Abstract
The author discusses two concepts of responsiveness in his paper: the concept of active society, developed by Amitai Etzioni, and the concept of responsive public administration by Mateusz Stêpieñ. The author finds both concepts potentially inspiring in the context of theoretical proposals to overcome some dysfunctions of representative democracy. The author of the paper also proposes to include the concepts of responsiveness in the framework of the so-called transformation trend of theories of democracy, which perceives politics as the transformation of individual preferences through rational discussion. The author observes a certain convergence between the concepts of responsiveness and the main assumptions of deliberative democracy (falling into the above transformation paradigm). Both concepts attempt at finding a ‘golden mean’ between liberal and republican visions of state community, while significantly ‘supplementing’ liberal democracy concepts, especially those where politics is reduced to a process of an auction of interests. Etzioni’s concept is more philosophically oriented and can serve as a theoretical foundation for more general considerations on the functioning of a democratic system and the relations between authorities and citizens. A more practically oriented concept of responsive administration can inspire the analyses of a desired model of self-government administration, whose role in the context of relations with the citizens of local communities is sometimes equal to that of local authorities.
Highlights
Etzioni’s concept is more philosophically oriented and can serve as a theoretical foundation for more general considerations on the functioning of a democratic system and the relations between authorities and citizens
The author discusses two concepts of responsiveness in his paper: the concept of active society, developed by Amitai Etzioni, and the concept of responsive public administration by Mateusz Stêpieñ. The author finds both concepts potentially inspiring in the context of theoretical proposals to overcome some dysfunctions of representative democracy
The author of the paper proposes to include the concepts of responsiveness in the framework of the so-called transformation trend of theories of democracy, which perceives politics as the transformation of individual preferences through rational discussion
Summary
Koncepcje responsywnoœci jako odpowiedŸ na postulaty „uwra¿liwienia” demokracji przedstawicielskiej. Oba wymienione wczeœniej poziomy (uniwersalny i partykularny) 31czyæ ma pojêcie responsywnoœci, które – wywiedzione przez Etzioni’ego z nauki o systemach (cybernetyki) – definiuje on jako „ws3uchiwanie siê” danej ca3oœci w potrzeby jej czêœci sk3adowych (a wiêc przyk3ad stanowiæ bêdzie tak¿e wra¿liwoœæ „spo3eczeñstwa”/wspólnoty pañstwowej na potrzeby jego/jej cz3onków). W celu przezwyciê¿enia kryzysów – tak wewnêtrznych, jak i zewnêtrznych) nie jest zwrotnie kontrolowana; — spo3eczeñstwa „dryfuj1ce”/„niedoplanowane” – przyk3ad stanowi[1] tu dla Etzioni’ego liberalne demokracje; struktury konsensusu s1 tam silne, jednak brak im planowania d3ugoterminowego i trudno im zmobilizowaæ siê, by osi1gn1æ cele spo3eczne (a jeœli ju¿, dzieje siê to „po fakcie”, a – zdaniem Etzioni’ego – kluczowa jest zdolnoœæ do mobilizacji „przed”). Interes pojedynczych cz3onków danej spo3ecznoœci nierozerwalnie powi1zany jest w jego koncepcji z potrzebami spo3ecznej ca3oœci[23]
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