Conclusion: New Directions Through Extending Deliberative Democracy to Enhance Representation and Accountability

Two way, systemic dialogue enables new ideas to emerge. Rorty (1989) in ‘Contingency, irony and solidarity’ argues that we need to ask questions that acknowledge solidarity with other human beings who suffer. He asks us to consider the consequences for humanity by widening our sense of solidarity or links with others. Considering their pain should be our starting point for drawing ever widening circles of solidarity. The issue is not idealism versus pragmatism as Rorty argues; it is about widening our understanding of the consequences of our thinking and our practice. We need to understand that the environment of which we are part has been shaped by our social, cultural, political and economic decisions and that it will in turn shape our thinking and practice. This is the principle of co-determination that has been developed by systems thinkers such as Maturana and Varela and understood by recent thinkers such as Tim Flannery (2007) and Ulrich Beck (1992, 1997).