Our conception of public deliberation is rooted in theories of deliberative democracy and moral philosophy. These traditions put public justification at the heart of modern governance. What decision making is about, they suggest, is public reasoning about choices. A deliberative process starts with a government proposal that is justified according to public (rather than private) interests. Such a justification must be viewed as reasonable (rooted in plausible reasons) even when others disagree, and must be subject to change through discussion.
