¶ … pragmatism and democratic policy. The main focus of the analysis is represented by key issues such as citizenship, representation and deliberative democracy.
The practice of deliberative policy making is considered to be the basis of deliberative democracy. The main difference between the traditional view of democracy and the deliberative one is that the institution of voting is no longer considered the central and most important one.
According to deliberative democracy, it is the citizens who must decide upon the policies. Only through the deliberations of the public can rightful political and social decisions be made. It is suggested that only through this sort of civic and political action, can the citizen be truly represented within the system.
The main issue that deliberative democracy faces is represented by the conflicting interests that the citizens might have. This implies that during their gatherings a consensus would be difficult to reach. In addition, not all the groups have the same power.
There is therefore a risk for the decision of a group to weigh more than the one of another. Some suggest that this form of democracy is a mere expression of left wing orientations. Nevertheless the processes which it involves allows people coming from different philosophical backgrounds to confront their ideas and reach a significant conclusion.
Representative democracy has the vast majority of people electing a minority which is supposed to rule in a manner that will make the majority benefit. Therefore, the interests of the citizens are represented by just a few people. The participation of the citizens to the political life of the country is limited to the election of their representatives. Here some might wonder according to which criteria these representatives take their decisions.
The actions were believed to be dictated either by the final results or by the ethic code which they might respect. Regardless of the approach, the fact stands that if the citizens wish to have a better control upon the manner in which resources are used and society is managed, they must get involved at a deeper level. The latest tendencies demonstrate that more and more people are drawn by the possibility they have to impact the political decisions. This happens through the organization of the civil society (in the lack of organization there could be no actual decision making).
You’re 78% through this paper. Sign up to read the full paper.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.