In his Washington Post column Michael Gerson lurches uncontrollably towards the point I made several years ago. Republican (small r) government is impossible without moderation:
Civility is not weakness. It is the native tongue of a successful democracy. What Stephen L. Carter calls “civil listening†allows people who are opponents to avoid becoming enemies. Civility prevents dehumanization.
Compromise is not surrender. It is the lubricant of a successful democracy. What Jonathan Rauch calls “a cardinal virtue†allows for incremental progress on difficult issues such as health care. It is a moral principle that elevates progress on the common good above ideological purity.
Moderation is not indecision or centrism (as important as political centrism may be). It is the mode or mood of a successful democracy. What Aurelian Craiutu calls “a difficult virtue for courageous minds†puts an emphasis on reasonableness, prudence and balance. It is a principle rooted in epistemological modesty — a recognition that no one possesses the whole truth.
Moderation takes more than one form. Garbing immoderate actions or policies in moderate language is not moderate.
There are many causes for the breakdown in civility, compromise, and moderation we’re witnessing today. Among them are the vast amount of wealth being concentrated in few hands, the necessities of political fundraising, variations kinds of isolation including physical, occupational, and social, the conviction that those who disagree with you are evil, the pernicious idea that those whom you deem evil should be suppressed, and, let’s face it, basic disagreement not just about ways and means but over goals.
