The idea of a day of deliberation as laid out in the paper written by Ackerman and Fishkin proposes a new national holiday for large-scale deliberative polls that gives citizens the opportunity to become better informed about upcoming important elections, to intensely question candidates about proposed policies and also to put forward their own ideas about what they believe needs to be done. It is believed that during the Deliberation Day event, candidates will be forced to create and produce more thorough and informed policy agendas as they will be subjected to intense scrutiny. In this essay I will evaluate, through my knowledge of Aristotle, how this concept fits into the Aristotelian perspective of democracy. Aristotle's ideal form of government is politics which consists of a mixture of democracy and oligarchy. These two forms of government which in itself he considers deviant combine, in an Aristotelian perspective, to be the best form of government and would lead to a better society. Through politics Aristotle states that a large majority of the population will be of moderate wealth, virtue and ambition and it is a society whose population is composed mainly of such people that is the best. According to him this is due to the fact that, as he states, "among the members of the central section one finds less reluctance to hold office, as well as less enthusiasm for doing so" (Aristotle., Sinclair and Saunders, 1992). The concept of incumbency positions circulating among citizens is an Aristotelian concept that would work better in an average society as such as there would be no conflicts arising from people being equal and equal with similar interests. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Since the majority share similar needs and desires, Aristotle argues that no good citizen will act out of bitter self-interest but will consider the opinions of , his peers since control is shared between them. The reasoning behind the importance placed on middle class people is that excessive wealth but also extreme poverty leads to corruption and blinds the reason he values so much. Overall, the theory of politics values the rule of people from a moderate wealthy class who share power democratically, but does not value the inclusion of the poor or the rich significantly in decision-making as they do not meet the needs of citizens . many only themselves. Aristotle highly values involvement with the state as the key to being a good citizen, but severely limits who can be called a citizen. There are several aspects of the concept of the deliberative day that coincide with the Aristotelian perspective but also some that conflict with it. The overall purpose of the day of deliberation is to make citizens more actively involved and informed about government. Since it is proposed as a national holiday and would lead to a reduction in pay, it means that it is in people's best interests to participate when it currently is not. This is an aspect of the concept that fits with the views of Aristotle, who certainly valued citizen participation and saw it as essentially their ultimate role in supporting and contributing positively to the state. Since this would involve all citizens, including those running to be elected and subsequently to govern, in a certain sense, it would coincide with the Aristotelian perspective that values discussion between peers to achieve the final goal. The importance of deliberation and consideration is made clear infourth book of chapter fourteen of Aristotle's Politics (Aristotle. , Sinclair and Saunders, 1992), but it is also emphasized that from his point of view it is not necessary for every single person to deliberate on every issue that this proves to be in conflict with the very inclusive approach of the deliberative day. While in Aristotle's writings he emphasizes the fact that he believes many should be involved in the deliberative process but certainly not all, this is mainly based on his view of citizenship which is a very narrow concept according to his views. Therefore, if we apply the Aristotelian perspective of deliberation in the modern context where citizenship is a much broader concept, it fits in very positively. Aristotle highly values virtue and this involves being educated. In his writings he often seems conflicted about the need to empower the many to live in a just society, but also about the harmful impact of allowing those of little virtue to have power. He is constantly wary of the lack of understanding and intuition that many people do not have, which leads to making decisions purely out of self-interest. The concept of a day of deliberation offers a solution to this social struggle, by making people aware and educated about the important issues and decisions they face, there is a much lower chance of presumptuous and ignorant decisions being made. While it is inevitable that some people will still choose to vote with little regard for the common good and their own interest in the issue, this number of people will surely be a tiny minority. Within Aristotle's political system it is a democratic voting system and therefore the opinions of the majority are what will supersede everything else, therefore ensuring that citizens are correctly informed and aware of the candidates' policies and proposals, they will make the best decision for the majority of society. . Deliberation Day offers a solution to the concern that, through Aristotelian thinking, a bad decision can be made if power is given to the many. This makes the concept of politics more workable as it rectifies one of its flaws, this means that the day of deliberation would be a concept in line with Aristotle's thinking, however while in theory it works within the Aristotelian perspective it could be a concept were more difficult to apply in Aristotle's time than today. Likewise, to the previous observation, this would involve putting these views and ideals into a modern concept and allowing for some flexibility. Regarding who holds power and has a dominant role within the government, Aristotle states that there is no decisive factor other than that of virtue. Through Aristotelian thought, man/men endowed with greater intellectual and moral virtue should have power within society and occupy an important place in office. But virtue is difficult to decipher, and people often rise to power through other means such as wealth and nobility. A key element of the day of deliberation is that candidates are put to the test by citizens and questioned about their plans and proposals; This element forces you to share more in-depth details of these plans and limits the amount of false or misleading campaigns often seen during elections. . Candidates must produce transparent policies and be able to back them up with concrete evidence and plans in place. The transparency of elections created by deliberation day also creates an opportunity for candidates' virtues to come to light or perhaps not. During the time spent with the candidates, i.
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