Justice by Means of Democracy: A Review
By Wade Lee Hudson
In her magnificent magnum opus, Justice by Means of Democracy, Danielle Allen affirms egalitarianism and criticizes domination. She proposes a “power-sharing liberalism” rooted in “difference without domination” and applies her analysis to politics, the economy, and the rest of society. Nevertheless, her analysis fails to address the need to undo oppressive social conditioning.
Allen affirms the development of
citizens’ ability to adopt habits of non-domination in their ordinary interactions with one another.… This would permit us to establish a virtuous cycle linking political, social, and economic domains in support of the kind of human flourishing that rests on autonomy, both private and public.
It’s rare for a political scientist to pay attention to interpersonal relationships as an element in integrative social change, as does Allen.
She defines difference without domination as social patterns that don’t involve any group or individual controlling another. She rightly asserts that protecting private autonomy is as important as safeguarding political liberties.
Allen recognizes the necessity to submit to legitimate limits “that come from laws, shared cultural practices, social norms, and organizational protocols.” These hierarchies, however, must “avoid an arbitrary or rights-violating exercise of power.”
Being “a co-creator” of these constraints is “essential to maximize autonomy and achieve personal fulfillment.” These tasks entail
meaningful participation in collective decision-making…through participation in the evolution of cultural practices and the structure of civil society and through participation in the institutions of political governance…. How our private, social spaces are structured (has) economic and political consequences.
From her perspective, personal, social, and economic domains should function together to sustain “political equality, positive and negative liberties, and therefore human flourishing and justice.” Promoting this integration requires “a new understanding of the agency of ordinary people and why it matters.”
She objects to our “hyper-meritocracy” and “approaches to economic policy (that) are structured by a picture of justice that focuses first and foremost on the distribution of material goods.” Drawing on Elizabeth Anderson's and others' work, she advocates instead an alternative “that depends fundamentally on political equality, or egalitarian empowerment.”
Widespread demonizing
gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later, the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation on the ruins of public liberty.
Concerning civil society (which includes the family and the private sphere), she calls for “a connected society.” She believes
the design principles of accountability, checking and balancing, and inclusion apply…also to how we design mechanisms of civil society.…
A connected society is one in which citizens have ample opportunities for both bonding and bridging relationships. Bonding relationships are ties to those who are our social similars; bridging ties link us to social dissimilars.
Allen’s book presents methods to nurture these ties with a social ecosystem of associations that “maximize the likelihood that bridging ties will form across boundaries of difference.” She asks, “What are the cultural habits that can help individuals flourish in enacting social connectedness?” and affirms identifying needed “capacities, skills, and bodies of knowledge.”
Some of the techniques she lists are:
Listen for understanding
Share the airtime
Stay present and engaged
Focus on students
Experience discomfort
Expect and accept non-closure
Also:
Repeat back
Use the name of the other
Form a three-person group of chairpersons
Respond to discomfort and seek to find solutions for it
Assure enough diversity
Through it all,
the critical question for a democratic society is how we can bond with those who are like us so as to help us bridge even with those who differ from us…. (We must) deepen our understanding of the art of bridging, in order that we may more effectively cultivate it.
Cultivating egalitarian, diverse climates inside our institutions will enhance the necessary forms of human development. A public policy framework for a connected society is “a necessary partner” to a viable cultural framework for social connectedness. “Institutional and cultural work go hand in hand.” Well-designed policies cultivate community.
Nevertheless, “law does and should have limits…. Beyond those limits, the responsibility to achieve our goals falls on our own shoulders.” Political democracy that’s “simultaneously empowering and nonexploitative” requires that agents exercise agency. It also “entails refusing to take advantage of the vulnerabilities that accrue to those who do not have access to political voice and influence.”
A new, just, and democratic world will be “always something somewhat new” with “cultures in the making.” We “fill preexisting forms” and as we change them, we are changed.
Political equality is “non-sacrificeable. The route to justice, our overarching ideal, is through and only through democracy.”
Her project
recognizes human moral equality in full and seeks to build political institutions, structure social policy, cultivate economies, and enable inclusive cultural work that activate a full sharing of power and responsibility.
We can “form connections with any particular political community in ways that open us up to the possibility of embracing many other, nonoverlapping affiliations, both for ourselves and for others,” as members of “the global community,... (in) a set of layered social networks.”
Allen rejects post-World War Two neoliberalism, which promoted free-market capitalism, deregulation, and reductions in government spending globally. From her perspective, justice with democracy requires an “empowering economy” with “labor relations without domination” that is characterized by an “equitable distribution of the gains of productivity” and avoids exploitative “profiting from vulnerabilities.”
In this economy, there “is no room for domination,” as the economy provides “possibilities of self-development.” It “takes public autonomy, political equality, or democracy as its starting point.” She envisions a “stakeholder capitalism” involving all parties “affected by the enterprise.” She approves German codetermination which allows workers to elect representatives (usually trade union representatives) for almost half of the governing board of directors. Though she doesn’t mention the growing use of public benefit corporations — whose charters require them to provide social and public goods and operate in a responsible and sustainable manner — her proposed corporate reforms are consistent with this approach.
