Deliberative democracy for the future : the case of nuclear waste management in Canada / Genevieve Fuji Johnson.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Genevieve Fuji Johnson proposes that only deliberative democracy contains convincing conceptions of the good, justice, and legitimacy that provide for the justifiable resolution of debates about the moral foundations of public policy.

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CHOICE Review

With concerns about the use of fossil fuels--their availability and cost--as well as the attendant pollution inevitably intensifying, interest in nuclear energy in North America is reemerging. In this context, this study, focusing on nuclear waste management, is especially important. Johnson (Simon Fraser, Canada) posits a model for decision making in connection with this important component of nuclear use. The model is called deliberative democracy, involving a wide diversity of potentially affected people to achieve agreement on waste disposal. This approach is juxtaposed against two others: utilitarianism, a cost-benefit analysis that seeks to maximize the welfare of the largest number; and modern deontology, which (as defined by the author) tries to infuse decision making with normative principles based on equality of individuals. The book describes each of these models as well as the processes used in Canada and concludes with an analysis of the promises and pitfalls of the deliberative democracy approach. This study will be of interest to policy makers and those involved in nuclear energy as well as to students of Canadian public policy. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. P. Regenstreif University of Rochester