Democracy and disagreement

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

Democracy and disagreement

Amy Gutmann, Dennis Thompson

Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1996

  • : pbk

Available at  / 67 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [363]-410) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

ISBN 9780674197657

Description

The din and deadlock of public life in America - where insults are traded, slogans proclaimed and self-serving deals made and unmade - reveal the deep disagreement that pervades US democracy. The disagreement is not only political but also moral, as citizens and their representatives increasingly take extreme and intransigent positions. A better kind of public discussion is needed, and Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson provide an argument for "deliberative democracy" today. They develop a principled framework for opponents to come together on moral and political issues. Gutmann and Thompson show how a deliberative democracy can address some difficult controversies - from abortion and affirmative action to health care and welfare - and can allow diverse groups separated by class, race, religion and gender to reason together. Their work goes beyond that of most political theorists and social scientists by exploring both the principles for reasonable argument and their application to actual cases. Not only do the authors suggest how deliberative democracy can work, they also show why improving our collective capacity for moral argument is better than referring all disagreements to procedural politics or judicial institutions. "Democracy and Disagreement" presents an approach to how we might resolve some of our most trying moral disagreements and live with those that will inevitably persist, on terms that all of us can respect.
Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780674197664

Description

The din and deadlock of public life in America-where insults are traded, slogans proclaimed, and self-serving deals made and unmade-reveal the deep disagreement that pervades our democracy. The disagreement is not only political but also moral, as citizens and their representatives increasingly take extreme and intransigent positions. A better kind of public discussion is needed, and Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson provide an eloquent argument for "deliberative democracy" today. They develop a principled framework for opponents to come together on moral and political issues. Gutmann and Thompson show how a deliberative democracy can address some of our most difficult controversies-from abortion and affirmative action to health care and welfare-and can allow diverse groups separated by class, race, religion, and gender to reason together. Their work goes beyond that of most political theorists and social scientists by exploring both the principles for reasonable argument and their application to actual cases. Not only do the authors suggest how deliberative democracy can work, they also show why improving our collective capacity for moral argument is better than referring all disagreements to procedural politics or judicial institutions. Democracy and Disagreement presents a compelling approach to how we might resolve some of our most trying moral disagreements and live with those that will inevitably persist, on terms that all of us can respect.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction The Persistence of Moral Disagreement The Sense of Reciprocity The Value of Publicity The Scope of Accountability The Promise of Utilitarianism The Constitution of Deliberative Democracy The Latitude of Liberty The Obligations of Welfare The Ambiguity of Fair Opportunity Conclusion Notes Index

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