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Jonathan Benson is a Hallsworth Research Fellow at The University of Manchester. His research centers around political and democratic theory and has a strong connection to the interdisciplinary tradition of politics, philosophy, and economics. He has written widely on contemporary challenges to democracy, the role and limits of markets, as well as issues of political knowledge and communication. Benson received a PhD in Politics from The University of Manchester and previously taught at King's College London and Utrecht University.
Benson starts his analysis with an examination of the epistemic shortcomings of regular elections and free markets, given that these 'have become the dominant institutions of liberal democratic societies,' and many democratic sceptics believe that the free market is the best determinant of the desires and needs of any populace...Benson takes a broad view of democracy, emphasizing that it 'in practice extends far beyond any one body or institution'. Thus, the epistemic abilities of democracy are not housed in any one institution. * Guy Lancaster, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books * The argument is largely successful, though one wonders whether, at least in the American context, an additional veto point in the legislative process would make democracy more responsive to public opinion or would instead maintain the status quo. Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. * Choice * Benson's book adds an important new perspective to the project of justifying democracy on epistemic grounds. The book's systemic perspective enrichesthe debate, and the comparison of epistemic democracy with Hayek's epistemic justifications of markets provides a new critical dimension. In doing so, Intelligent Democracy also offers a new take on the debate about whether democracyis tasked with tracking a correctness standard. Most importantly, Benson's book strengthens the argument for epistemic democracy and makes a compelling case for thinking about democracy as a system for knowledge use and production. Intelligent Democracy will become an important resource for anyone interested in debates concerning the recent epistemic turn in democratic theory and deserves to be read widely. * Kai Spiekermann, Ethics *
