on them. The Kelowna Accord was a good step forward, but Liberal govts should have done more for native people earlier."From Mandy: "Love your definition of "centrist." I would add to that "is troubled by the notion that for-profit corporations define public policy."Mark from the West coast writes: "When I think of the word centrist, I see the word in a positive light... compromise. It's part of Canadian politics, but I find those who compromise the most are centrists. And that's a good thing. We have always been an inclusive society. A society that accommodates, tolerates, respects, and protects. A centrist for me is a person who can find common ground through the turmoil, and can raise ourselves to be better as a whole rather than through segments of a few. Non-centrists: rule through ultimatums. Centrists: rule through compromise. I think where a party can lack focus is when they try to be both centrists and non-centrists. That causes confusion amongst voters. You can't say I will listen to the people for A, B, and C, but when it comes to D, E, F, and G, we will not listen. Compromise is hard work, but the rewards are long-term. Ultimatums may look great, but they rarely last. That's why I'm a centrist."

From Twitter

Shawn states: "I could get behind a party with this stuff in its DNA."Chris says: " Yes! This is a definition of sensible and responsible people who I would be proud to work with."Peter asks: " I'm wondering if, in your search for a more progressive centre, you'll be considering more parties than just the Liberal Party?"Jodi observes: "This is going to be interesting."

By E-mail

A thoughtful piece from Harris: "In response to your calls for a definition of centrist, I think the most important acknowledgment of the idea is that centrism is not, and cannot, be a static idea. The idea “dynamic stability” is generally applied to physics, but is applicable to public policy as it suggests that true “centrism” means acknowledging a definition cannot be made. Centrism will change, fluctuate and may be unrecognizable in 10 years. It may be unrecognizable next week! At its heart, centrism should be a general openness to ideas, and the rejection of politics as an adversarial sport.  

• ·         Acknowledging that principles are important, but should not prevent us from considering all ideas. Aristotle said it is the mark of an educated mind to consider ideas without believing them. An example of this is private healthcare. An introduction of private factors may or may not be a good idea, but if we are to define ourselves as centrist we must consider the possibilities.
• ·         An emphasis on public policy innovation. The healthcare debate is an excellent example of this. While private healthcare in the Americanized way may not be what we want for Canada, as healthcare costs mount, we owe it to Canadians to consider innovative ways to deliver healthcare without compromising our system. This may include, not a private system, but possibly private elements.
• ·         Acknowledging that there is no level of information that can make one truly objective, every player brings a unique perspective. No matter what, we will at one time or another veer to the right or left on a policy decision or opinion. The goal should be to ensure you spend as equitable time as possible on both sides.  Further to this point, is being aware when your opinion does veer too far to the left or right. As a passionate centrist, I am most satisfied when my opinion is attacked by extremists on both the right and the left.
• ·         Politically “Confusing policy” will be essential. When someone looks at a centrist, they should have difficulty defining them or their policies as right or left. The best policy will use ideas from all sides of the political spectrum. An example is competition regulation. Competition is a right-wing value, and regulation is a left-wing idea. Centrist policy comes from creating hybrid policies, those that achieve left-wing values with right-wing ideas, and right-wing values with left-wing ideas.

Add these to these the comments to yesterday's blog and you can see people have put time into ruminating about this. There's a wide view of diversity here but there are obvious commonalities. It's not important that we come up with definitions at present, merely that we put forward the values that we believe should be encapsulated in the progressive centre. Keep them coming ... and thanks.