Democracy without Shortcuts

This book defends the value of democratic participation. Against proposals that require citizens to blindly defer to the decisions of others (e.g. experts or randomly selected citizens) in order to reach better outcomes, the book argues that a community cannot reach better outcomes 'faster' if it bypasses the beliefs and attitudes of its own citizens. There are no ''shortcuts'' to make a community better than its members. Better outcomes are only possible if we
take the long road of changing the minds, hearts, and political will of our fellow citizens so that they do their part and the better results can actually materialize. Starting from this conviction, the
book defends a conception of democracy ''without shortcuts''.