PARMENIDES: Facilitating Democratic Debate

Abstract. This paper describes PARMENIDES, a system which facilitates structured debate about government policy. 1 The PARMENIDES System The last two decades have seen a deliberative turn in the study of democracy in political philosophy [1]. Prior theories of democracy viewed ordinary citizens as no more than passive consumers of political information and argument, acting only when called upon to vote. In contrast, deliberative theories view citizens as producers of information, engaging as consenting and rational participants in reasoned argument with one another and with their political representatives. Thus, in this view, democracy is not simply a matter of periodic voting: it should also engage governments and the People in a process of continuous debate. Today, with the opportunities provided by the World Wide Web, communication is physically easier than ever before, but the long-standing problems that bedevil the effectiveness of communication remain. To be effective, communicat...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: EGOV
• Authors: Katie Atkinson, Trevor J. M. Bench-Capon, Peter McBurney
• Keywords: Deliberative Turn, EGOV 2004, Paper Describes Parmenides, Theories View Citizens