Young citizens and the elite
Following my lecture to grade 12 students, I fielded a couple of thought-provoking questions. First, a student asked something along the lines of "if participants in a deliberative process were instructed by an expert panel, what difference would it make to the outcome? Wouldn't they just echo what they were told?" This was after I had mentioned how schooling had shifted beyond the regurgitation of my past. I expressed the hope that their teachers, like good facilitators, would have assisted them in critical thinking and inquiry. There was shock in the room when I instructed them to question everything that I and the other two speakers (a professor and the US Consul General) had said! For me, the query by a second student was more alarming. She suggested with considerable confidence that deliberative processes would promote "populist" outcomes. My response was that participants are encouraged to examine all perspectives of an issue, including problems of implementation or cost. They become informed about issues from the point of view of the government and the diversity of special interests. My answer was clearly unsatisfactory to her. She rolled her eyes at me. I couldn't read her mind of course, but I fear that she believed that most citizens are incapable of anything beyond the most simplistic and greedy reactions to complex policy issues. Both of those students seem to believe that policy can only be considered properly by an elite. The first could just be the unenlightened product of unenlightened institutional education. But I'm more concerned with the second, who might be expressing the born-to-the-manor values of her family, social circle and private school. Perhaps her high-priced education offers her the aspiration to stand above the humble citizenry, destined to lead with moral authority and power. Citizen participation? Don't be so ridiculous!
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