The democratic system began its journey 2,500 years ago in the polis of Athens. Athenian citizens gathered in assemblies to propose laws collectively and with this mechanism the polis was governed by the will of the people. The Athenian experience was an exception, in fact, it wasn’t until the French Revolution of 1789 when democracy took a new turn. Deliberative Democracy
The participation citizen in the government of the people was forming from a representation model in which voters vote for their candidates to be able to represent them in a parliamentary chamber.
The representative system has been complemented with citizen participation mechanisms that allow the people to intervene in the day-to-day political activity (popular initiative and plebiscites held in different constitutions are a clear example in this regard). In recent years, some philosophers and political scientists have incorporated new proposals to strengthen the government of the people, which fall under a general denomination, deliberative democracy.
Deliberate means reflect on something
If we combine this concept with that of democracy, we will face the following reality : people analyze the pros and cons of an issue in order to reach a conclusion .
Deliberative democracy must be understood as a complement to the conventional representation system
In this sense, citizens organize popular assemblies in order to contribute their point of view on any matter of general interest. Deliberative Democracy
The groups minority whose proposals do not thrive are not excluded from political debate, since his voice is fully integrated into all channels of participation. At the same time, different individual opinions are also known. The democratic system based on deliberation is built on the reciprocal recognition of all citizenship.
The central axis of this proposal is the exchange of ideas between citizens who are totally equal and without any kind of hierarchy . Through deliberations, we seek to create concrete proposals based on the idea of consensus and the search for the common good. Deliberative Democracy
This model of democracy is not without criticism
They say it could only be valid in small communities, but not applicable in heavily populated countries. Likewise, there are many subjects between which greater specialization is necessary, and it makes no sense for a layman to pronounce on something he does not know. In other words, would it be acceptable for an assembly of citizens to vote on educational programs that are part of a teaching model or decide not to comply with some laws because they consider them unjust? Deliberative Democracy
Finally, in the assemblies, there is a political deliberation that can give space to certain intellectual elites who ultimately end up imposing their will on others.
