ABSTRACT
Like education, democracy is a normative project in a constant state of refinement, or crisis, depending on the observer’s point of view. Current objections focus on the following problems (Papacharissi & Papacharissi, 2010; Hess & McAvoy, 2014; Wells, 2015; Fishkin & Mansbridge, 2017, Levitsky & Ziblatt, 2018):
Growing lack of trust towards elites, democratic institutions and processes, resulting in the polarized effects of decline of participation in traditional, recognized, democratic practices (voting, membership in political parties, petitions, advocating for social causes, community volunteering and newspapers reading) on the one hand and in the rise of populism on the other.
Inability of existing institutions to meet people’s demands, and more specifically, inadequacy of the model of “representatives” in mass, consumption societies.
Narrowing of the pluralism of thought. Physically, heterogeneity declines, as the growing economical gaps are leading to less diverse modes of living and as a result, to more “like-minded classrooms” (Hess & McAvoy, 2014). Communicatively, pluralism is hindered by the effects of polls and the informational echo chamber of social networks (Sunstein, 2018), which both contribute to confirmation bias (Sharot & Garret, 2016). Government-wise, representatives’ pluralism of thought is hindered by the growing tendency to enforce coalition discipline.
