ABSTRACT
Many democratic theorists now advocate a ‘turn’ to deliberation in decision making,1 but deliberative democracy is more than just learning how to debate.2 Deliberative democracy requires skills to listen across deep differences of life experience and value, and the ability to challenge illegitimate power through discussion. In a complex and diverse world, Amartya Sen reminds us we no longer have the luxury of ‘lazy’ or ‘disengaged tolerance’, it is no longer sufficient to simply say ‘you are right in your community and I am right in mine’; somehow, we have to find ways to develop democratic solutions for a common future.3
