Politics & Government
Deliberative Polling and Epistemic Inequalities
Quick fact
Deliberative polling, as envisioned by James Fishkin, aims to produce considered public opinion through random sampling and informed small-group deliberation. However, research shows that the information gains from deliberation are often unequally distributed: those with higher initial education and political knowledge benefit the most, potentially reproducing epistemic inequalities among citizens.
Why this is interesting
Imagine a citizen assembly that promises to make everyone equally informed—yet leaves the least educated members even further behind. How can a democratic innovation designed to equalize voice end up deepening knowledge gaps?