progressivism, individualism, and the public ... - Telmarc Group
progressivism, individualism, and the public ... - Telmarc Group
progressivism, individualism, and the public ... - Telmarc Group
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The <strong>Telmarc</strong> <strong>Group</strong><br />
PROGRESSIVISM, INDIVIDUALISM, AND THE PUBLIC<br />
INTELLECTUAL<br />
This is highly laudable but she seems to mean that in <strong>the</strong> context of certain strictures <strong>and</strong><br />
world views.<br />
3. Cervical Cancer Testing: The authors <strong>the</strong>n discuss a case as to whe<strong>the</strong>r an HMO<br />
should be made to pay for a patients perform tests on patients for cervical cancer which<br />
go beyond <strong>the</strong> st<strong>and</strong>ard Pap test. Here <strong>the</strong>y apply <strong>the</strong> principles of deliberative democracy<br />
to having a free <strong>and</strong> open discussion, including <strong>the</strong> HMO, to decide this issue. One may<br />
look at this in ano<strong>the</strong>r manner, namely if <strong>the</strong> test gives one more comfort, <strong>the</strong>n one may<br />
just pay for <strong>the</strong> test <strong>the</strong>mselves <strong>and</strong> not dem<strong>and</strong> that <strong>the</strong> HMO do so. Or better one may<br />
choose ano<strong>the</strong>r plan which may already pay for it. This argument for deliberative<br />
democracy is trumped by a simple economic rule: if something has perceived value to me<br />
<strong>the</strong>n I can <strong>and</strong> should pay for it. It is not one where I am owed something <strong>and</strong> if I just<br />
haggle long enough I will get it. Thus this third example is specious at best.<br />
It is interesting to see how <strong>the</strong> process of deliberative democracy did not apply to <strong>the</strong><br />
recent Health Care debate. At least with Iraq <strong>the</strong>re were confrontational hearings <strong>and</strong> an<br />
across <strong>the</strong> board vote with a large majority in favor. In Health Care it was near<br />
impossible to get <strong>the</strong> copy of <strong>the</strong> bill, it was discussed behind closed doors in an<br />
exclusionary manner, it was a much less democratic that any o<strong>the</strong>r such process <strong>and</strong> it<br />
will have a down <strong>the</strong> middle party vote. One could not think of a less deliberative<br />
democratic process. Yet those opposing it are almost always called traitors by <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
side <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> attempt is to marginalize <strong>the</strong>m. One may <strong>the</strong>n ask, where are <strong>the</strong> Gutmanns<br />
<strong>and</strong> Thompsons on this issue, for here is a truly critical issue calling for deliberative<br />
democracy.<br />
As Young says in her critique of Gutmann <strong>and</strong> Thompson 186 :<br />
"It seems to me that advocates of deliberative democracy who believe that deliberative<br />
processes are <strong>the</strong> best way to conduct policies even under <strong>the</strong> conditions of structural<br />
inequality that characterized democracies today have no satisfactory response to this<br />
criticism. Many advocates of deliberative procedures seem to find no problem with<br />
structures <strong>and</strong> institutional constraints that limit policy alternatives in actual<br />
democracies, advocating reflective political reasoning within <strong>the</strong>m to counter irrational<br />
tendencies to reduce issues to sound bites <strong>and</strong> decisions to aggregate preferences. In<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir detailed discussion of <strong>the</strong> terms of welfare reform in Democracy <strong>and</strong><br />
Disagreement, for example, Amy Gutmann <strong>and</strong> Dennis Thompson appear to accept as<br />
given that policy action to respond to <strong>the</strong> needs of poor people must come in <strong>the</strong> form<br />
of poor support ra<strong>the</strong>r than changes in tax policy, <strong>the</strong> relation of private <strong>and</strong> <strong>public</strong><br />
investment, <strong>public</strong> works employment, <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r more structural ways of undermining<br />
deprivation <strong>and</strong> income inequality. James Fishkin's innovative citizens' forum<br />
deliberating national issues in connection with <strong>the</strong> 1996 political campaign, to take<br />
186 Activist Challenges to Deliberative Democracy Author(s): Iris Marion Young Source: Political Theory, Vol. 29,<br />
No. 5 (Oct., 2001), pp. 670-690 Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.<br />
Page 184