Book contents
- WHY NOT MODERATION?
- Why Not Moderation?
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Caveat lector!
- About This Book
- Prologue Why Radical Moderation?
- PART I THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
- PART II WHAT KIND OF VIRTUE IS MODERATION?
- PART III DO MODERATES HAVE A POLITICAL VISION?
- Interlude
- 1 The Limits of Moral Clarity
- 2 Against the Politics of Warfare
- 3 No Manichaeism and No Litmus Tests
- 4 Compromise
- 5 Trimming and Balance
- 6 Centrism
- 7 Eclecticism and Pluralism
- 8 Dialogue
- PART IV THE ETHOS OF MODERATION
- PART V WHO NEEDS MODERATION TODAY?
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Index
5 - Trimming and Balance
from PART III - DO MODERATES HAVE A POLITICAL VISION?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 October 2023
Book contents
- WHY NOT MODERATION?
- Why Not Moderation?
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Caveat lector!
- About This Book
- Prologue Why Radical Moderation?
- PART I THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
- PART II WHAT KIND OF VIRTUE IS MODERATION?
- PART III DO MODERATES HAVE A POLITICAL VISION?
- Interlude
- 1 The Limits of Moral Clarity
- 2 Against the Politics of Warfare
- 3 No Manichaeism and No Litmus Tests
- 4 Compromise
- 5 Trimming and Balance
- 6 Centrism
- 7 Eclecticism and Pluralism
- 8 Dialogue
- PART IV THE ETHOS OF MODERATION
- PART V WHO NEEDS MODERATION TODAY?
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Index
Summary
This chapter examines trimming as a face of moderation. It starts from the definition of trimming given by the Marquess of Halifax in a famous essay, “The Character of a Trimmer” (1684), and compares trimmers to tightrope walkers. It argues that trimmers tend to support the parties they dislike least and search for a “wise mean between barbarous extremes.”
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- Information
- Why Not Moderation?Letters to Young Radicals, pp. 110 - 117Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023