ABSTRACT
Among democratic theorists, the turn toward deliberative theory in recent years has not displaced participatory theory. Although elitist versions of deliberative theory look with suspicion on citizen involvement in decision making, most deliberative democrats favor greater participation by citizens, if not in the deliberation itself then at least in judging the deliberation in which representatives engage. Rather than transcending participatory theory, many deliberative democrats see themselves as extending it. To the standard list of political activities in which citizens participate-voting, organizing, protesting-they add deliberating. At the core of deliberation is the practice of mutual justification-giving reasons that one’s fellow citizens could accept as the basis for fair terms of cooperation. Citizens should adopt this practice to make decisions not only about policies but also about processes. Citizens should deliberate about how to participate.
