WHY CONVERSATION IS NOT THE SOUL OF DEMOCRACY

Inspired by the writings of John Dewey, among others, thinking in comm unication studies has often taken face-to-face conversation to be the heart of democratic life. But face-to-face conversation has been as mu ch honored in aristocracies as in democracies and there are, in fact, two distinctive and contrasting ideals of conversation-the sociable co nversation and the problem-solving conversation. Conversation that ser ves democracy is distinguished not by egalitarianism but by norm-gover nedness and public-ness, but not spontaneity but by civility, and not by its priority or superiority to print and broadcast media but by its necessary dependence on them. An argument is offered that institution s and norms of democracy give rise to democratic conversations rather than that the inherent democracy of conversation gives rise to politic ally democratic norms and institutions.