An extended briefing paper on a nationally televised "deliberative
poll" scheduled for early 1996. Fishkin (Government/Univ. of Texas)
examines the central question of American democracy: How can we
adapt the "ideal of face-to-face democracy" to a country with a
population of over 200 million, where the old town-meeting form of
decision-making cannot be exercised on a national scale? He
considers various solutions, from the republic's initial reliance
on representatives elected by a monied, white male elite to today's
reliance on opinion polls to gauge the thinking of millions of
Americans, most of whom feel disengaged from the political process.
Polling, he laments, is a "superficial form of mass democracy,"
reflecting the opinions of an uninformed and uninterested populace
easily manipulated by sound bites and dirty campaigns. The
challenge is to find a way "to promote mass deliberation . . . to
bring the people into the process under conditions where they can
be engaged to think seriously and fully about public issues."
Fishkin's solution: a deliberative poll, in which a random sample
of Americans, selected by traditional polling methods, assembles
for a weekend of study and discussion. This group, now thoroughly
informed on the issues, is then polled, "giving voice to the people
under conditions where the people can think." The result, he
contends, would be "representative of the public the people would
become if everyone had a comparable opportunity to behave more like
ideal citizens." Fishkin's deliberative poll will be tested early
in the 1996 presidential primary season, and its process and
results publicized on public television. At that point, this book
will become either an important introduction to a new approach to
American democracy or an interesting footnote to a failed
experiment. (Kirkus Reviews)
Ours is an era of stunted public discourse, where instant polls,
900 numbers, orchestrated petitions, and talk-show campaigning
appear to have overwhelmed participatory democracy. What has become
of the freely reasoned public debate and informed "consent of the
governed" that, as cherished principle, we hold will produce better
leaders and better public decisions? Where-or what-is the voice of
the people todoay? In this lively book James Fishkin evaluates
modern democratic practices and explains how the voice of the
people has struggled to make itself heard in the past. He tells a
fascinating story of changing concepts and parctices of democracy,
with examples that range from ancient Sparta to America's founders
to the first Gallup polls to Ross Perot. He then develops the
rationale for a new method-the "deliberative opinion poll"-that
uses modern media and survey research to legitimately rediscover
the people's voice. Fishkin's proposal for televised deliberative
opinion polls has already been realized twice by the British
television network Channel 4, and he discusses its implementation
in the book. In January 1996, his deliberative poll will be seen in
action in a "National Issues Convention" to be broadcast by PBS on
the eve of the American presidential primary season. During this
broadcast, a national random sample of citizens will interact with
presidential contenders in order to reflect and vote on the issues
and candidates. Fishkin discusses the pros and cons of this
important event, giving behind-the-scenes details about
preparations for it. Here then is a compelling story of citizen
deliberation from ancient Athens to the present, setting the
context for future deliberative polls and related efforts to
reinvigorate our public dialogue.
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