Talking Democracy: Historical Perspectives on Rhetoric and Democracy.

• Author: Zompetti, Joseph P.
• Position: Book review

Talking Democracy: Historical Perspectives on Rhetoric and Democracy. Edited by Benedetto Fontana, Cary J. Nederman, and Gary Remer. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2004, pp. vi + 337. $55.00 cloth; $26.50 paper.

This is a valuable compendium of studies of the relationship between rhetoric and democracy that suggests that these elements are mutually reliant: Rhetoric, as a political exercise, requires deliberative decision making while democracy needs the power of rhetoric to function. Contributors struggle with democracy's relationship to rhetoric, but see the classical Greek notion of logos underlying various theories of deliberative democracy, particularly with regard to deliberation and rational discussion. Deliberative democrats often privilege the dialectical over the rhetorical by emphasizing consensus, virtue and rationality. Nevertheless, this book believes that rhetoric's primary role in deliberative democracy is as an instrument of "moral and political education" (14); rhetoric, the authors stress, provides context for dialectic. The book also emphasizes how rhetoric lends itself to praxis, a key component not only of a deliberative democracy but also of a participatory one.

This book's extensive coverage of the dynamic relationship between rhetoric and deliberative democracy blends theory with criticism. The editors and contributions by Gary Shiffman, Russell Bentley and Thomas Murphy examine theories of deliberative democracy and rhetoric in detail. Other chapters provide intriguing critiques: Arlene W. Saxonhouse examines Thucydides, Gary Remer treats Cicero, John von Heyking discusses Augustine, and Nadia Urbinati analyzes John Stewart Mill.

To provide necessary context, the editors wisely included several foundational chapters. Benedetto Fontana writes about the classical connection between logos (argument) and democracy. Quoting Isocrates ("logos hegemon panton"--arguments are the rulers of all things) Fontana argues that "only in a political community such as the polis" would "the logos as hegemon ... be capable of generating consent by means of the persuasive and rhetorical devices of public speaking" (19). Similarly, Shiffman looks to Aristotle for theoretical insight into how political discourse can guide political decision making. Bentley argues...