The Means and Ends of Deliberative Democracy: Rejoinder to Gunn

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis rejoinder represents a final installment in a debate between myself and Paul Gunn over the feasibility and desirability of deliberative democracy. Here I argue that our debate has helped clarify an ambivalence in the literature surrounding the ends and means of deliberative democracy. I specify two ways to understand both ends and means, establish their importance in deliberative theory, and show how they can be combined. I conclude by showing how this systemic view incorporates and overcomes several challenges facing modern democracy, such as the necessity of expert authority, the role of partisanship, and the problem of social complexity.