ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the future of democracy in North America as well as in Central and Eastern Europe. The achievements and transformative possibilities of 1989 should also induce North Americans to reexamine and revise own institutions, to rethink what democracy could mean for people. The chapter explores a very modest contribution to that dialogue, from a perspective supportive of postliberal conceptions of democracy. The challenge of placing a democratic and egalitarian imprint on the legal order will be constantly present as this work proceeds. A widespread consensus exists in Central and Eastern Europe to replace centralized state planning with a system of free markets. Due to wealth inequality and market failure, market transactions may not provide a viable mechanism for affected individuals to make themselves heard. The chapter explains that the foundational choice for a representative, market- and rights-based system does not foreclose fundamental political controversy about the meaning, nature, and institutional structure of democracy.
