A deliberative ethic for development: A Nepalese journey from Bourdieu through Kant to Dewey and Habermas

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibility of a procedural deliberativernalternative to an atomistic conception of individuals and an economic logic of markets or a priorirnuniversal lists, as ethical foundation for evaluating socio-economic change.rnDesign/methodology/approach - To develop this argument, the paper combines a modifiedrnKantian categorical imperative with deliberative ethics drawing on the writings of Habermas andrnDewey. The journey through the European Enlightenment thought of Kant to the contemporaryrnthought of Habermas and Bourdieu aims at mapping continuity and change in key themes inrndevelopment ethics. These ideas are then given practical application in a case-study of thernpeople-forestry interface in Nepal.rnFindings - The paper shows how Kantian non-deception links to Habermas' notion ofrncommunicative action and Dewey's notion of cooperative inquiry, and how Kantian non-coercionrnlinks to the inclusion of subaltern voices. While the paper proposes that more open deliberativernprocesses can potentially produce ethical gains, it also identifies an idealistic risk in this position.rnBourdieu's thinking is utilised to reveal limitations on improving deliberative processes where therernare powerful mechanisms reproducing inequalities.rnPractical implications - The paper makes the case for greater attention being given to exploringrndeliberative processes as a prerequisite for ethical developmental actions.rnOriginality/value - The paper brings together authors who rarely feature in the developmentrnstudies discourse and applies their ideas to a practical case study.