Pragmatism and the Problem of Institutional Design
Pragmatism and the Problem of Institutional Design
This chapter provides a basis for a pragmatist account of democracy. It specifies three features—fallibilism, anti-skepticism, and consequentialism—as central to pragmatism understood as a philosophical position. The chapter also makes two further claims that are distinctive. First, pragmatism has important political consequences and that those sustain a commitment to robust democratic politics. Second, insofar as pragmatists are committed to democratic politics, they necessarily are committed not just to an ethos or ideal but to the analysis of democratic institutions. Each of these arguments will come as a surprise not just to those who come to pragmatism from the outside but to many who consider themselves pragmatists.
Keywords: pragmatism, democracy, fallibilism, anti-skepticism, consequentialism, political consequences, democratic politics, democratic institutions
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