Question

Explain the general idea of deliberative democracy that Gutman puts forth. What issues are deliberative democracy supposed to help with?

Answer 1

According to Gutman, deliberative democracy refers to form of government in which free and equal citizens, along with their representatives engage in a a process to justify decisions by giving each other reasons. These reasons have four requirements, which citizens and their representatives are expected to communicate to one another:

1. Reciprocal: The reasons should based on cooperation between free and equal persons.
2. Accessible: The reasons must be public and understandable to the relevant audience.
3. Binding: The reason-giving dialogue should ultimately leads to an enforceable law.
4. Dynamic: There should be provision for changes in the reason-giving process and content.