From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anticipatory democracy
is a theory of
civics
relying on democratic
decision making
that takes into account
predictions of future events
that have some credibility with the electorate. The phrase was coined by
Alvin Toffler
in his book
Future Shock
[1]
and was expanded on in the 1978 book
Anticipatory Democracy
, edited by
Clement Bezold
.
Other well-known advocates of the anticipatory approach include
Newt Gingrich
,
Heidi Toffler
,
K. Eric Drexler
, and
Robin Hanson
. They all advocate approaches where the public, not just experts, participate in this "anticipation".
The FutureMAP program of the
Information Awareness Office
program of the
United States
government proposed a prediction market prior to its cancellation on July 29, 2003.
Variants
[
edit
]
Bioregional democracy
can appear as a variant of anticipatory democracy in that it anticipates (using a similar scientific process) the
ecological health
outcomes of any given action. However it usually relies more on far less fragile means, and less on compared measures and quantities.
An alternative,
deliberative democracy
, may combine with either the anticipatory or the bioregional model. It relies less on formal models and a
market system
for betting on future events, and more on discussion.
Deliberative, anticipatory and bioregional approaches can all be considered variants of
participatory democracy
with different thresholds of ease of participation,
burden of proof
, concern for non-human life or future generations, and reflection of participants' tolerances versus preferences or ideals of
truth
. Sometimes a deliberative model is described as more
"left"
and an anticipatory model as more
"right"
. Those who wish to avoid this debate and see merits to both approaches, e.g.
Greens
, usually prefer the generic term "
participatory democracy
". This term has become fundamental to
green politics
itself.
Other terms which likewise have more specific associations with advocates or methods include:
grassroots democracy
,
semi-direct democracy
,
consensus democracy
.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Anticipatory democracy"
.
The Indian journal of public administration, Volume 26
. 1980. p. 879
. Retrieved
December 8,
2011
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Future Shock
- Alvin Toffler
- Anticipatory Democracy: People in the Politics of the Future
, Clement Bezold, Random House, 1978.
ISBN
0-394-41236-2
.