1. What is deliberation? (And, what are its key components?) What does not count as deliberation?
~Deliberation is the “careful examination of a problem and a range of solutions through an open, inclusive exchange that incorporates and respects diverse points of view.” Some of the key components are face-to-face discourse and mediated
2. What are the three key criteria for the democratic process? (please also offer a brief explanation of each)
~ Inclusion: allowing all into the realm of political process that are old enough to understand and take part
~Participation Opportunities: once you are a member of society, there must be involvement to introduce your ideas/thoughts into the deliberation
Putting Issues on the Agenda, Expressing Your Views on those Issues, Voting (directly/indirectly) on the Issues
~Enlightened Understanding: everyone needs to find their stance on different issues (seperates deliberation from unreflectition)
3. What is the role of deliberation in the democratic process?
~ Communication is necessary within any functioning government, and within a democracy deliberation allows for all voices to be heard. This goes back to the 3 crtieria in the above question beause through these steps it is easier to view a wide variety of political standpoints in a less biased manner.
4. What did you learn from this reading? What do you want to know more about?
~ I learned that there are many different terms, all encompassing the same general idea but vastly different in detail, to describe a conversation/deliberation/discussion/debate/etc. Although I knew the steps for the democratic process, this book presented them in a way that was clearer and easier for me to understand.
5. What did you not understand in this reading?
~I didn’t understand the Lord of the Flies reference, although I have looked it up and will now be watching it tonight. Other than everything was logically laid out and not dull to read through.
I agree that the democratic process was nicely laid out in this book. It was definitely much easier to understand than when my political science teacher explained it! I do not recall the Lord of the Flies reference so I can’t help with that, but I love that movie and book so if you haven’t seen/read it I definitely recommend it!