How do we Embrace Radical Change and Reject Extremism? Isn’t that a Contradiction?
There are problems we cannot fix without rebuilding from the ground up. Structural racism for example, cannot be addressed without radical change. Radical change is not extremism, though some would say that it involves extreme solutions, which cannot be called anything but extremism.
We reject these sorts of characterizations. Extremism is not the application of ground-breaking, bold ideas to major problems. Extremism is the annihilation of thought, the destruction of rational behavior, and the total dogmatic adherence to one prevailing worldview and set of interests at the expense of everything else. Extremism is a hardening of ideology, and is an oppressive political tool used to divide and splinter people that should have common goals.
Radical change on the other hand, is bold and revolutionary policy. Transformative, fresh ideas that address root problems. Radical change can be adopted by and adhered to by open-minded people, who have come to the conclusion that radical changes are the only way forward.
Take for example, structural racism in the United States. Specifically as it relates to the legacy of the enslavement of Africans and their descendants in the United States. The reverberations of the white supremacist slaughter and subjugation of millions are everywhere. From the deep wealth gap between descendants of enslaved peoples and all other ethnic groups, to the catastrophic levels of imprisonment and policing inflicted on black communities throughout the United States, the societal trauma of slavery, jim crow, and the new jim crow continues to gnaw at our very souls.
Hundreds of years of kidnapping, torture, wage theft, enslavement, lynchings, terrorism, and authoritarian rule cannot be undone with the stroke of a pen on some new raft of superficial reforms. Picking away at the surface with things like affirmative action, which, while good for black students, does not promise a long term solution. The most unfortunate part of policies like affirmative action, or minor attemps at police and criminal justice reform, is the political will that is spent on it.
If, after months and years of organizing on an issue, the solution is effectively a bandaid for a bullet-wound, coalitions lose momentum as many people declare victory and move on. Meanwhile, the underlying problems have not been addressed.
This is where radical change comes in. Something big, something lasting, something with legs, has to be done. When it comes to structural racism, the answer begins with one word: Reparations.
Reparations are not merely lump sum payments, (although wealth transfers should be part of a reparations plan) but plans to use funds and resources to undo centuries of criminality, heal broken and hurting communities, and make Black america whole. This process should center Black activists and leaders, and should be directed and designed by Black people, for Black people.
We don’t believe any of these solutions come even close to “extremism”, but we do believe these things are good, radical change. Focus on deep-rooted systemic problems, support for self determination, and holistic redress of historic crimes, are all good, sound policies, which we believe there is a consensus for.
