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Essay / Evaluating the idea of a day of deliberation from an Aristotelian perspective
The idea of a day of deliberation as presented in the article co-authored by Ackerman and Fishkin offers a new national holiday for large-scale deliberative polls that give citizens the opportunity to be better informed about the upcoming major elections, intensely question candidates about the policies they propose and also express their own ideas about what they believe should be do. It is believed that during the deliberation day, candidates will be forced to create and produce more in-depth and informed policy programs as they will be subject to increased scrutiny. In this essay, I will evaluate, through my knowledge of Aristotle, how this concept fits into the Aristotelian perspective of democracy. Aristotle's ideal form of government is a political system composed of a mixture of democracy and oligarchy. These two forms of government, which he considers in themselves deviant, combine, from an Aristotelian perspective, to constitute the best form of government and lead to a better society. Through politics, Aristotle says that a large majority of the population will be of moderate wealth, virtue and ambition and that it is a society whose population is mainly composed of these people that is the best. He believes this is because, as he states, "among the members of the middle section we find the least reluctance to hold office as well as the least eagerness to do so" (Aristotle, Sinclair and Saunders, 1992). The concept of positions of office diffused among citizens is an Aristotelian concept that would work best in an intermediary society as such, as there would be no conflict due to the fact that people would be peers and equals with similar interests . Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayDue to the majority sharing the same needs and desires, Aristotle believes that no good citizen will act out of bitter self-interest, but will take into account the opinions of his peers because control is shared between them. The importance given to the middle class is explained by the fact that excessive wealth but also extreme poverty lead to corruption and blind people from the reason they hold so dear. Overall, politics theory values the dominance of people from a moderate leisure class who share power democratically, but does not value the meaningful inclusion of the poor and rich in the decision-making process. decision, because they do not meet the needs of the population. many only themselves. Aristotle places great emphasis on involvement in the state as the key to being a good citizen, but he greatly limits who can be called a citizen. There are different aspects of the concept of day of deliberation which coincide with the Aristotelian perspective but also some which conflict with it. The overall goal of the deliberation day is to make citizens more actively involved and informed about government. As it is a national holiday and would involve a reduction in wages, this means that it is in people's best interests to participate, whereas this is not currently the case. This is an aspect of the concept that fits with Aristotle's views, he certainly values the participation of citizens and essentially sees it as their ultimate role of supporting and contributing positively to the state. As this would involve all citizens, including those who run for office and then in power in a sense, thiswould coincide with the Aristotelian perspective which values discussion between peers and equals to achieve the ultimate goal. The importance of deliberation and consideration is clearly stated in book four of chapter fourteen of Aristotle's "Politics" (Aristotle, Sinclair and Saunders, 1992), but it is also emphasized that from his point of view view, not everyone is needed to deliberate on all this turns out to be at odds with the very inclusive approach of the deliberation day. While in Aristotle's writings he emphasizes that he believes many, but certainly not all, should be involved in the deliberative process, this is primarily based on his view of citizenship, which is a very narrow concept from his perspective . Therefore, if we apply the Aristotelian perspective of deliberation in the modern context where citizenship is a much broader concept, it fits very positively. Aristotle places a high value on virtue and this involves being educated. He often seems conflicted in his writings about the need to give power to as many people as possible to live in a just society, but also about the harmful impact of allowing those who are less than virtuous to have power. He is constantly wary of the lack of understanding and insight that many people do not have, leading to decisions being made purely out of self-interest. The concept of a day of deliberation offers a solution to this societal struggle, by raising awareness and educating people about the important issues and decisions they face, there is a much less chance of pretentious and ignorant decisions being made. Although it is inevitable that some people will still choose to vote without regard for the common good and their own self-interest in the matter, this number of people will certainly be a tiny minority. Within Aristotle's political system, it is a democratic voting system and therefore the opinions of the majority will prevail over everything else, ensuring that citizens are properly informed and aware of policies and candidates' proposals. They will make the best decision for the majority of society. . The day of deliberation offers a solution to the worry that, thanks to Aristotelian thinking, the wrong decision will be made if power is given to the many. This makes the concept of politics more workable because it fixes one of its flaws, meaning that the day of deliberation would be a concept that aligns with Aristotle's thinking, but even if it works in theory in the From an Aristotelian perspective, this might be a concept that would have been more difficult to apply in Aristotle's time than today. Similar to the previous observation, this would involve placing these views and ideals within a modern concept and allowing some flexibility. As for who holds power and has a dominant role in government, Aristotle states that there is no deciding factor other than that of virtue. According to Aristotelian thought, the most intellectually and morally virtuous man or men should have power within society and occupy an important place in office. But virtue is difficult to decipher, and often people gain power through other means, such as wealth and nobility. A key element of the deliberation day is that candidates are subjected to scrutiny by citizens and questioned about their plans and proposals. This element requires sharing deeper details of these plans and limits the number of false or misleading campaigns often seen in elections. . Candidates must produce.