From Publishers Weekly
Condemning what the author sees as the divisive partisanship and polemical half-truths of liberals and conservatives alike, this militant but muddled manifesto urges left and right to unite behind a "politics of creative problem-solving." Satin, publisher of the Radical Middle Newsletter, pushes a poll-certified grab bag of public-private partnerships and wonkish policy nostrums pitched explicitly at professionals (a.k.a. "knowledge workers" or "the creative class") whose only political identity is that of "caring person." The result is a confused, ad-hoc program that aims to achieve great public purposes without aggrandizing government or alienating special interests. Some proposals, like affirmative action based on poverty, not race, represent a fresh take on important issues. Others, such as his energy policy, which is largely a hodge-podge of minor tax incentives for fossil-fuel alternatives, are half-measures. The boldest initiativesa universal health-care plan that uses tax credits to subsidize individuals purchase of private insurance, a universal jobs program that offers employers tax credits for hiring workerschannel their largesse into massive state subsidies to the private sector. Satins often glib analyses of policy issues will not satisfy knowledgeable readers, and in his de-politicized politics of caring, real conflicts seem to be ignored rather than confronted.
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Review
I think this is one of the more important reads of the last five years . . . and it's easy to read. --
Tony Trupiano, Michigan Talk Radio Network, July 20, 2004Makes a lot more sense than . . . the many braying pundits at the edges of the national parties. --
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2004Mark's life is the story of the second half of the 20th century. . . . [Finally] Mark arrived at the radical middle. --
John Batchelor Show, ABC Radio Networks, April 14, 2004Must-reading for those who are trying to find a ray of sanity in our present political climate. --
Tucson Citizen, March 18, 2004Passionate, popularized, and personalized, with frequent asides about Satin's [activist] background. . . . [A] fresh and often original voice. --
Michael Marien, Future Survey, April 2004Satin . . . draws his ideas from the best of what both the left and the right have to offer. --
Nancy Beardsley, Voice of America, July 27, 2004Satin does a good job in laying out . . . "third way" policies concisely, and his advocacy is more than welcome. --
Ed Kilgore, Washington Monthly, June 2004This book is moderate in tone and intelligently reasoned -- shockingly so. --
Baltimore City Paper, February 25, 2004
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