Ep 95 Dirty Moderate w Aurelian Craiutu

Why Not Moderation?

Professor, political theorist, and author, Aurelian Craiutu, who has been researching the elusive virtue of moderation for over a decade sits down with Adam to discuss the complexities, richness, and virtue of our very favorite approach to politics.

Despite being a complex virtue with a rich tradition and unexplored radical sides, Moderation is often presented as a simple virtue for lukewarm and indecisive minds searching for a fuzzy center between the extremes. Not surprisingly, politicians generally haven't been willing to be labelled 'moderates'. But if we making our way through much of the group think and kool-aid drenched messaging coming from each of the parties will reveal more moderates in this country than we may think.

Moderation is a form of courage that requires swimming against the current and assuming important risks.  *We see you Ms. Cheney and Mr Kinzinger #fella

Moderates do not have a fixed political truth; they prefer the risk of appearing politically schizoid to becoming fanatic believers in a single dogma. They understand that aligning themselves with the Left or with the Right is often, in the words of Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955),  “only one of the numberless ways open to man of being an imbecile: both are forms of moral hemiplegia.”

Aurelian Craiutu (Ph.D. Princeton, 1999) is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington, and Adjunct Professor in the American Studies Program and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropic Studies at IUPUI, Indianapolis. Craiutu’s research interests include French political and social thought (Montesquieu, Tocqueville, Constant, Madame de Staël, Guizot, Aron), political ideologies (liberalism, conservatism), comparative political theory and democratic consolidation (mostly Central and Eastern Europe). He is the author and editor of several books on modern political thought including the marvelous and thought provoking title coming out this August Why Not Moderation? Letters to Young Radicals which you can pre order now, and while you wait, you can peruse his previous books here.  We are making our way through them ourselves! Dirty Moderate Nation Book Club anyone?  In the meantime, for all things saving democracy like find us on Substack , Stay Dirty, Stay Moderate, and Stay Safe.

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