The IDEA Initiative Revisited
Some have written expressing confusion regarding the methodology used in the classification of events for the IDEA Initiative. In an effort to clarify we've decided to publish a more thorough explanation of why the events were listed as they were.
In determining the political leanings of the activities we approached each speech from a presumption of neutrality. To deem a speech liberal a significant portion of the speech must have been devoted to the promotion of liberal ideas or attacking conservative ones.
It should also be noted, that in keeping with our presumption of neutrality, speeches like “Perfect Soldiers The Hijackers,” “Bambi: King of the Forest and Cultural Zionism,” and many others were not rated as either conservative or liberal, as we were unable to locate anyone who had attended either talk.
The labels conservative and liberal are admittedly broad. In an effort to clarify our approach somewhat, we have included the following working definitions of each term:
1. A conservative activity must have advanced ideas traditionally associated with the major themes of American conservatism, i.e. capitalism, globalization, traditional values, anti-communism, federalism, strong anti-terror measures, a muscular national defense, et al. Likewise, if an activity attacked the liberal alternative to any of these conservative ideas, it was deemed conservative. Speeches by Tom Wolfe and Rick Santorum both were considered conservative activities.
2. A liberal activity must have advanced ideas traditionally associated with the major themes of American liberalism, i.e. socialism/the welfare state, “fair trade,” moral relativism, increased government regulation, civil libertarianism, skepticism of military intervention, et al. Likewise, if an activity attacked the conservative alternative to any of these liberal ideas, it was deemed liberal. Speeches by Francis Piven and John Shelby Spong both were considered liberal activities.
In determining the political leanings of the activities we approached each speech from a presumption of neutrality. To deem a speech liberal a significant portion of the speech must have been devoted to the promotion of liberal ideas or attacking conservative ones.
It should also be noted, that in keeping with our presumption of neutrality, speeches like “Perfect Soldiers The Hijackers,” “Bambi: King of the Forest and Cultural Zionism,” and many others were not rated as either conservative or liberal, as we were unable to locate anyone who had attended either talk.
The labels conservative and liberal are admittedly broad. In an effort to clarify our approach somewhat, we have included the following working definitions of each term:
1. A conservative activity must have advanced ideas traditionally associated with the major themes of American conservatism, i.e. capitalism, globalization, traditional values, anti-communism, federalism, strong anti-terror measures, a muscular national defense, et al. Likewise, if an activity attacked the liberal alternative to any of these conservative ideas, it was deemed conservative. Speeches by Tom Wolfe and Rick Santorum both were considered conservative activities.
2. A liberal activity must have advanced ideas traditionally associated with the major themes of American liberalism, i.e. socialism/the welfare state, “fair trade,” moral relativism, increased government regulation, civil libertarianism, skepticism of military intervention, et al. Likewise, if an activity attacked the conservative alternative to any of these liberal ideas, it was deemed liberal. Speeches by Francis Piven and John Shelby Spong both were considered liberal activities.
posted by BUCC at 5:15 PM
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