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Language & Power in Deliberative Democracy

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Language & Power in Deliberative Democracy Inequality is Always in the Room: Language & Power in Deliberative Democracy Arthur Lupia & Anne Norton Abstract: Deliberative democracy has the potential to legitimize collective decisions. Deliberation’s legit- imating potential, however, depends on whether those who deliberate truly enter as equals, whether they are able to express on equal terms their visions of the common good, and whether the forms and practices that govern deliberative assemblies advance or undermine their goals. Here, we examine these sources of deliberation’s legitimating potential. We contend that even in situations of apparent procedural equality, deliberation’s legitimating potential is limited by its potential to increase normatively focal power asym- metries. We conclude by describing how deliberative contexts can be modified to reduce certain types of power asymmetries, such as those often associated with gender, race, or class. In so doing, we hope to help readers consider a broader range of factors that influence the outcomes of attempts to restructure power relationships through communicative forums. Deliberative democracy seems to offer democracy not only in our time, but in our neighborhoods. People meet as equals and reason together to find their way to a common good. We are not surprised, therefore, that deliberation is an idea with many advocates. Where people meet as equals, democracy is advanced. Where ARTHUR LUPIA, a Fellow of the people reason together, democracy is advanced. American Academy since 2007, is Deliberative democracy has the potential to legit- the Hal R. Varian Professor of Polit- imize collective decisions. Deliberation’s legitimat- ical Science and Research Profes- ing potential, however, depends on whether those sor in the Center for Political Stud- who deliberate truly enter as equals, whether they ies at the University of Michigan. are able to express on equal terms their visions of the ANNE NORTON is Professor of common good, and whether the forms and practices Political Science and Compara- that govern deliberative assemblies advance or un- tive Literature at the University dermine their goals. In this essay, we examine these of Pennsylvania. sources of deliberation’s legitimating potential. (*See endnotes for complete contributor Beneath and throughout the evaluation of delib- biographies.) erative democracy are questions about whether and © 2017 by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences doi:10.1162/DAED_ a_00447 64 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DAED_a_00447 by guest on 28 September 2021 how language facilitates communication and imating potential of deliberative mecha- Arthur whether and how communications inform as- nisms is limited by the possibility that they Lupia & Anne sent. In attempts to measure the effective- can increase, rather than reduce, norma- Norton ness of deliberation, either theoretically tively focal power asymmetries. or empirically, it is common to reference Language and communication them- instances of consensus, compromise, or selves entail power relationships. Lan- clarifying sources of conflict as evidence guage gains meaning, and communication of success. Deliberative endeavors that fail becomes an efficient means of communi- to produce such outcomes are seen as less cating ideas, in part because language and successful. communication each build from, build on, The path to such outcomes travels and reify existing power imbalances. Lan- through sequences of communicative acts. guage issues from power, language creates These acts entail members of a society de- power, language is inseparable from pow- scribing their lifeworlds to one another. In er. Deliberative exercises that use language the deliberative ideal, participants are free and communication to produce assent and to make these descriptions without having legitimacy cannot help but produce their to filter them in ways that conform to ex- outcomes on the backs of existing pow- isting power imbalances. Participants de- er asymmetries. Even language environ- scribe their lives as they live and feel them. ments that claim to feature universal in- In the deliberative ideal, participants are clusion and procedural equality cannot be free to express their views on any social- assumed to be independent of deep and ly relevant issue. They need not subjugate potentially destructive power dynamics. themselves to dominant views of history, In what follows, we seek to inform delib- culture, and power. Through listening to eration as a means of producing legitimate these narratives, participants may come social decisions. We focus on the kinds of to an appreciation of diverse lifeworlds. power imbalances that are present in lan- Through this understanding, communi- guage and communicative practices. In so ties may come to realize shared norms and doing, we demonstrate how the language shared foundations for legitimate collec- and communication that people might use tive action. in deliberative