ABSTRACT
The theory of deliberative democracy is usually viewed as an account of the legitimacy of political decisions. It expresses an ideal of democratic decision making as a process of reasoned public discussion of arguments for and against some proposal with the aim of arriving at a judgement which is generally acceptable. Arguments for deliberative democracy have overwhelmingly been concerned with establishing that democracy conceived as a process of this sort possesses a legitimacy lacking from democratic procedures which are understood merely as mechanisms for the aggregation of private interests or preferences. According to the latter conception:
