Academic

Ralston on Democracy as a Way of Life

By Lawrence Solum

Shane J. Ralston (University of Maine) has posted In Defence of Democracy as a Way of Life: A Reply to Talisse on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Robert Talisse objects that Deweyan democrats, or those who subscribe to American philosopher John Dewey's theory of democracy, cannot consistently hold that (i) "democracy is a way of life" and (ii) democracy as a way of life is compatible with pluralism, at least as contemporary political theorists define that term. What is referred to as his 'pluralist objection' states that Deweyan democracy resembles a thick theory of democracy, that is, a theory establishing a set of prior restraints on the values that can count as legitimate within a democratic community.

It is contended that his pluralist objection is susceptible to three charges. The first section of the paper is devoted to a presentation of Talisse's pluralist objection to Deweyan democracy, particularly as it appears in his essay "Can Democracy be a Way of Life?" The three charges against the pluralist objection receive attention in the second section. In the third section, Dewey's pragmatic criterion of inclusion is presented and then illustrated by way of the concept of 'family' in queer communities, before concluding the paper.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on June 19, 2008 (boomark / email).