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Dethroning Deliberation

A Response to Caspary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Jeff Jackson
Jeff Jackson*
Affiliation:
University of Chicago
*
E-mail: Jcjackson@uchicago.edu
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Abstract

This critical reply addresses William Caspary’s commentary on my use of John Dewey to elevate the theory of participatory democracy above deliberative democracy within contemporary democratic thought. In this reply I will defend my reading of Dewey against Caspary’s claim that Dewey is not the supporter of “nondeliberative” direct action that I take him to be. I will also explore the similarities and differences between my and Caspary’s views on the consonance of participatory democracy with practices of direct action, and I will expand on my own critique of deliberative democratic thought.

Keywords

deliberationdemocracyDeweydirect actioninequalityparticipation

Information

Type
Critical Commentary
Information
Democratic Theory , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , December 2017 , pp. 102 - 110
Copyright
Copyright © The Cambridge Journal of Anthropology 2017

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