Socialism is an incurable disease. | Radical Middle: The Politics We Need Now

Highly impressed, greatly needed | Radical Middle: The Politics We Need Now | Mark Satin

books:


	• Radical Middle: The Politics We Need Now Mark Satin Basic Books, 2004 - 220 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Required reading regardless of your political persuasion

The Publisher's Weekly does a dis-service to this book. Better read the review in the Jan 2005 Futurist (http://www.wfs.org/revsatinjf05.htm)
This book is an outstanding and insightful description of ways in which the left and right can think together about our society's, and the world's, enormous problems, and then begin to work to solve them. Much more useful than shooting at each other. Only by finding the common ground will it be possible to break through the morass we find ourselves in. Remember the advice to both right and left, "Put your hand on your knees--they're jerking!"

for more information click here

Socialism is an incurable disease.

This book is nothing more than 200 pages of smoke and mirrors.All Satin believes that is need to make the failed ideology of Socialism work is to pile on more government and programs and sock the cost to taxpayers.Of course,he doesn't use the word taxpayer,he uses the word government when he talks about who is going to foot the bill.You see,taxpayers are the problem,they've learned to look after themselves.Socialist's clients are those who buy into the concept that they can't or won't look after themselves and hand it over to the government to do it.
Satin has spent decades as a dyed- in- the- wool Leftist and now thinks he's seen the light.His ideas are far to the left of JFK
who believed that it was not the role of government to provide a person with a job but to provide the person with an opportunity to look after himself.Even he was a Liberal;then along came Johnson with his War on Poverty,and after spending 3 trillion dollars on it ;the end result was that even a larger percent of the people were living below the poverty line.What else would you expect from Socialism.
Satin's ideas about proportional representation have already been rejected by another reviewer and all I would like to add is that, it is being pushed for here in Canada;and these proposers are not even Liberals,but Socialists.
Search as you may,for some enlightenment in this book;you will not find ideas like,self-reliance,taking on responsibility,pride in accomplishment,etc.What you will find is a load of ideas like programs,entitlements,assistance,government creating jobs etc.
Figure a way to take care of yourself,and don't fall for the idea that you need these Socialists to do it.They haven't done it anywhere else and you'll be sadly mistaken if you believe they'll start in the USA.
Even the author has come to the point where he went back and learned a skill to better his lot.You don't see John Kerry ,the great caring Liberal giving away anything.And how about Teresa when talking to people gathering up clothes to send to recent hurricane victims---"Let them go naked"was her help.

for more information click here

Highly impressed, greatly needed

"Radical Middle" is several things: The title of Mark Satin's new book being reviewed here, the title of his newsletter, the title of his web site and the name of an exciting new political concept.

I have followed Mark Satin for a long time, having been a charter subscriber to his previous newsletter, "New Options" and to his current "Radical Middle" newsletter. And I have read two of his previous books in addition to "Radical Middle."

Because of occasional disagreements with some specific content from the current newsletter, I was ready to be skeptical of Mark's new book. But instead, I must admit that I am highly impressed. I believe the book does a thorough job of explaining the Radical Middle concept to readers, regardless of their background, political leanings, or even newsletter subscriber status. In each book chapter, Mark expanded upon past "Radical Middle" newsletter articles and included more nuances and detail, which help to flesh out and explain his positions better.

While there were still a few points where I winced, there were many more knowing smiles and nods. In fact, in some cases I found that my position was not that far away from Mark's after all, once I finally understood his position more fully. And even where there remain points of disagreement, I commend Mark for creating, thoroughly explaining and maintaining his voice and his ground.

I should also state that I had my wife read the education chapter. She is a former full-time teacher, and currently does some substitute teaching. She had not read any of Mark's past books, newsletters, web site, etc., so had a fresh perspective. And she loved the chapter, agreeing with Mark's central thesis that quality teachers are what great education is all about.

The resource lists at each chapter end are also very useful, and I recommend readers to pursue some them to follow up with your own investigations of issues. I am doing so.

Overall, I deeply respect how Mark has utilized all his varied life experiences in coming to a mature, organized synthesis of ideas.

