Public Choice vs. Deliberative Democracy

By Dave McFaul

Is politics merely self-interest, bargaining, and strategy -- or can democratic discussion genuinely improve what citizens believe and choose?
Public Choice vs. Deliberative Democracy examines that conflict at the center of modern political theory. Dave McFaul brings together Arrow, Downs, Riker, Buchanan, and Tullock on one side, and Rawls, Habermas, Sunstein, Pettit, and others on the other.
The result is a wide-ranging account of voting, coalitions, bureaucracy, public reason, civic virtue, and the limits of treating citizens as consumers with fixed preferences. The book asks how people might revise their priorities through open, inclusive discussion -- and why misinformation, selective exposure, echo chambers, and polarization make this increasingly difficult. Its final sections turn to virtue epistemology, arguing that critical and intellectual responsibility are essential democratic capacities. Ideal for readers seeking a philosophically grounded diagnosis of democracy's present challenges.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B08TQCNGQ3
• ISBN13: 9798598201695
• Release Date: January 2021
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"