Deliberative Politics: Essays on Democracy and Disagreement

By Stephen Macedo

Book Overview

The banner of deliberative democracy is attracting increasing numbers of supporters, in both the world's older and newer democracies. This effort to renew democratic politics is widely seen as a reaction to the dominance of liberal constitutionalism. But many questions surround this new project. What does deliberative democracy stand for? What difference would deliberative practices make in the real world of political conflict and public policy design? What is the relationship between deliberative politics and liberal constitutional arrangements?
The 1996 publication of Amy Gutmann and Dennis F. Thompsons Democracy and Disagreement was a signal contribution to the ongoing debate over the role of moral deliberation in democratic politics. In Deliberative Politics an all-star cast of political, legal, and moral commentators seek to criticize, extend, or provide alternatives to Gutmann and Thompson's hopeful model of democratic deliberation. The essays discuss the value and limits of moral deliberation in politics, and take up practical policy issues such as abortion, affirmative action, and health care reform. Among the impressive roster of contributors are Norman Daniels, Stanley Fish, William A. Galston, Jane Mansbridge, Cass R. Sunstein, Michael Walzer, and Iris Marion Young, and the editor of the volume, Stephen Macedo. The book concludes with a thoughtful response from Gutmann and Thompson to their esteemed critics.

This fine collection is essential reading for anyone who takes seriously the call for a more deliberative politics.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195131991
• ISBN13: 9780195131994
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Essential for deliberative studies

The book organized by Macedo discusses a classical in deliberative studies: Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson's Democracy and Disagreement (1996 is the key year in this area, the same year when Public Delibration, by James Bohman, was published). What I most like in this book is how different authors examine Gutmann and Thompson's ideas regarding the promises, advances and failures in deliberative theory. You will find authors who agree and disagree with Gutmann and Thompson, and in the end a response by Gutmann and Thompson, considering each of the critiques in a heuristic process. In a word, essential.