And in our polarized times, the Radical Middle political concept is exactly what we need to grow from concept to full-fledged reality.

for more information click here

Superb Personal Effort, Fits in With Other Vital Contributions

I like this book very much. It is a cry from the heart--from a very informed heart--and it captures much that needs to be understood. It is not, however, the first effort in this direction. This book was published in 2004. Paul Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson published "The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing the World" in 2000, coincident with the appearance of Marianne Williamson's extraordinary edited work, "IMAGINE: What American Could be in the 21st Century." Ted Halstead and Michael Lind published "The Radical Center: The Future of American Politics," in 2001. In 2002 Ralph Nader capped off decades of activism along these lines with "Crashing the Party: How to Tell the Truth and Run for President." In 2003 we had Matthew Miller's "The 2% Solution: Fixing America's Problem in Ways Liberals and Conservatives Can Love." See my reviews of all of those, and my list on democracy, to appreciate this book by this author, in a larger context.

The most important meme to come out to me--an aggressive iconoclast if ever there was one--dealt with the importance of turning away from rebellion for the sake of rebellion, and focusing instead of being a player, on bringing corporations to the table as Paul Hawken and others suggest in "Natural Capitalism" (which the author cites).

Early messages from this book include: Ignore the noise including Moore and Franken; Creative borrowing from all points of view to achieve public policy; Radical middle provides concrete answers instead of platitudes; Work with corporations instead of attacking them blindly; Idealism without the illusions. Four on key values: maximize choices, fair start for all, maximize human potential, help the developing world. The author then gives us four sections, with the highlights listed below.

Maximizing choices:
1) Universal health care that is also preventive and integrative
2) Law reform--affordable, meaningful
3) End oil dependency--parallel energies, seven paths (conservation, renewables, fossil fuels, hydrogen, nuclear, biobased, and values-change path

Fair start
1) great teachers (overlooks two-parent family, serious games, total change to curriculum)
2) affirmative action with teeth, not just letting in black-skinned white minds
3) Job for everyone and a financial next egg as well

Maximize human potential
1) corporations we can be proud of
2) biotech with adult supervision
3) bring back the draft--for EVERYONE (one of the best pieces)

Help the developed world
1) Globalization with savvy and feeling (address poverty, raise standards)
2) Make the WTO transparent
3) Humanitarian intervention in time--no more genocides (great piece)
4) Tough on terrorism and causes of terrorism

Be a player not a rebel
1) professional schools, not radical groups, are our incubators now (compassionate MDs, holistic MBAs, visionary JDs,
2) stay informed
3) join groups that matter and push them to the middle
4) run for office
5) open up the political process (free media, tax credits, proportional representation, instant run-offs, non-partisan redistricting,

Just this morning, a friend in Seattle sent me an email about a new meme that goes beyond the split between "for profit" and "non-profit" to speak of "new profit." That is the distillation of what Paul Hawken and Herman Daly ("Ecological Economics") are trying to capture. The old concept of corporate profit loots the commons. The new concept of profit, what I call Communal Capitalism, others call it Capitalism 3.0 or Natural Capitalism, understands that true profit must be perpetual and distributed.

This author has a following and is part of the solution. I recommend all the books I listed above, and this one.

See also:
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People
The Two Percent Solution: Fixing America's Problems in Ways Liberals and Conservatives Can Love
The Radical Center: The Future of American Politics
The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World

for more information click here

Readable, Hopeful, Inclusive Future is Possible

One of Mark Satin's most engaging charactistics is his honesty about himself. I have followed him from his first newsletter to his first book "New Age Politics" to his current newsletter and the book by the same title ("The Radical Middle"). He clearly has morphed into something new, which comes through well to me in this book. His writing style is engaging and energetic; he has good documentation; he earnestly believes we need to create something new in our society to replace the extreme polarization we are currently experiencing. He is inclusive and optimistic, believing in each citizen to think independently. His writing is not "academic," but well-researched and well-cited. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for even one glimmer of hope for us as a society with a positive and constructive future!

Edryce Reynolds
Tacoma, Washington

for more information click here

Politics today has degenerated into one shouting match after another. If it isn't Democrats against Republicans, then it's the Al Frankens of the world against the Bill O'Reillys. The overheated rhetoric may be entertaining. But in the process, real opportunities - to achieve everything from universal, preventive health care to deep corporate reform to energy independence - are slipping away.

Does politics have to be this way? No. According to this smart and unabashedly positive book, millions of caring people are coming up with inclusive new solutions to our problems (and collaborative new ways of working on them) that amount to a whole new politics - radical middle politics.

Instead of playing the usual blame games, the radical middle appreciates the genuine and often very reasonable concerns of the left and right - and builds on them toward something new. Instead of being some mushy middle, the radical middle is both visionary and realistic. It dares to propose path-breaking solutions to everything from underperforming schools to looming terrorism without ever losing touch with the often complex facts on the ground.

Radical Middle will show you what you can do to make our politics less like schoolyard combat and more like an expression of the practical and creative people that we are.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

hot