Deliberative Democracy East and West

• In Event: Comparative Political Theory: Northeast Asia

Abstract

Democracy around the world has been through trying times: battered by populism, polarization and inequality. The dominant prescription in philosophy and social theory has focused on deliberative processes and models to strengthen democratic legitimacy. Deliberative democracy means governance by free and equal citizens where decisions are justified by mutually acceptable and generally accessible public reasoning and deliberation not merely the aggregation of preferences via voting.

Almost all the vast literature on deliberative democracy is Western in origin, generated from the late 20th century to the present (although its Western antecedents can be traced to Aristotle). Missing from this expansive literature is a thoroughgoing analysis of the lessons to be derived from the oldest theory of deliberative democracy—the social teachings of the Buddha—and from the longest, continuous instantiation of deliberative democracy—the Buddhist sangha as described in the vinaya.

This paper will draw on a reading of the teachings and the vinaya to describe the Buddhist approach to deliberative democracy as a means of remediating social suffering and creating the conducive conditions for personal well-being and a harmonious social order. It will mine these teachings to show how Buddhism addresses many of the theoretical and practical issues facing deliberative democracy today such as: “Is deliberative democracy only about process or does it contain substantive elements also?” How can equality and inclusion be maintained and debate resolved by reason alone and not by embedded power positions?” “How can citizens be engaged to deliberate meaningfully about their preferences?” And, “What should be done when consensus cannot be reached?” The paper hopes to stimulate a dialogue between theorists East and West on the major issues associated with the deliberative cure.

Author

• William J. Long, Georgia State University