AN INQUIRY INTO DIALOGUE,ITS CHALLENGES AND JUSTIFICATION

This article offers a socio-historical analysis of contemporary arguments favoring dialogue, with special emphasis on their relevance to public participation in governance and policy making. My argument begins with the historical roots of dialogue, and goes on to consider the variety of challenges to dialogue that emerged in the modern age. After considering the contemporary opposition, in light of these challenges, I portray dialogue's proponents as drawing on three families of arguments, each with a Classical legacy and response to modernity's challenges. The conclusion considers the significance of the arguments favoring public dialogue relative to recent changes in the political landscape in the U.S.