Huk Marta Zuzanna, Equality of Narrative Inclusion in Decision‑Making Processes: A Deliberative Approach

If pluralism of comprehensive doctrines is assumed, political decision-making processes taking place within deliberative practices constitute an emanation of the Rawlsian idea of reasonableness. When entering into deliberation, participants of the public sphere are only required to fulfil minimal conditions, which are defined primarily in terms of soft competences, i.e., being able to listen to the voice of the other person and show unconditional respect for them through communicative actions. Although the classical normative model of deliberative democracy assumes that, ideally, the discursive procedure is to be an agora of factual argumentation over preferences and interests, the initial awareness of potential contributors does not constitute a conditio sine qua non of participation. Deliberation is in fact a procedure of the public sphere which enables the structuring and clarification of conflicting interests. On its basis, both enlightenment and the transformation of preferences...