Comments for The Politics of Innovation -- Behind the Lens on the Right and the Left at http://www.philasocialinnovations.org/site , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.philasocialinnovations.org/site Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:07:19 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.philasocialinnovations.org/site/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=the-politics-of-innovation-behind-the-lens-on-the-right-and-the-left.html&Itemid=22#comment-15 Your characterization of the different perceptions of freedom was, well, very perceptive. "Because there is no 'there' in the center of American politics [...] innovators become increasingly limited." This is true, but it is forgetting one important point. The winner-take-all electoral system in the United States actually *forces* successful candidates to the center to scoop the greatest voter share, but it stifles "innovation" because it rewards those who adopt deliberately ambiguous centrist positions. We have to remember that, while the core groups in the Right and Left may form very different perspectives on a specific idea (in this case, freedom), these groups do not represent the views of a majority of the voters in the United States (the voter distribution in the US along a Left-Right continuum is roughly normal). The extremes in either party neither speak for a majority or are particularly attractive to any serious candidate; all the action is in the center. This entry does a great job of explaining the different theories from which both sides approach politics, but I think it discounts that most of American politics is played out in the center, and all important battles are won in the general confusion that exists there by virtue of the nature of our political system. - Brian Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:45:37 +0100