Prudent Pragmatic Pluralism
‘Prudent pragmatic pluralism’ is the term freedomists employ to describe how they use analysis in the philosophy of freedom to formulate policies, vote on issues, and decide on candidates. Prudent pragmatic pluralism is a tool, a device which asks sharp questions to identify the myths in ideological extremism, then offers an alternative view incorporating human freedom with moderation and balance to arrive at a life-flourishing consensus.
Prudence is a life-nourishing approach to decision-making. It is that quiet internal voice cautioning us against extreme behavior or rigid thinking. Prudence is the result of some unfavorable past action that warns us to avoid repeating the act again, like the actual experience of putting one’s finger into an electrical socket ‘teaches’ us to be prudent: don’t do this again! All of good parenting is the effort to teach prudence. Prudence saves lives, tempers excessive risk-taking, and casts a correcting concern at our self-destructive impulses. Prudence grounds all moral behavior. Prudence cautions that every individual freedom comes attached with a personal responsibility.
Pragmatism is a principle, as well as a tool for decision making. It also offers a caution against too much prudence because experience teaches us that boldness is just as important. The pragmatic therefore balances both boldness and prudence in her decision-making, always trying to make the best judgment most likely to generate the best life-flourishing consequences she desires. “What works?!” is the standard for a pragmatic. All political and religious extremists hate pragmatism.
Pluralism is a way of knowing. Pluralism lies between the polar opposites of absolutism and relativism, and is opposed to both. Pluralism considers absolutism to be homicidal and relativism to be suicidal; both are life-extinguishing extremes. Pluralism has the quality of the absolutist that is decisiveness, but pluralism also includes the willingness to admit to potential error, which an absolutist cannot do. Pluralism has the quality of the relativist that easily notes the wide variety and diversity in human existence, but pluralism also rejects the psychic inability or unwillingness of the relativist to make and defend a best choice from the wide variety of choices. Pluralism is a complement of opposites, like the Yin and Yang. Just as prudence is conservative, pluralism is progressive, and when balanced across pragmatism they make for responsible politics.
In politics, the major ideologies and theologies are monisms. Monism is another way of knowing, in sharp contrast to pluralism. For examples, nationalism (the ‘unity’ of the nation) is a monism, as is racism (the ‘purity’ of the race), and so is socialism (the ‘solidarity’ of socialism). In the practical world of politics over the past centuries, the monisms often murderously descend into authoritarianism, absolutism, and totalitarianism. Therefore, the pluralist is opposed to ideological monisms, including all forms of socialism, racism, and nationalism. It has to be noted: the numbers of wars committed for some form of monism are countless over the past four thousand years, while there has never been a war committed for pluralism!
Because ‘prudent pragmatic pluralism’ is intellectually robust, forward-looking and life-flourishing, combining both conservative and progressive world-views, the FreedomReform Party offers it to be the intellectual standard for any people to adopt to build their society and culture. Prudent pragmatic pluralism, we believe, will eventually replace both ‘modernity’ and ‘post-modernism’ as the intellectual standard upon which people will choose to construct their civilization.
Vote for whoever you choose on Election Day, yet remember that Re-Registering in FreedomReform tells BOTH major ideological political parties that YOU are engaged in building a civilization. Be civilized. Join FreedomReform.