탈경계 시대의 민주주의 패러다임

A Theoretical Paradigm of Democracy for Trans-boundary Societies: From Liberalism and Communitarianism to Reflective Democracy

This article explores the idea that current crisis symptoms of governance, universally observed in democratic systems, could be a result of the discrepancy between fundamentally new social environments and anachronistic theories of democracy. If a theoretical paradigm of democracy fails to reflect new realities of the day, it is bound to generate excessive conflicts and impasses in governance process. The first section of the article portrays the significant weakening of various geographic and social boundaries as a crucial characteristic of today’s transitional environments, and describes the challenges posed to democratic governance in such trans-boundary societies. The article then shows that liberal and communitarian perspectives, both of which take for granted the outdated notion of clear and absolute boundaries, can no longer work as a theoretical foundation of democracy. A promising alternative paradigm to lead our quest for a democracy compatible with various trans-boundary trends, this article suggests, is found in Robert Goodin’s theory of reflective democracy. His theory, a delicate combination of liberal and communitarian thoughts, argues for internal deliberation within each person’s mind to reflect on other people’s interests and positions. Full development of his theory into a main paradigm of democracy suitable for trans-boundary societies would call for strong senses of empathy widespread in the public mind, which would in turn necessitate the efforts to theorize and substantiate the concept of multiple self.