Between Full Endorsement and Blind Deference

Abstract

In Democracy Without Shortcuts, Cristina Lafont advocates for the ‘full endorsement’ of laws and policies by all subject to them instead of ‘blind deference’ to the judgement of others. But if ‘full endorsement’ means anything like ‘complete consensus’ it is an unattainable ideal, and there are many perfectly reasonable ways short of ‘blind deference’ by which we take into account inputs from others when arriving at our own decisions. This article is devoted to exploring that middle ground—on which Lafont herself seems to agree we must always be operating, based on a closer reading of her book. The key to avoiding ‘blind deference’, I argue, is exercising your own independent judgement in deciding when and how far to defer to which others.

Keywords

• democratic legitimacy
• blind deference
• autonomy
• consensus