Models of the public sphere

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Models of the public sphere

Theorists often discuss the issue by putting forward two, three, or as many as nine. What is "public" discourse?

• discourse that includes strangers
• discourse that includes anyone other than the speaker
• discourse that includes strangers on issues of government policy
• discourse that includes strangers on issues of community policy
• discourse that includes strangers on issues of community policy, and which the participants recognize as such
• discourse on issues of community concern

Liberal (Enlightenment)	Civic-republican (agonistic)	Interest-based (marketplace model)	Communitarian (neo-Aristotelian)	Technocratic	Deliberative
Goal: rational deliberation Legitimate rhetorical appeals: universal reason (public reason); universal rights; ontologically grounded assertions (true because they correspond to reality) [early Habermas]	Goal: deliberation; glory Legitimate rhetorical appeals: whatever works in a realm of open debate [Arendt]	Goal: Advertising and Bargaining Legitimate rhetorical appeals: whatever works [Joseph Schumpeter]	Goal: deliberation Legitimate rhetorical appeals: shared values; human dignity? (what if the shared values don't include human dignity?) [Taylor]	Goal: transmission of expert information; deliberation of ends (experts determine means) Legitimate rhetorical appeals: expert opinion; ontologically grounded assertions [Woodrow Wilson?]	Goal: inclusive deliberation Legitimate rhetorical appeals: perspective-shifting; universal rights? [Benhabib, Young]