Summary of Habermas’ “Three Normative Models of Democracy”
Two models of American politics, the liberal and the republican,
are reviewed and a third model, deliberative politics, is proposed.
Liberal understanding of politics
The role of politics is to program the state (apparatus of public
administration) in the interest of society (“a system of market-
structured interactions of private persons and their labor”).
Legal order is concerned with individual rights, which are
conceived of as negative rights. Politics is viewed as a market.
Republican understanding of politics
Politics is “the reflexive form of substantial ethical life.” In
addition to the state and market, solidarity (civic society) is a
source of integration.
Legal order “accords equal weight to both the integrity of the
individual and the integrity of the community.” Individual rights
are positive rights, e.g., political participation and communication.
Politics is viewed as a dialogue.
Deliberative politics
Politics relies on “conditions of communication under which the
political process can be presumed to produce rational results
because it operates deliberatively at all levels.” An “ideal
procedure for deliberation and decision making” will ensure that
“reasonable or fair results are obtained.”