Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A Hayekian Critique of Deliberative Democracy

From the Oxford Libertarian Society blog:

Video of a lecture by Mark Pennington:
"Democracy and the Deliberative Conceit" (68 minutes)

Dr. Pennington discusses the theories of deliberative democracy, including the work of Jürgen Habermas. He argues from a Hayekian perspective that the case against the social democratic state rests with the superior capacity of markets to extend communicative rationality beyond the realm of verbal discourse. Deliberative democrats privilege discourse above other more successful forms of communication and expression instantiated in free market institutions.

Mark Pennington is Reader in Public Policy and Political Economy at Queen Mary, University of London. Later this year, the lecture will be published in "Critical Review".

No comments: