Why Centrism Doesn’t Work
Written by Anahita Kodali
January 4, 2021
Dear Dartmouth,
Biden’s historic win during the November presidential election was a bittersweet one. The morning that election was called, my parents shook me awake at 8:45AM to show me that Pennsylvania and Georgia had both flipped to blue that night. That day, I scrolled through Instagram to see photo after photo of Biden and Harris proudly standing in front of American flags, posing with children, and laughing together. I had hours of phone calls with relieved friends from all over the country, celebrating the removal of President Trump from office – one particularly memorable FaceTime was from a friend in New York City, who showed me a live view of the parties in the streets.
It was an exciting day. Soon after, however, dread about the Biden administration set in. For many Democrats, the Biden/Harris ticket was a compromise we were forced to accept begrudgingly. Undoubtedly, Biden’s policy positions on issues like defunding the police and the environment are far from the progressive ideals that candidates like Sanders championed. As he has begun to choose his cabinet, we’ve seen that some of his decisions appeal to progressives, while others are conservative leaning.
Biden is, clearly, a centrist. He doesn’t lean too far left or too far right – he seems to be the middle ground that everyone, from Bernie Bros to Warren fans, could settle for. And on face value, this centrism could seem attractive after the tumultuous past four years. It’s the ideal where we don’t have to deal with red or blue, where politicians can all work together. No matter where we lie on the political spectrum, we can all be friends.
Unfortunately, this nice, easy, safe political centre doesn’t truly exist. Centrism is nothing more than maintenance of the status quo. There are many issues that politicians cannot compromise on – how would a leftist compromise with a right-winger on LGBT issues? Women’s rights? Voter suppression? Immigration? There is no middle ground when policy decisions directly impact the lives of marginalized communities, and pretending that centrism is a viable option only prevents progress from being made.
Biden, for example, has historically had a terrible record with his Black constituency; in the late 1900s, he was a fierce proponent of mass incarceration, argued against desegregation of schools, and is on record making racist comments about Black Americans. Years later, Biden is still iffy on racial justice. He doesn’t support banning fracking – climate change disproportionately impacts Black communities. He is against defunding the police, an act that could be the start to ending unequal incarceration of Black people. The list goes on and on and on. Given his track record and his current stances, I am doubtful that any real progress will be made for the group of voters that won him the election.
My prediction for the next four years is … pessimistic to say the least. I am tired of constantly having to choose between the “lesser of two evils” during elections whose outcomes will affect not just America, but the world. I’m inclined to believe that we will just remain at the status quo under the Biden/Harris team. I hope that next election season, we have a candidate who believes in and inspires change and who won’t settle for the false security that centrism promises.
Sincerely,
Anahita Kodali
Featured Image by Abby Smith
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