Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Representative Democracy

Although there are advantages and disadvantages to both a representative government and deliberative democracy the benefits are largely dependant on the context of policy making and whose interests are being considered. A representative democracy is one that is currently in place across Australia and, for the most part, the rest of the world whereby a group of representatives deliberate without unequal distributions to power on behalf of the nations citizens by denoting their beliefs, attitudes and perspectives. Recent and ongoing concerns regarding the self-interested, bureaucratic nature of government has lead to increased interest in a more classical deliberative form of democracy particularly at the idea of public participation (Heywood 2004) which “challenge[s] the dominant technocratic, empiricist models in policy analysis” (Fischer 2003). Deliberative democracy rests on the core notion of political inquiry that is concerned with improving collective decision-making under conditions contribute to reasoned reflection and refined public judgment. It highlights the opportunity for citizens who are subject to a collective decision to participate in consequential deliberation about that decision in the interest of a mutually acceptable solution. Although many democracies already have mechanisms in place for citizen participation, such as letters to local members of parliament or participation in public consultation, deliberative democracy is distinguished by the way in which deliberation takes place through rational argument in search of the common good (Torres 2006). This paper will highlight both the benefits and disadvantages of a representative and a deliberative democracy through careful examination of each type of governanc...

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...seding and completely replacing the idea of a representative government it is often highly commended for the dilative “open discovery process” and ability to persuade and transform ideas rather than simply taking the as the are (Fishkin 1995). Through equal participation all citizens are affected by the resulting outcome, therefore the public would be more likely to be influenced by the common good in which moral issues are targeted rather than manipulated by political power. “In this situation, communication is free from distortion in the sense of being free from any subterfuge, hidden agendas, biases or arbitrary closure; the discussion is genuinely rational, guided by the force of the better argument alone. By the same token, as it is a situation where all participants have an equal chance to speak, to make an argument or express a point of view” (Buckler 2002).