Moderation is a moral virtue and one of the strong deterrents against tyranny. Tyranny is a homogeneous, cohesive force connected to a single center, whether it is an individual, a party, or an institution. Tyranny is an extended state within society, and in a tyrannical system, everything is tyrannical. Moderation, however, indicates that power is fragmented and balanced, creating a state of mutual restraint among these forces as they confront each other. Only power can resist power, and this serves as an antidote against tyranny, pushing the exercise of authority toward moderation.

Edmund Burke ⁽¹⁾ understood this well and criticized those who view moderation as the virtue of cowards and compromise as the wisdom of traitors. He saw moderation as the virtue of noble and superior minds.

For years, writers and studies have emphasized the importance and necessity of the return of moderation to occupy its place in the corridors of governance and the exercise of power. In 2019, American political thinker Aurelian Craiutu wrote an article titled "The Radicalism of Moderation," in which he criticized some American politicians and intellectuals who view moderation as a weak and ineffective virtue not worthy of reconsideration.

Preceding him, American thinker Jerry Taylor, in 2018, wrote an article titled "The Alternative to Ideology," calling for the return of moderation as a practice in American politics. He rejected the mockery faced by moderate politicians, stating that the low regard we hold for moderation in public life fuels ideological and partisan extremism.

Thus, ethics is returning to the realm of politics in the Western world, with historical periods being re-examined to reveal the moral path in their political events. This trend contradicts the claims seeking to strip politics of everything ethical and valuable, arguing that politics is governed by interest and is a field without governing or guiding standards.

Modern Western political thought considered humans as the reference point after separating religion from politics. When the normative and fixed values are separated from politics, the idea of relativism prevails in everything, and the logic of power dominates, asserting the primacy of power over right. Politics then becomes devoid of ethical or normative restraints.

In Political Moderation

The concept of moderation has taken center stage in philosophical and political discussions, with previous debates and events being reconstructed to bring the concept into the realm of politics and study its importance in achieving stability. Among these studies is the book "On Moderation: Defending an Ancient Virtue in a Modern World" ⁽²⁾ by Professor Harry Clor, who considered moderation one of the political virtues that has been overlooked, despite its intrinsic power to influence and participate. Therefore, Harry sought to establish the concept within political science after it was politically misunderstood. He saw moderation as linked to human flourishing, stating that it is "not an armchair for emotions," but rather a concept that contributes to building political life. It is also not a concocted concept.

However, the book importantly notes that political moderation aligns with principle and is not a form of compromise, which necessitates a look at the history of moderation and its impacts on the world of politics. It is an ancient virtue that has stubbornly stood against extremism in all its forms. Extremism may be louder, but its downfall is always swift, while what endures is moderation, which is the steadfast element in political life.

Aurelian Craiutu, a professor of political science at Indiana University, published a book titled "Faces of Moderation: The Art of Balance in an Age of Extremes," ⁽³⁾ in which he reaffirms the concept of moderation, often shrouded in ambiguity and misunderstood. He asserts that it is an ancient concept, dating back to the Greeks. Aristotle considered it a virtue, while Plato saw it as achieving harmony between the soul and the mind. It is also present in Confucianism and Buddhism.

But what concerns us in the political aspect is the role of moderation in reducing the impact and pressure of ideology in thinking, where facts must be present. These facts create balance and contribute to the creation of moderation, which resembles walking on a tightrope on a mountain, sometimes requiring the walker to lean slightly to the right or left depending on the circumstances. In other words, political moderation necessitates flexibility; it does not require the politician to stay in one place but rather to change position according to circumstances. This might be the reason behind the accusations of opportunism leveled at the concept of moderation, making it a complex, not simple, concept. Some have considered it the "lost archipelago" in the world of politics, calling for its return to the heart of Western political history and searching for its historical models.

The Wisest Lessons

Moderation is a human virtue that must flow into the political field. This is what the famous French philosopher Montesquieu says: Humans adapt better to the center rather than the extremes, as extremism is short-lived. This raises the question of the impact of moderation on public policies and political life and the principles upon which political moderation is based.

The truth is that one of the problems facing moderation in political life is that the masses equate moderation with negative values such as hesitation, opportunism, weakness, compromise, and cowardice. Others argue that political moderation is an incoherent concept that finds few supporters in political life, unlike firmness and rigidity, which are capable of rallying votes and the masses. Moderation, as a political approach, appears crude, even ugly, unpopular with the public, and unable to mobilize and rally support.

But history tells a different story. Moderation is the wisest lesson in political life, perhaps leading Montesquieu to write in his book "The Spirit of the Laws": "Moderation is the supreme virtue of the legislator." Political moderation stands against the idea of ideological purity, which creates crises in political life and widespread political and social exclusion. Ideology is like tinted glasses through which the wearer views the world, while moderation is seeing reality as it is without coloring or distortion. Thus, moderation becomes a complex concept requiring extensive reasoning, deep knowledge of reality, and innovative capacity to build common societal and human grounds, avoiding crude clashes and distancing from an exclusionary spirit.

Historian Robert McClure Calhoun, in his book "American Political Moderation in the First Two Centuries," ⁽⁴⁾ provides a deep analysis of the structure of moderation in American political history. He asserts that moderation was based on principles and prudence and that it is one of the ethics of politics. Calhoun relied on more than a hundred references published over half a century to prove that moderates were shaped by the contexts in which they grew up. As he puts it, "Moderates were made, not born." The importance of the book lies in its being a historical document about American politics, confronting the extremist tendencies that prevailed in the United States during the neoconservative era and their ideological views far removed from moderation. He emphasizes that moderation was one of the important elements of strength and stability in American history.

Meanwhile, Mathijs Lock and Ido de Haan, in their book "Moderation in Modern European History," ⁽⁵⁾ rediscover forms of political moderation in modern European history from the French Revolution to the present, considering political moderation the middle path between ideological extremism throughout European history. Some see this book as the first comparative historical interpretation of moderation in Europe.

Alexander Smith and John Holwood, in their books "The Sociology of Moderation" and "A Sociological Study of Moderation," explore the roots and intellectual origins of the concept in politics, religion, and society during the 20th century. They attempt to cleanse the concept of its impurities, considering it one of the important political and social concepts needed in contemporary reality in an era characterized by cultural and political polarization, economic imbalance, and the growth of extremist and violent tendencies. Moderation is one of the concepts capable of enriching the political and social reality to confront the escalating divisions and tensions in the world of politics.

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(1) An Irish political thinker considered one of the pioneers of modern conservative thought. His most famous work is "Reflections on the Revolution in France." He died in 1797.

(2) On Moderation: Defending an Ancient Virtue in a Modern World.

(3) Faces of Moderation: The Art of Balance in an Age of Extremes.

(4) Political Moderation in America’s First Two Centuries.

(5) The Politics of Moderation in Modern European History.

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