Q&A: Radicalism
Radicalism
Question
Does radicalism = fundamentalism?
Answer
Sorry, I only just saw this.
No. Radicalism is extremism. Fundamentalism is a particular kind of zealotry—zealotry for tradition or for primordial values (a return to the sources). For example, there is contemporary liberal zealotry that is clearly not fundamentalist in the usual sense.
I once defined fundamentalism on the philosophical plane (of which the political expressions are only examples) as a position that you are unwilling to put to a critical test. As far as you're concerned, it is not open to discussion. But that is closer to general zealotry, and not necessarily to fundamentalism.
Discussion on Answer
Fundamentalists, probably by definition, are radical; and radicals are sometimes fundamentalists and sometimes not.
I think there is a connection between them in the sense of relying on a certain source without question.
The fundamentalist relies on an external source; the radical relies on an internal source.
The fundamentalist does not believe in others (in their interpretation of the sources).
The radical believes in himself.