Talk:Centrism

Balancing competing interests to find common ground between ideological groups,
Following up on a few past articles for improvement messages, out of curiosity, and for the first time, I ran a Wikipedia topic through ChatGPT and below is what it came up with. (I apologize in advance if there is a recent policy regarding including such content in Talk.) Of course, in a specific context or country, Centrism has a fairly specific political interpretation, and the current article outlines those. However, I notice that, as discussed in some archived talk threads, definitionally, Centrism isn’t firmly anchored to any specific set of policies. So, to reprise: while we generally accept it to mean a balance between left and right positions, across time such broad generalizations are a moving target. Thus, what is middle-of-the-road or Centrist this year in one country, could vary dramatically from what is Centrist in a different era or country. Only partially tongue in check, I think a middle-of-the-road position would be to include some of the points made in the last paragraph. Any thoughts?

- Start ChatGPT Answer: The political concept of "centrism" refers to a political ideology or approach that emphasizes a moderate or middle-of-the-road position between the left and right ends of the political spectrum. Centrism seeks to balance competing interests and find common ground between different ideological groups, often by advocating for compromise and cooperation across political lines. Centrism can be characterized by a focus on pragmatic solutions rather than ideological purity, a willingness to consider different perspectives and ideas, and a belief in the importance of consensus-building and collaboration. It often emphasizes the importance of evidence-based decision-making and a commitment to empirical data and analysis. In practice, centrist policies and positions may vary depending on the specific political context and issues at hand. Centrists may support policies that draw from both conservative and liberal viewpoints, such as fiscal conservatism combined with social liberalism or a mix of free-market capitalism and welfare state policies. Critics of centrism argue that it can sometimes result in a lack of clear principles or a failure to take bold action on important issues. However, proponents argue that centrism offers a pragmatic and realistic approach to governance that can help to overcome partisan gridlock and address complex societal challenges. - End ChaptGPT Answer

Zatsugaku (talk) 17:30, 6 March 2023 (UTC)


 * I completely agree and see this as an improvement on the current page, which definitely is in need of improvement. This would be a better intro than the current one, which seems overly dependent on research which classies left and right on grounds of social hierarchy vs equality - which seems both simplistic and arcane to me.
 * Overall, I think the article is in need of a few additional sections discussing the following:
 * - core ideals - moderatism, pragmatism, anti-extremism, realism, "go with the research" (I suppose this would likely be objectivism?), median voter theory
 * - left of centre ideologies - mainly social liberalism, social democracy, third way
 * - within marxism: marxist centrism and democratic centralism within marxist-leninism
 * - within non-western political systems
 * Possibly moderatism, pragmatism and realism would justify a right-of-centre section. I appreciate this would likely introduce a western-bias, however centrism tends to express itself within democracies so I'm not sure this can be avoided. Possibly a section discussing the political spectrum as a subjective construct would help remedy this. Pistol92 (talk) 13:21, 22 April 2024 (UTC)