In Defense of the Mushy Middle

In the wake of Bernie Sander’s withdrawal from the 2020 presidential campaign many of my friends have lamented the “fact” that Bernie was right on all the issues, that everyone knows it, and that people just voted for Biden because “the Establishment” told us to do so. The Warren camp said much the same, but instead of “the Establishment” being the culprit it was our sexism that was responsible because we all know she had the right plan for everything. Is it any wonder why so many folks got excited when Trump attacked the liberal elite?

The notion that “We’re right, and the only reason everyone doesn’t agree with us is that they’re not as smart or moral as we are” is not only the height of arrogance, but it also belies incredible naivete about economics, history, and our fellow Americans.

We do not all have the same interests economically; we do not all agree on the balance to strike between security and liberty; we do not all agree on where to strike the balance between environmental protection and economic interests when those are at tension; we do not agree on what are and are not appropriate services for government to provide and of those which should be left to state and local governments versus the federal government. These disagreements do not stem from ignorance or immorality, but from legitimate philosophical differences regarding politics and economics. There is plenty of ignorance and immorality on all sides of these issues. Focusing on the dumbest arguments made by people with whom we disagree is both dishonest and unproductive, but that seems to be the totality of our political discourse these days.

When we come to believe that only our perspective is valid, and that everyone who disagrees is either evil or stupid we’ve lost the thread of how representative government works. The point of representative democracy is to provide a forum to resolve our differences without having to resort to violence. That resolution should be tolerable to the vast majority if loved in its entirety by no one. Those who seek to ram ideas down their opponents throats, knowing that those ideas are anathema to a wide swath of the public, seek dictatorship not representative government.

Like many of my liberal friends and family members, I generally believe most (not all) European democracies have struck a smarter balance between the role of government and the role of private enterprise, and that most European countries strike a better balance of incentivising hard work, innovation and risk taking, while providing a much fairer and more comprehensive safety net for those who need it.

Unlike most of my liberal friends, apparently, I’m also aware that American history is very different than European history and that mistrust of government is woven into the fabric of our culture in a way that make many of those European solutions unlikely to wash here. Moreover, I actually know, talk politics calmly with, and in many cases like people who think very differently than I do about fundamental issues of government and economics. They are neither ignorant nor evil — I don’t bother talking with the ones who are.

This does NOT mean that all matters should be “split down the middle.” Compromising on issues of human equality, social justice, and political access is neither necessary nor acceptable. As I used to tell my students: there have to be two defensible sides of an argument to have a debate or to reach a compromise.

Finally, since the “other side” is being unreasonable and unfair in their demands and policy prescriptions don’t “we” have to do the same? No, we don’t. “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” and right now I think this nation is in desperate need of reconciliation. A leader who can bring people together to discuss issues fairly and honestly would be a welcomed breath of fresh air. This isn’t about national unity; we’ve never had anything like unanimity of opinion. It is about hashing out our disagreements along more productive lines with more reasonable ground-rules. That starts with listening.