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The symptoms are all too familiar
- Adversarial and unproductive relationships
- Leaders who lack the experience to plan constructive conversations and public meetings
- A pervasive feeling that people are left out of important decisions about common problems
- Apathy and mistrust of public agencies and officials
- Private companies whose effectiveness is impaired by an inability
to resolve difficult issues
Concern is growing within established democracies about the gap
between what we want—in organizations and in public life—and
what we have, a situation in which many people feel like passive
observers, not active participants. The absence of occasions for
dialogue and thoughtful deliberation to address common problems,
reduce tensions, and move toward shared goals is striking.
In newly democratic nations, the challenge is to establish not just institutions of democratic governance but practices of public engagement. For democracy to succeed, it is essential to learn and practice more inclusive ways of talking and working together, even among people who see each other as adversaries.
Around the world, in communities, companies, and governments,
people express a commitment to collaboration and joint decision-making.
But the commitment to democratic principles is hollow unless we
take seriously the requirements of public practice. Despite the
importance of deliberative skills and dialogic practices, the
opportunities to acquire these skills and learn to use them are
few.
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"The
commitment to participatory democratic principles is hollow
unless we take seriously the requirements of public practice."
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