ABSTRACT
The idea of authentic two-way risk communication, in principle, involves the same assumption. The recognition that judgments about the acceptability of risks is a matter of opinion, driven by values and not just scientific facts, is strong support for consulting citizens about where technology should be going. An important and immediately relevant theme of the science-technology-and-society literature is that technologies are generally driven by social and cultural priorities. Democratic societies can be conceptualized in various ways. One common distinction is between the notion of elite pluralism, in which a variety of groups representing various stakeholders with competing interests are conceptualized as competing for power and influence, versus a more “pure” form of democracy in which individual citizens debate and discuss issues, discussions that then directly or indirectly inform the policy-making process. Technology, one adopted, also has a way of constraining our future. Nanotechnology’s future will likewise depend on human values.
