Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society to the leftorthe right.[1]
Both centre-left and centre-right politics involve a general association with centrism that is combined with leaning somewhat to their respective sides of the left–right political spectrum. Various political ideologies, such as Christian democracy,[2] Pancasila,[3][4][5] and certain forms of liberalism like social liberalism,[6] can be classified as centrist, as can the Third Way,[7] a modern political movement that attempts to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating for a synthesis of centre-right economic platforms with centre-left social policies.[8][9]
As with all ideological groups, the exact boundaries of what constitutes centrism are not perfectly defined,[10] but its specific placement on the left–right political spectrum makes its position clearer relative to other ideologies.[11] Centrism most commonly refers to a set of moderate political beliefs between left-wing politics and right-wing politics. Individuals who describe themselves as centrist may hold strong beliefs that align with moderate politics, or they may identify as centrist because they do not hold particularly strong left-wing or right-wing beliefs. In some cases, individuals who simultaneously hold strong left-wing beliefs and strong right-wing beliefs may also describe themselves as centrist.[12] Although the left-centre-right trichotomy is well established in political science, individuals far from the political centre may occasionally reframe it, with the far-right alleging that the centre is leftist and the far-left alleging that the centre is rightist. Likewise, they may allege that their more moderate counterparts, the centre-left and the centre-right, are actually centrists because they are insufficiently radical.[13]
Liberalism is associated with the political centre,[13] and social liberalism combines centrist economic positions with progressive stances on social and cultural issues.[14] Radical centrism is a form of centrism defined by its rejection of the left–right dichotomy or of ideology in general.[15] Liberal scepticism and neo-republicanism can both be elements of radical centrism.[16] Third Way politics is a radical centrist approach taken by centre-left parties to find a middle ground between capitalism and socialism.[17] Christian democracy, often considered a centre-right ideology, is sometimes grouped with the centre.[18] Green parties, usually associated with left-wing politics, have a history of centrist economic policies in Central and Eastern Europe.[19] Agrarianism may also be grouped with the centre.[20]
Centrism advocates gradual change within a political system, opposing the right's adherence to the status quo and the left's support for radical change.[21] In contemporary politics, centrists generally support a liberal welfare state.[22] Centrist coalitions are associated with larger welfare programs, but they are generally less inclusive than those organised under social democratic governments.[23] Centrists may support some redistributive policies, but they oppose the total abolition of an upper class.[21] Centrist liberalism seeks institutional reform, but it prioritises prudence when enacting change.[24] European centrist parties are typically in favour of European integration and were the primary movers in the development of the European Union.[25][26] Whether political positions are considered centrist can change over time. When radical positions become more widely accepted in society, they can become centrist positions.[27]
Inmulti-party systems, the centre is challenged by parties that seek to undermine the legitimacy of the political system. These parties come from both the left and the right and have different positions on how the government should function, which prevents them from unifying against the centre, giving the centre an opportunity to retain power.[28] Centrist parties hold a strong position in the formation of coalition governments, as they can accommodate both left-wing and right-wing parties,[29] giving them additional leverage in the formation of a minority government.[30] When radical parties become viable, forming a coalition with the centre can force them to moderate.[28] Once in a coalition, the centrist party is typically a junior partner that has little ability to enact its own policy goals.[31] Centrist-controlled governments are much rarer than left-wing or right-wing governments. While approximately 30% of world leaders were centrist in the 1950s and 1960s, this declined to approximately 15% by 2020.[32]
Most political party systems lean toward the centre, with centre-left and centre-right parties compromising with centrist parties.[33] According to the mean voter theorem, parties are incentivised to move toward the political centre to maximise votes and to have the final say on closely-contested policies.[34] Politicians with high approval might move to the centre to capitalise on their popularity with a larger voter base, while those seen as uncharismatic or incompetent may shift away from the centre to capture more reliable activist voters who will invest more into the politician's campaign.[35] In the Nordic countries where social democracy dominates politics, centrism competes with the centre-right to form a rightward flank.[36] Centrist liberalism has only a minor presence in the Middle East, where it is overshadowed by leftism and Islamism.[37]
Centrist parties face some intrinsic disadvantages when competing with left-wing and right-wing parties.[38] Elections based on first-past-the-post votingorproportional representation provide less incentive for parties to hold centrist positions.[34] Proportional representation systems weaken centrist parties because they incentivise the capture of specific voters instead of the general population.[39] The popularity of centrism in the Western World is contradicted by the relative electoral weakness of centrist parties. One possible explanation for the paradox is that centrists may be perceived as lacking the leadership or capability demonstrated by leaders of other ideologies. Another is that centrists are unable to increase their vote share because the ideological space around them is already occupied by other parties.[38]
