6.2.6.3 A Centrist Approach to Resolving Issues
If politicians take a centrist approach in resolving issues, to find a compromise, they can maximise acceptability for the population.
There is no widely agreed definition for the term ‘centrism’. As used here, it is taken to mean the attempt to find common ground, bridging people’s different political views, to implement policies for the benefit of the population. As outlined in the Introduction to this book, governance needs to be acceptable, negotiable, inclusive and prudent to achieve these aims. (Chapter 2 defines these assessment criteria, which are used throughout the book.)
When a government is pursuing a policy agenda, it only needs enough support to obtain a narrow majority for any decision within a democratic assembly – but it will win greater public acceptability if it seeks wider agreement. It is desirable to find a broad consensus, as described above (6.2.6), on policy decisions. No politician advocates the complete abolition of healthcare for the needy, for example, but there are differences of opinion about who should qualify for government assistance and how much they should receive. Compromises are needed.
The moderate wings within each political party are likely to be able to accept centrist policies because they are open to negotiation, despite their different concerns:
● Lockean Individualists want to minimise infringements on individual liberty (6.2.2.2). As advocates of capitalism, they prefer to avoid government intervention and to let people choose for themselves – but they also accept that some concessions are necessary for the common good.
● Social Democrats accept the principle of paying taxes to achieve common aims (6.2.3.1), but they also recognise the need for a strong economy – so capitalism must be allowed to thrive, requiring consumer choice and property rights.
● Burkean Conservatives want to minimise (but not completely avoid) changes to the status quo (6.2.4.1). If changes were clearly necessary, they would ask how the disruptive impact might be minimised.
● Pragmatic Progressives want to improve people’s lives and to plan for the future (6.2.5.1). They recognise, though, that they need to maintain public support and to take account of what is politically realistic.
A centrist approach to policy-making uses the room for compromise within these political positions. It may not simply be a matter of designing compatible solutions, though. It might be worth exploring the above concerns in a structured process of formal consultations on difficult issues, as described later (6.5.3). Publishing the analysis would then help to convince doubters that a decision had been carefully and fairly reached. Such conduct of political negotiations is explored more fully towards the end of this chapter (6.8.4).
To illustrate the need for reconciling differences, John Hume acted as an intermediary between the IRA and the Ulster Unionists in Northern Ireland. He advocated a readiness to negotiate between two extreme forms of nationalism and sectarian differences. He said that “Politics is the alternative to war”. An LRB article by him, on the end of the Unionist veto in Ulster, included this quotation:
“…we still have too many who simply want victory for their point of view. When will they learn that they are not the people? Like ourselves, they represent only a section of the people and all sections have to be involved and accommodated in any solutions.”
This should apply to all aspects of government policy. The requirement for acceptability favours a centrist approach, to get the support of most people. Matthew d’Ancona’s article, The missing centre, pointed out that the centrist approach has become discredited by being identified with an unresponsive political elite. It needs to be revitalised:
“centrism …is the only electorally plausible alternative to the rampant populism that has been such an unmitigated disaster. To abandon the values that centrists have long held—the commitment to reason, practical public policy, the rule of law, internationalism, pluralism and basic decency—would be a grave abdication of responsibility.”
D’Ancona’s point is well made: a centrist approach involves active policy-making to improve people’s lives. Political neglect has led to resentment by those who feel left behind by changes in society, as described later in this chapter (6.7.8). A problem that he did not address, though, is the fact that the centre varies by time and place: the French expect more active government intervention than Americans do, and external shocks such as the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine greatly affect what is needed and what is politically possible.
This page is intended to form part of Edition 4 of the Patterns of Power series of books. An archived copy of it is held at https://www.patternsofpower.org/edition04/6263c.htm