This “economic egalitarianism (should be) instrumental means to achieve political equality and human freedom” — not ends in and of themselves. These measures “restore economic questions to a secondary place.”
She opposes reducing social relations to transactions, as with quid pro quo economic exchanges. Instead, she sees “an underlying structure of relationality…embedded in society.” These legitimate relationships are free of domination.
Universal empowerment would “connect our purposes with those of others,... regulating and transforming self-interest in the direction of purposiveness,… seeking to counteract self-interest (and) convert rivalrous into equitable self-interest.” People would recognize “one’s own good is hooked up to a concern for the ongoing health of the community (and) test the value of what they propose from the perspective of others.”
She argues, “Justice by means of democracy will exist when all people, regardless of background, fully share power and responsibility.”
Efficacy here derives from changing the game being played.… As we participate in these processes, civic participants will get things wrong. They will insult and offend one another. They will dominate each other. To address this, we need to call each other in, not out. … We need to strengthen the ethic of nonviolence and put it at the center of our politics. We need a culture not of blame and shame but of acknowledging fallibility and of calling one another in for course correction. That calling in is an act of invitation to a full sharing of power and responsibility.
This “civic practice of bridge building would improve policy making” and enhance “people’s desire to be co-creators of collective life.”
“Self-government in our private lives (that) takes human dignity seriously…in support of human flourishing (would help us avoid) being devoured by the parasite of domination”
As groundbreaking and valuable as her work is, the main problem with Allen’s manifesto is that it elevates politics to a primary position, as reflected in the book’s title, Justice By Means of Democracy. She considers the economic and social spheres to be secondary, “built on political equality.” As the book’s cover states, she “argues that the surest path to a just society…is the protection of political equality,...(which is) the ground of justice.” Politics is her “starting point.” She says the political, economic, and social spheres are “fully integrated with one another,” but they aren’t equal; politics is the foundation.
Allen envisions populist movements rooted in “egalitarian, participatory constitutional democracy” and affirms “egalitarian political empowerment, social connectedness, and a standard of disconnecting difference and hierarchy from domination in all contexts — public and private.” Her “overarching goal” is a fairness, or justice, that involves “human freedom” and cultivates “human flourishing.” She calls for “civic education” that builds “capacities, skills, and bodies of knowledge” to strengthen these movements.
But politics is not primary. Needed growth involves simultaneous reforms in every arena that reinforce each other synergistically in a positive upward spiral. Each realm is equally important.
Allen neglects that this civic education needs to help people unlearn society’s divisive programming, which inflames the desire to dominate and the willingness to submit for personal gain. As addressed in Growing a Systemic Reform Movement: A Call for Action,
Interpersonal conflicts weaken activist organizations, social service providers, spiritual communities, families, schools, workplaces, and other organizations…. Disrespect, arrogance, egoism, assumptions of moral superiority, elitism, dogmatism, lack of internal democracy, weak mutual support, scapegoating, demonizing, resentments, power struggles, inner turmoil, and other dilemmas are widespread. These issues don’t plague every group, but many afflict most, and they have the same solution: cultivate compassionate cooperation throughout society.
Overcoming these problems requires intentional commitment, honest self-examination, and mutual support in personal and social dimensions. These projects aren’t political efforts to change public policy, though they have political impacts.
Consequently, Allen fails to discuss the need for a new grassroots movement that addresses the whole person and the whole society — a holistic movement that embraces the private sphere as equal to the public sphere. With this approach, every individual and organization that alleviates and prevents suffering could unite behind a commitment to nurturing communities that serve humanity, the environment, and life itself.
This movement will not emerge unless it’s both decentralized and centralized. Local self-governing units can select representatives to higher levels, and a strong national leadership can give greater visibility and credibility to the movement. Moreover, a strong, clear commitment to providing mutual support for self-improvement, especially with regard to dominate-and-submit programming, is essential.
She envisions a process that “entails refusing to take advantage of the vulnerabilities that accrue to those who do not have access to political voice and influence.” However, many people actively oppose change since they benefit from the status quo. Merely pointing out current inequalities will not be enough.
Many people are tired, focused on survival, coping, and trying to find more economic and personal security. These concerns are real and need not be discounted. However, a profound social and personal cultural revolution could inspire people to dig more deeply and set aside time to liberate their higher angels. The fact that poor people are so remarkably generous and compassionate is a source of hope.
For many people, this learning process is spiritual, and a new systemic reform movement should affirm this perspective and encourage the participation of people who affirm humanistic spirituality. Allen believes “the route to justice, our overarching ideal, is through and only through democracy.” However, she prioritizes power-sharing in the political sphere and relegates the social sphere to a secondary place.
By embracing holistic and systemic reform that considers each sphere of equal importance, the human community, as citizens of the world, could improve society fundamentally and thoroughly.