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113Liberty Versus Equal OpportunitySocial Philosophy and Policy 5 (1): 32-48. 1987.Liberalism has often been viewed as a continuing dialogue about the relative priorities between liberty and equality. When the version of equality under discussion requires equalization of outcomes, it is easy to see how the two ideals might conflict. But when the version of equality requires only equalization of opportunities, the conflict has been treated as greatly muted since the principle of equality seems so meager in its implications. However, when one looks carefully at various versions …Read more
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110When the People Speak: Deliberative Democracy and Public ConsultationOxford University Press. 2009.This book describes a new method of consulting the public that has been tried successfully around the world. The book combines the theory of democracy with actual practice. Fishkin lays out a theory of "deliberative democracy" and shows with practical examples, how it can be realized.
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102Deliberative Democracy and ConstitutionsSocial Philosophy and Policy 28 (1): 242-260. 2011.This paper examines the potential role of deliberative democracy in constitutional processes of higher law-making, either for the founding of constitutions or for constitutional change. It defines deliberative democracy as the combination of political equality and deliberation and situates this form of democracy in contrast to a range of alternatives. It then considers two contrasting processes—elite deliberation and plebiscitary mass democracy (embodied in referenda) as approaches to higher law…Read more
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43Defending deliberation: a comment on Ian Shapiro's The State of Democratic TheoryCritical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 8 (1): 71-78. 2005.This comment responds to Shapiro?s State of Democratic Theory. First, it argues that the map of democratic possibilities in the book, dividing forms of democracy into aggregative and deliberative, conflates and obscures important democratic alternatives. Second, I argue that one of the possibilities this map obscures, deliberation with aggregation, avoids the critique Shapiro directs at deliberative democracy. While some of his criticisms are appropriate to other categories, they do not apply to…Read more
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39Comment on Gibbard Utilitarianism Versus Human RightsSocial Philosophy and Policy 1 (2): 103. 1984.Rather than respond to Gibbard, point by point, I will comment on what I take to be the general spirit of his argument. The old consensus on some form or another of utilitarianism, a consensus that dominated discussions in moral and political theory only a few years ago, has now largely evaporated before the heat of distributional objections founded on justice, the “separateness of persons,” and other concerns for the severe sacrifices that utilitarianism might require of some for the sake of gr…Read more
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31Review of Peter Laslett and James S. Fishkin: Justice Between Age Groups and Generations. (review)Ethics 104 (1): 184-186. 1993.
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30Ian Shapiro, The Moral Foundations of Politics:The Moral Foundations of PoliticsEthics 117 (2): 381-383. 2007.
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28Bargaining, Justice, and Justification: Towards Reconstruction: JAMES S. FISHKINSocial Philosophy and Policy 5 (2): 46-64. 1988.Part I of this essay will be devoted to Gauthier's principle of minimax relative concession. Part II will focus, more generally, on the variety of possible strategies available to liberal theory. In Part I, I will argue that the principle of minimax relative concession does not define “essential justice” as Gauthier claims. In Part II, I will argue that the difficulties facing Gauthier's strategy are common to other strategies of die same general kind. I will close by suggesting what I think may…Read more
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25Why Deliberative Polling? Reply to GleasonCritical Review: A Journal of Politics and Society 23 (3): 393-403. 2011.ABSTRACT Contrary to Laurel Gleason's assertions, Deliberative Polling among random samples is not a process that is dominated by “experts” or by certain categories of deliberator; it produces genuine gains among the participants in knowledge of information that has been verified as true and relevant; it does not cause ideological polarization; and it is not intended as a substitute for, rather than a supplement to, deliberation on the part of the general public.
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23Principles of Legislation: The Uses of Political Authority. Michael D. BaylesEthics 90 (4): 618-618. 1980.
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22Beyond polling alone: The quest for an informed publicCritical Review: A Journal of Politics and Society 18 (1-3): 157-165. 2006.Converse's seminal 1964 article explored three crucial limitations of public opinion as it is revealed in conventional polls: information levels, belief systems, and nonattitudes. These limitations are significant from the standpoint of democratic theory, but it is possible to design forms of public consultation and of social‐science research that will reveal what public opinion might be like if these limitations were somehow overcome. Deliberative Polling is an effort to explore the contours of…Read more
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16The convergence argument for welfare rights: Some divergencesJournal of Social Philosophy 22 (3): 38-41. 1991.
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16Justice, Equal Opportunity, and the FamilyYale University Press. 1983.Three common assumptions of both liberal theory and political debate are the autonomy of the family, the principle of merit, and equality of life chances. Fishkin argues that even under the best conditions, commitment to any two of these principles precludes the third._“A brief survey and brilliant critique of contemporary liberal political theory…. A must for all political theory or public policy collections.” –_Choice_ “The strong points of Fishkin’s book are many. He raises provocative issues…Read more
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15Population and Political Theory (edited book)Wiley-Blackwell. 2010.Part of the highly regarded Philosophy, Politics and Society series, this text is an important resource for political philosophers who wish to know about population policy, population specialists interested in political theory, and public ...
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15Debating Deliberative Democracy (edited book)Wiley-Blackwell. 2003.Debating Deliberative Democracy explores the nature and value of deliberation, the feasibility and desirability of consensus on contentious issues, the implications of institutional complexity and cultural diversity for democratic decision making, and the significance of voting and majority rule in deliberative arrangements. Investigates the nature and value of deliberation, the feasibility and desirability of consensus on contentious issues, the implications of institutional complexity and cult…Read more