Tolerance and Deliberative Democracy

Résumé (en anglais)

Drawing upon the concepts of morality envisaged by J. Rawls and J. Habermas, the paper comments on the principles of a just society seen through the lens of reasonable pluralism, tolerance, deliberative democracy and consensus. As people became moral during the process of discussion and agreement (Habermas), deliberation is tremendously important in a democratic society in which citizens should cooperate/discuss in order to establish together the principles of justice, while any disagreement should be integrated into a space of tolerance. Habermas views discourse in relation with rationality and makes a clear-cut distinction between the discourse that aims at a common understanding and harmonization and the discourse in which participants try to achieve their individual goals. People come together in a society through the use of a common language and they understand the meaning of a sentence when they know under which conditions it is true (situatedness – which is also important in understanding language and its relation to the society). Stability and legitimacy are elements of an effective society where institutions and norms are legitimate if the citizens would freely consent to them. In terms of consent, it is essential to differentiate between compromise and consensus because the former is possible only if the people are not equal. Conversely, Habermas' version of the consent theory is the one in which legal authority has its roots in the process of communication, whereas Rawls appeals to the fundamental moral powers of the citizens.