Should We Build Unity Through Deliberative Democracy?
John Creps
Public
Seen by 418
What is Deliberative Democracy?
Deliberative democracy makes deliberation central to decision-making. It adopts elements of both consensus decision-making and majority rule. The key aspect that makes deliberative democracy different from traditional democratic theory is that authentic deliberation, not mere voting, is the primary source of legitimacy for the law.
How would this be implemented?
Deliberative democracy is said to be compatible with both representative democracy and direct democracy. While it would be nice to see a more deliberative representative democracy either locally or nationally, it is also important that the representatives of government are accountable to the people. To do this it is recommended that a new political party could be created that allows the population to deliberate on issues and take viable political action by electing politicians that represent the population's interests. Some new interests this party could bring forward could include ideas such as new voting procedures including preferential voting, liquid democracy or direct democracy.
Why Deliberative Democracy?
It has been shown that deliberation helps bring empathy for opposing viewpoints. Using sophisticated conversation skills and techniques such as those outlined in the book "Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High", it is hoped that the Internet Party of the United States of America will rise above merely compromising between opposing views and find new creative win-win solutions to problems and disagreements.
Poll Created Wed 23 Nov 2016 9:21PM
It is proposed that we should use deliberative democracy to discuss all party issues. Closed Wed 7 Dec 2016 8:01PM
True Concerns
Deliberation should be central to all decisions made by the Internet Party of the United States of America and a consensus is preferred over 50% majority or even a 2/3 majority.
The role of consensus is vital because there exists an exciting possibility that even a single individual could change the views of an entire majority given the additional credence members might give to all views when required to reach a consensus.
Additionally, deliberation is seen as valuable to society because it allows us to educate each other and addresses issues that divide us by allowing us to engage in constructive dialogue instead of dismissing viewpoints that don't validate our existing perspective.
Specifically:
The formation or modification of the party platform will be contingent on a deliberative vote that is open to all members of the party for a least two weeks. When an issue cannot be settled by a complete consensus a decisive majority of 66% or greater should be used in place, but only after participants are allowed an additional two weeks to reconsider their position.
Side Note:
Dialogue should search for the true source of concerns in order to see how different viewpoints which look unaligned might actually be in alignment.
Results
| Results | Option | % of points | Voters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Agree | 100.0% | 1 |
|
| Abstain | 0.0% | 0 | ||
| Disagree | 0.0% | 0 | ||
| Block | 0.0% | 0 | ||
| Undecided | 0% | 2 |
|
1 of 3 people have participated (33%)
John Creps
Wed 23 Nov 2016 9:26PM
I will start by agreeing with the proposal that I created. With new information, the proposal could change or I could change my position to help reach a consensus.
Dane Cobble · Wed 26 Dec 2018 8:44PM
Hi John, It looks like nothing has happened here for quite some time. Maybe this comment will bring back some life?!
I am researching platforms such as Loomio and found your group. I've known about Deliberative Democracy for some time and have always loved the concept and what is achieved when it is utilized.
As we move to Deliberative Democracy we will still have to vote for elected officials for some time. Right now we feel compelled to vote strategically and thus to vote for the "lesser of evils" rather than the candidate we really approve of.
In Approval Voting (approvalvoting.com) the voter votes yes or no for each candidate the ballot. There is no ranking, just a Vote For or a Vote Against, each candidate. Because each candidate is voted on, the voter is no longer compelled to vote for the lesser of evils instead of a preferred candidate. Under Approval Voting, a previously conflicted voter can vote FOR the lesser of evils but more importantly, can also vote FOR the candidate the voter truly prefers. Some voters will not vote for the lesser of evils, giving the truly preferred candidate a fair chance of winning.
Let me know what you think and if you've found another platform that supports Deliberative Democracy, please let me know!