A healthy epistemic commons is the foundational feature of a functioning democracy
[[ 2021-04-28 ]] #democracy #epistemics
“Democracy is self-government at scale and, therefore, requires sensemaking at scale in the form of an epistemically healthy public sphere. (71-72)”
Considering the importance of sense-making, we can apply what we know about science as a sense-making mechanism ( [[ science is the best system of collective sense-making ]]): [[ to effectively respond to issues of the 21st century, politics needs to cooperate at similar scales as scientific research ]].
Democracy is a form of self-governance, meaning that the citizens (members) of the governing jurisdiction are the ones to govern. We all are civic actors in the game of democracy and our ability to make sound choices and judgements affects the outcomes of political activity.
Self-governance doesn’t work without an epistemic commons. Meaning that citizens have access to accurate information about how the world works, and have the capacity to make sense of the information and understand how their own decisions will affect how the world works.
Without these capacities, democracy cannot function, because decision-making will not be effectively coordinated, power will compound ( [[ without self-correcting mechanisms, power and influence compound via feedback loops ]]), and no meaningful outcomes can be achieved: [[ words to please an audience vs. to address an issue ]] - a healthy epistemic commons would hopefully steer towards the latter.
It also indicates the importance of independent media and public education: [[ the most important feature of an open society is the comprehensive education of the citizens ]].