Centrism Gripe

Yesterday I read a long "analysis" of the political landscape of the United States that has to be the most centrist piece I've ever read. It divided people in 4 neat categories with each their strengths and weaknesses and that they all needed to borrow from each other to... uh... do a happy dance? That part was unclear.

The essay was pretty long but in the end it didn't say much. Most notably, the author never acknowledged their own position on the political chess board they outlined themselves. I got the impression that this text was meant to appeal to people who don't recognize themselves in any opinionated political current because they don't stand to benefit from any substantial change of the political and social landscape.

I could almost feel the subtle smugness to have found such a neat way to rationalize other people's politics with bullet point lists while completely avoiding to question their own; and not having to stick their neck out to suggest any kind of change that probably would never happen. Consequently the essay itself is not wrong, but only because it never risks being wrong by lacking any political ambition.

I simply don't have the time to devote to pieces like this that lack substance but manage to give a certain subset of readers the impression they got smarter just by reading it. Consequently I will not link to it or mention its name because if you haven't read it, you saved 45 minutes of your life you can do something better with.

And if you're in the mood for political readings, check out David Graeber's work.