New Books in Philosophy

Lisa Herzog, "Citizen Knowledge: Markets, Experts, and the Infrastructure of Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2023)

Feb 1, 2024

Explore the relationship between democracy and epistemology, focusing on responsible information gathering and historical critiques of citizen ignorance. Learn about the hazards of market-based thinking in democracy and how it interfaces with expert communities and public deliberation. Discover an integrated political epistemology for democracy through Lisa Herzog's book 'Citizen Knowledge: Markets, Experts, and the Infrastructure of Democracy'.

01:07:47

Episode guests

Lisa Herzog

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Lotocracy promotes public voice through lotteries, revealing challenges in addressing systemic inequalities.

Expert communities provide specialized knowledge crucial for informed decision-making in democracies.

Public deliberation enhances social justice and inclusive participation, strengthening democratic values and addressing inequities.

Deep dives

Challenges of Lotocracy in Modern Democracy

Lotocracy, a system advocating for more regular use of lotteries instead of elections, aims to give normal people a voice in public deliberations. However, challenges arise when public discourse remains distorted due to existing inequalities. The reliance on lotocracy alone may not address systemic issues appropriately.

Introduction

3min

Exploring the Intersection of Knowledge, Politics, and Markets

3min

Citizen Knowledge and Democratic Politics

12min

Exploring the Political Economy Layer of Democracy and the Internet

2min

Navigating Knowledge in the Democratic Ecosystem

27min

Enhancing Public Deliberation through Lotocracy

17min

Exploring the Intricacies of 'Citizen Knowledge'

2min

For better or worse, democracy and epistemology are intertwined. For one thing, politics is partly a matter of gathering, assessing, and applying information. And this can be done responsibly or incompetently. At least since Plato, a leading critique of democracy has focused on the ignorance of ordinary citizens. Historically, this kind of critique has supplied the basis for several nondemocratic proposals. Yet it has also worked in the background of a range of views within democratic theory. Among these are views that have relied on markets as mechanisms for sharing and distributing information.

But there are hazards to market-based thinking about democracy. In Citizen Knowledge: Markets, Experts, and the Infrastructure of Democracy (Oxford UP, 2023), Lisa Herzog explores three conceptually distinct sites where democracy interfaces with epistemology: markets, expert communities, and public deliberation. The result is an integrated political epistemology for democracy.

Robert Talisse is the W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/philosophy

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.

New Books in Philosophy

Lisa Herzog, "Citizen Knowledge: Markets, Experts, and the Infrastructure of Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2023)

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Challenges of Lotocracy in Modern Democracy

Importance of Expert Communities in Democratic Decision-Making

Epistemic Contributions of Public Deliberation in Democracy

Realism and Democratic Values

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research in Understanding Political Realities

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts