Radical centrists can often be found in both left-wing and right-wing political parties, but (like other centrists) are usually penalized for being out of step with that party's dominant ideology. This leads to tension between what might be called separatist factions, who want to shed an unhelpful party label in order to run as independents, and puritans who want to reform (or take over) the party from within. This tension is particular acute in countries with strong two-party traditions, since it is difficult for third-party candidates to create governable coalitions.

Table of contents

1 History 2 External links 3 Howard Dean and the Radical Center

History

While the term radical center has been used in various ways since at least the 1970s, the modern movement by that name draws its inspiration from the book The Third Way by Anthony Giddens (1998) and Giddens's highly-regarded follow-up book The Third Way and Its Critics (2000). In the U.S. third way politics is most actively represented by the New America Foundation and its book by Ted Halstead and Michael Lind, The Radical Center (2001). Subsequent introductions to radical centrist politics include, most notably, Matthew Miller's book The Two Percent Solution (2003) and Mark Satin's book Radical Middle: The Politics We Need Now (2004). (Interestingly, Lind was once a promising young conservative, Miller was once an aide in President Clinton's White House, and Satin was a co-author of the U.S. Green Party's founding document from the 1980s, "Ten Key Values.") Radical centrist politics often makes use of a Radical middle approach to problems, and the two terms are often used interchangeably.

External links

Organizations concerned with Radical Centrist politics include:

• Radical Middle Newsletter
• The Radical Center: The Future of American Politics
• Richard D. Kahlenberg's analysis of "The Radical Center"
• Radical Middle: The Politics We Need Now
• The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy
• Ground Rules of Civil Society: A Radical Centrist Manifesto
• The Thom Hartmann Program, a radio commentator calling for a Radical Center
• EarthOps.org's Radical Centrist Party Political Platform?
• The Quivira Coalition for harmony between humans and nature at the Radical Center
• Colorado Voices: The Radical Center where "compassionate, common-sense solutions" come from.

Howard Dean and the Radical Center

There is also (as of late 2003) a move of people referring to Howard Dean as representing the radical center, though "centrist" is more apt. This highlights the problem that many people define the center as 'less extreme than some in their community', which may not be seen as centrist by the larger community.