AN APPRAISAL OF JAMES FISHKIN'S CONCEPT OF DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY AS A PANACEA FOR DEMOCRACY

Man is a political being that exists within the confines of a state. The affairs of the state are handled by a system or machinery known as a government. The human person always searches for a system of government that is more convenient and better suitable to his way of living. Thus, many states and government have adopted and practiced different political ideologies and systems such as monarchy, socialism, communism et cetera. Democracy is one of the most favoured and adopted systems of government that is practiced, because it is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Yet, democracy is not without its faults and limitations. Owing to this fact, various theories and trends of democracy have emerged over the years in advancing how democracy can be a more viable option for the government. Amongst these trends and theories that have emerged, deliberative democracy is one of interest that is pragmatic in nature. The concern of this essay is to critically examine the understanding of deliberative democracy of James Fishkin. Using the analytic and evaluative methods, this essay seeks to reconcile the value of deliberation with other core democratic principles. This paper concludes that more deliberation can make our democracy better, bringing to focus all its major attributes and components, and why it is the best form of democracy to practice.

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