Middle ground

What’s so great about the political center? Such a position supposes that our collective imagination on left or right will align neatly and self-evidently somewhere between the poles meaning a perfect center where opposing traditions will meet. And then follows the worst assumption that a pool of real voters will be waiting to ballot for something along the lines of pragmatism and compromise. This doubtful conceit ignores the complete lack of policy or ways and means.

The left and/or right gets nothing done. So back to the center with a plan!

A modest, empirical, comparative approach to political economy and political analysis. Because meanwhile the government is not going to function. And the remedy — the center — is no place for philosophy.

The main purpose of the right: profit seeking; of the left: utopian impossibilities. Therefore, they can agree that neither side can have what it wants.

So leave them alone and let’s get some policy. First on the left and on the right:

Keep your tax cuts; keep your social welfare.

Keep your deficits; keep your anti-wall.

Keep your overseas troops; keep your investigations.

And then, support the agreeable:

Infrastructure, veterans, disease control, jobs, teachers, alternate border control. No shutdowns. Joel Rosenblum The Villages