settings carry these inequi- Deliberation’s potential to create legiti- ties to new places–even when a delibera- macy lies in its ability to limit the kinds of tor’s intention is to reduce their impact. oppression and power asymmetries pres- In our examples, language and communi- ent in other means of social decision-mak- cation pertain not only to what is formal- ing, where these other ways of “legitimat- ly written or intentionally said, but also to ing” social decisions include violence, the what is read by others when they see our edicts of oligarchs, decisions produced bodies or imagine our backgrounds. We by the power structures underlying many will argue that it is difficult or impossible modern democracies, and distributional for participants in a deliberative setting to outcomes influenced by the world’s myri- unsee what they are clearly seeing or un- ad systems of markets. For this reason, we think the meanings others communicate focus particular attention on the extent to when they present themselves. These non- which deliberative mechanisms mitigate verbal communications infuse conversa- power asymmetries. We contend that even tions and affect deliberation’s ability to in situations of apparent procedural equal- produce legitimate outcomes. ity with respect to every individual’s basic We conclude by describing how delib- right to convey their lifeworlds, the legit- erative contexts can be modified to reduce 146 (3) Summer 2017 65 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DAED_a_00447 by guest on 28 September 2021 Inequality certain types of power asymmetries, such gives us access to the past. Language can be is Always as those often associated with gender, race, used to categorize the present and to pro- in the Room: Language & or class. In so doing, we hope to help read- pose desired futures. Language enables peo- Power in ers consider a broader range of factors that ple to overcome the isolation integral to hu- Deliberative Democracy influence the outcomes of attempts to de- man experience. People are able to speak of velop norms or restructure power relation- their pain, their pleasure, their needs, their ships through communicative acts. hopes, and their experiences. They are free to make public their sense of things: their When communication and language are in interpretation of events, institutions, laws, the room, so are inequality and coercion. and customs. Communication. The foundation of hu- Language also constrains. We enter a man interaction. The principal means by world already named, in which meanings which we express basic emotions. Love. are attached to all that we encounter, in- Anger. Fear. The vehicle through which cluding our bodies. Language makes us we convey tales of heroes and villains. The meaningful to ourselves. We know our sex, medium through which individuals testify our race, our ancestry, our faith, and our about their vulnerabilities and adversities. politics through language. We are often giv- The means by which oppressed persons en a race (or two), an ethnicity, a class posi- seek assurance and plead for assistance. tion, a nation. Each of these comes with a When seeking to manage problems that history. Each of these comes with a mean- we as individuals cannot solve on our own, ing that predates our awareness of them. we seek communicative currencies that al- We are governed by language even when low us to discover shared histories, devel- we are silent. When we use language we op common interests, and build trust. Com- are bound by words whose meanings are munication offers a foundation from which already set, by grammatical rules and by we construct social compacts and con- other linguistic conventions.1 Philosopher tracts. These pacts set the stage for all forms of language Paul Grice observed that we of collective action and influence the terms have incentives to use terms that are eas- by which such actions are remembered. ily understood by others.2 To achieve un- Language. The languages and lexicons derstanding in the space of a single con- that we use to communicate with one an- versation, we use familiar words. We seek other are intricate human creations. They analogies, metaphors, and examples that help us organize the world for ourselves are likely to be familiar to others. Many and describe it to others. Language pro- of these words are well established with vides a means for categorizing worlds ob- long histories. In our quests for fluidity served and imagined. Language is, howev- and speed, we seldom take time to reflect er, our maker as well as our servant. We en- on the origins of these rules, examples, or ter a world language has made for us. Our words. Those who do, Heidegger and Ni- most intimate experiences are mediated by etzsche among them, enrich our thinking, language. but they too cannot fully comprehend the At all times, language frees and con- infinite and changing richness of a word. strains. The meaning of a word may shift as it Language frees us by allowing us to com- travels from one geographic, political, or bine its words and phrases in an infinite class site to another.
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