Reflective Democracy (Oxford Political Theory) - Softcover

Goodin, Robert E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199279748 ISBN 13: 9780199279746

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2005

Synopsis

Democracy used to be seen as a relatively mechanical matter of merely adding up everyone's votes in free and fair elections. That mechanistic model has many virtues, among them allowing democracy to 'track the truth', where purely factual issues are all that is at stake. Political disputes invariably mix facts with values, however, and then it is essential to listen to what people are saying rather than merely note how they are voting. The great challenge is how to implement that deliberative ideal among millions of people at once. In this strikingly original book, Goodin offers a solution: 'democratic deliberation within'. Building on models of ordinary conversational dynamics, he suggests that people simply imagine themselves in the position of various other people they have heard or read about and ask, 'What would they say about this proposal?' Informing the democratic imaginary then becomes the key to making deliberations more reflective - more empathetic, more considered, more expansive across time and distance.

About this title

About the Author

Robert E. Goodin is at Professor of Social and Political Theory and Philosophy at the Research School of Social Scienes, Australian National University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0199279748
• ISBN 13: 9780199279746
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 296