The Case for Democracy in the COVID-19 Pandemic (SAGE Swifts)

One moment life was normal, the next, governments around the world were imposing radical lockdowns of their populations. But why were decision-makers so readily ignoring centuries of hard-won civil freedoms? Where was the discussion of ethics and human rights? Why were we so easily controlled and why were our controllers so willing to do it? In __The Case for Democracy,__ David Seedhouse explores the psychological biases; distorted risk perceptions; frenetic journalism; the disputed science; the narrow focus of ′experts′; value judgements dressed up as truths; propaganda; the invisibility of ethics; and the alarming irrelevance of inclusive democracy that have been features of governmental responses to the covid-19 pandemic. Seedhouse argues that the chaotic governmental response to Coronavirus, with no attempt to include the public, is the perfect argument for an extensive, participatory democracy; a democracy that demonstrates practical decision making by listening to everyone’s knowledge and expertise. Now is the time for us to solve our problems together. The case for democracy explores the psychological biases; distorted risk perceptions; frenetic journalism; the impotence of science; the narrow focus of 'experts'; value judgements dressed up as truths; propaganda; the invisibility of ethics; and the alarming irrelevance of inclusive democracy that have been features of the human reaction to the covid-19 pandemic. David Seedhouse argues that the chaotic human response to the virus, with no attempt to include the public, is the perfect argument for an extensive, participatory democracy. It is time for us to solve our problems together. David Seedhouse is Professor of Deliberative Practice at Aston University