Centrism is everywhere.  An article headline from The Christian Science Monitor, a news publication, reads, “Why Free Speech is Under Attack from Right and Left.” A particularly vile Washington Post opinion has the title “Yes, Antifa is the Moral Equivalent of Neo-Nazis.” Calls for “reaching across the aisle,” “healing our divisions” and positioning oneself between two extremes are virtually ubiquitous in politicians’ speeches. Centrism is the belief in moderate political actions, compromising and taking a middle ground between the left and right. However, centrism enables far-right politics, supports oppression enforced by the status quo and is woefully inept in addressing the urgent issues of climate change, poverty and oppression.
Centrist democracies are easily susceptible to the rise of fascism, which is a right-wing ideology based on nationalism, military supremacy, the protection of business interests and racism. Centrists believe the free marketplace of ideas and liberal norms of political civility will be sufficient to prevent the rise of fascism in America. However, fascists don’t follow liberal norms of political civility, and their rhetoric is often boosted by wealthy capitalists, giving them advantages in our money-dominated political sphere. For example, in Germany during the 1930s, the Nazis, supported by German conglomerates like Krupp Industries and I.G. Farben, redirected legitimate anger at Germany’s poor economic condition to the country’s Jewish minority, aiding the Nazis in taking power, functioning as a pressure-relief valve for capitalism.
Currently, active fascist groups are trying to manipulate centrist democracies in similar ways to the Nazis. Groups like the Proud Boys and Patriot Front are intent on executing the genocidal plans drawn up by former fascist dictators, as evidenced by the Proud Boys’ slogan “6 million wasn’t enough”— a reference to the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. Additionally, fascist beliefs (such as the Great Replacement Theory which postulates that Jewish elites are replacing white people with brown immigrants) have found a home in mainstream politics. Centrism relies on the idea that people will simply not vote for fascist parties because they recognize that far-right ideas are wrong. This strategy is not effective, however, because fascists manipulate voters and are supported by powerful companies. Only active grassroots antifascist action, like disrupting fascist rallies and cutting the funding for fascist groups, is sufficient to prevent the rise of fascism in the United States.
Centrism is also an inadequate tool to deal with oppression because taking a centrist position between the oppressed and oppressor by default supports the oppressor. Across the United States, Black people are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police officers than white people, women are essentially banned from having abortions in 13 states and laws restricting the ability of transgender people to use their preferred bathroom are on the rise. To remedy those clear instances of discrimination, serious and concerted political efforts are necessary, rather than the centrist option of hoping the oppressed and oppressor can compromise over basic human rights.
Some people argue that moderate centrism allows for political change and that we need to be patient to see real results. However, patience is not an option. We need to take immediate action to remedy pressing problems like poverty. Over a million households currently live on under $2 per day. Nine million children in the U.S. go to bed hungry on a regular basis because their families cannot afford food. Only radically redistributing wealth and political power will be enough to mitigate this dire issue, a change that is not probable under centrism.
Similarly, we need to carry out drastic action if we are to effectively mitigate climate change. In our current trajectory, the world will warm by about 2.7 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in the near future. This warming will cause droughts, famines and refugee crises of unthinkable proportions – all of which will fuel ecofascist groups that capitalize off of environmental catastrophes. Torturously slow, moderate reforms are not viable.
There are several ways to achieve the change we so desperately need without falling into the trap of mundane centrism. First, it is essential that we educate ourselves about important issues and the changes we want to see in the world. We must also transform our education into actively making a difference in the world through direct action. Protesting outside the homes of politicians, organizing workplaces into unions, conducting rent strikes and educating our peers are practical examples of direct action that affect political change, without being too moderate or polite.