Studiosi Rationales Communicantes

Abstract

Deliberation and Decision: Economics, Constitutional Theory and Deliberative Democracy. Edited by Anne van Aaken, Christian List, Christoph Luetge. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004. 294 pp., $109.95 (ISBN: 0-7546-2358-0). Deliberation and Decision: Economics, Constitutional Theory and Deliberative Democracy , by Anne van Aaken, Christian List, and Christoph Luetge, is the first in an interdisciplinary series of books by Ashgate Publishing. The reference to “economics” in the title, however, is rather misleading because the book only touches upon it when exploring the theoretical construct of “constitutional economics.” Therefore, the intersection of the three elements in the title (economics, constitutional theory, and deliberative democracy) gets reduced to two main elements: deliberative democracy (Dryzek 1990; Fishkin 1991; Elster 1998) and constitutional economics (McKenzie 1984; Brennan and Buchanan 1985; Vanberg 1994). The aim of the book is to bridge the gap between these two approaches, which until now have been disjointed. Such an enterprise inevitably makes for a complex and highly specialized book, rendered even less accessible in this case because Deliberation and Decision is the result of a 2001 conference. Hence, the book does not present a linear argument. Rather, it consists of a zigzag dialogue reflecting the typical conference discussion. Arguably, this might be the necessary outcome of a pioneering work in which the authors do not synthesize existing scholarship but instead explore new territory. However, because der Verstand ist der machtigste Epitomator (understanding is the great epitomizer), had the editors kept what was essential …