The Epistemic Infrastructure of Democracy

Abstract

Abstract How can the epistemic capacities of democracies and, in particular, of processes of democratic deliberation be strengthened? This chapter argues that proposals to replace representative by lottocratic institutions are unlikely to address the epistemic deficits of democracies that we currently see, and instead emphasizes the need for rebuilding existing institutions, not least by pushing back against the influence of money on politics. To illustrate this claim, the chapter discusses three sets of institutions—schools, the media, and civil society organizations and unions—with regard to their epistemic roles in democracies. It also discusses proposals for how the online public sphere could be made more amenable to deliberative processes, arguing that a key epistemic challenge (the lack of clarity about the sources and status of content) could be addressed by regulation that requires more metainformation for online content.