1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910451988803321

Autore

Ackerman Bruce A

Titolo

Deliberation Day [[electronic resource] /] / Bruce Ackerman and James Fishkin

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Haven, : Yale University Press, c2004

ISBN

1-281-74062-4

9786611740627

0-300-12702-2

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (288 p.)

Classificazione

MG 70075

Altri autori (Persone)

FishkinJames S

Disciplina

324.6/0973

Soggetti

Political participation - United States

Democracy - United States

Elections - United States

Legitimacy of governments - United States

Forums (Discussion and debate)

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- 1. IMAGINE -- 2. THE HOLIDAY -- 3. FROM THOUGHT-EXPERIMENTS TO REAL EXPERIMENTS -- 4. CYCLES OF VIRTUE -- 5. EXTENDING THE PARADIGM -- 6. WHAT PRICE DELIBERATION? -- 7. THE PROBLEM OF MASS DEMOCRACY -- 8. RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP -- 9. FEARFUL ASYMMETRIES -- 10. ALTERNATIVE FUTURES -- APPENDIX A. ESTIMATED COSTS FOR DELIBERATION DAY -- APPENDIX B. THE IOWA EXPERIENCE -- NOTES -- INDEX

Sommario/riassunto

Bruce Ackerman and James Fishkin argue that Americans can revitalize their democracy and break the cycle of cynical media manipulation that is crippling public life. They propose a new national holiday-Deliberation Day-for each presidential election year. On this day people throughout the country will meet in public spaces and engage in structured debates about issues that divide the candidates in the upcoming presidential election. Deliberation Day is a bold new proposal, but it builds on a host of smaller experiments. Over the past



decade, Fishkin has initiated Deliberative Polling events in the United States and elsewhere that bring random and representative samples of voters together for discussion of key political issues. In these events, participants greatly increase their understanding of the issues and often change their minds on the best course of action. Deliberation Day is not merely a novel idea but a feasible reform. Ackerman and Fishkin consider the economic, organizational, and political questions raised by their proposal and explore its relationship to the larger ideals of liberal democracy.