ABSTRACT
The discussion here starts from the useful distinction made by Elster between market and forum, between politics as a process of bargaining, and political interaction as a dialogue between equals. In Elster’s words:
The principles of the forum must differ from those of the market. A long-standing tradition from the Greek polis onwards suggests that politics must be an open and public activity as distinct from the isolated and private expression of preferences that occurs in buying and selling.12
