Chapter 5: Democratic Decision Making in an Issues-Centered Curriculum

Democracy envisions an open and dynamic society where individual citizens play a deciding role. In contrast to an autocracy, where all important decisions are made at the top and where most citizens, who are more appropriately called subjects in authoritarian systems, are expected merely to be compliant, the citizens of a democracy are ultimately responsible for creating the policies and actions implemented by their government. Democracy, to be effective, demands so very much more of its citizens. To be able to test truth claims, to generate reasons and to make decisions and justify them are abilities that support a stronger democracy and have the potential to expand social justice. This chapter addresses the intellectual processes involved in decision making.