Relative to left-wing and right-wing parties, centrist parties are infrequently studied in political science.[40] Though populism is commonly associated with strong left-wing or right-wing beliefs, centrist populism is critical of the political system independently of social, economic, and cultural issues.[41] Centrist populist parties often do not have a strong ideological component, instead making anti-establishment politics the core of their message to capitalise on voter dissatisfaction and receive protest votes. These parties are most common in Central and Eastern Europe.[42] Centrist dictatorships rarely occur.[43]
Centrism is part of the left–right political spectrum that developed during the French Revolution.[11] When the National Assembly was assembled, reactionary conservatives coalesced in the seats to the speaker's right, while the radicals sat on the speaker's left. The moderates who were not affiliated with either faction sat in the centre seats, and they came to be known as the centrists.[44]
Initially seen as a centre-left challenger to conservatism at the end of the 18th century, liberalism came to occupy the political centre of Western politics as it also opposed radicalism and socialism.[45] By the 1830s, conservatism and radicalism in Western Europe began a shift toward moderation as they accepted ideas associated with centrist liberalism.[46] The United Kingdom was spared from the many revolutions during the early 19th century as its conservatives took a decisively centrist position, enlightened conservatism, and expressed willingness to compromise with the nation's strong radical element.[47] As radicalism declined in Western Europe, liberalism and conservatism became the two dominant political movements.[48]
Centrism in the United Kingdom was primarily supported by the Whigs and the middle class urbanites.[49] The BonapartismofNapoleon III brought French conservatism to the centre when it maintained an element of working class revolution.[50] Empires were forced to maintain the political centre, avoiding reactionary or revolutionary politics that may affect its stability.[51] Centrist liberalism was slower to develop outside of the great powers of Western Europe.[52] The United States saw a centrist liberal movement develop in the late-19th century through the Mugwumps of the Republican Party.[53] The radical movement gave way to centrism after the 1870s as they both coalesced around ideals of republicanism, secularism, self-education, cooperation, land reform, and internationalism.[54]
Western social science intertwined itself with centrism in the 19th century. As research universities became more common, advocacy for centrist reform was taken up by academics. Instead of engaging in direct activism, they considered social issues and presented their conclusions as objective science. Other ideological groups did not have success in this endeavour, as taking strong partisan stances risked one's reputation.[55] Centrist liberals in Europe accepted scientific racism in the 19th century, but it did so less than its primary advocates,[56] and it rejected the related concept of social Darwinism.[57] Instead of the idea that non-white races could not achieve European-style civilisation, centrist liberals believed that they could but it would take them longer to do so.[58]
Centrist liberalism was one of the two major global ideological groups at the beginning of the 20th century, where it was challenged by right-wing conservatism and Catholicism.[59] Centrism faced increased pressure beginning in the interwar period as left-wing politics saw a resurgence, meaning centrism was challenged from both directions.[60] The Holocaust ended support for any scientific racism and eugenics espoused by centrist liberals, as they instead adopted antiracism as scientific truth.[61]
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, centrist liberalism was seen as the dominant force in politics.[62][63] The centre-left and the centre-right both moved closer to the centre in the 1990s and 2000s.[64] The centre-right, previously dominated by neoliberalism, became more accepting of the welfare state, and it showed more support for combatting poverty and inequality. This included the "kinder, gentler America" championed by George H. W. Bush in the United States, Die Neue Mitte (transl. The New Centre) of Gerhard Schröder in Germany, the British "Thatcherism with a grey face" led by John Major, and the anti-neoliberalism of Mexican president Vicente Fox.[65] The centre-left adopted Third Way policies, emphasising that it was neither left nor right but pragmatic. This adopted ideas popular among the centre-right, including balanced budgets and low taxes. Among these movements were British New Labour led by Tony Blair.[64] Social democratic parties became more accepting of supply-side economics, austerity policies, and reduction of welfare programs.[66] Some authoritarian powers, such as China and Russia, resisted the western liberal consensus.[67]
After a long period of strong left-wing and right-wing movements, Latin American nations trended toward centrism in the 2000s.[68] This came about as the nations' economies strengthened and the reduction of wealth inequality created a larger middle class.[69] Following the pink tide that saw several left-wing politicians take office, those in democratic nations adopted relatively moderate policies, including Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil, Michelle Bachelet in Chile, Mauricio Funes in El Salvador, and Tabaré Vázquez and José Mujica in Uruguay.[70] These nations implemented the Washington Consensus, which mixed deregulation and privatisation with the use of social programs.[71] In many Latin American nations, opposing presidential candidates campaigned on similar platforms and often supported retaining their predecessors' policies without any significant changes, shifting the focus of elections to personality over ideology.[72]
Support for centrism declined globally after the 2007–2008 financial crisis as it was challenged by populism and political polarisation.[73][74] As of 2015, centrists made up a plurality in most European countries.[75]
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