What is considered 'radical' policy today?

Tea Party Tax Day Rally
Kay Herrmann sings the National Anthem at the start of a Tea Party rally which was held to protest President Barack Obama's proposed "Buffett rule" tax plan on April 16, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Politicians often call each other or their opponent's policy ideas "radical." Political analysts have identified the Tea Party, birther and Occupy movements as current examples of what could classify as "radical" today. In Europe, elections brought a rise or resurfacing of "radical" ideas and movements.

Is a radical movement considered a positive or negative today? Just what is a radical and how has our perception of them changed over time?

We wanted to talk about this topic after reading a piece in The Atlantic about what a radical looks like.

Timothy P. McCarthy, adjunct lecturer on public policy at Harvard and program director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, will join The Daily Circuit Wednesday to discuss the current radical movements. Jeffrey Kaplan, associate professor of religion at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, will also join the discussion.

VIDEO: Radical America, Left and Right

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