Workshop program: Dialogue, Polis, and Democracy 

We look forward to welcoming you on April 19, 2024, at 10 am CET for the Dialogue, Polis, and Democracy Workshop, at the Ideal Spaces Working Group foundation’s headquarters, Nesslerstr. 16, 76227 Karlsruhe, Germany. If you have not yet, register for the event on this link.

If you can’t join in person, you can join us online at this link.

Workshop Program: Dialogue, Polis, And Democracy 

10.00 – 10.30: 
Outline of the workshop: what it is all about, and why

• Dialogue, free citizenship and democracy belong together – why: will be elaborated during the workshop.
• What means dialogue = what it is, as opposed to a mere talk or discussion
• Why dialogue belongs to the Polis, as the place of free citizens
• Outline of the agenda of today

10.30 – 11.00:
Dialogue, what is it, or what could it be today? –  moderated discussion

• find out the participants’ understanding,
• why do we need dialogue today still

11.00 – 11.45:
Dialogue ↔ democracy today: how they relate? Moderated discussion

• what is the participants’ understanding of democracy? 
• vs.: what was the original meaning of it
• based on the original meaning: why democracy is a community-based issue → hint to Polis
• why it needs true dialogue, to ensure true democracy
• why it needs a true community, for true dialogue and hence, true democracy: direct involvement of the citizens in decision processes – exemplified in the ideal of the Polis

11.45 – 12.00: coffee break

12.00 – 13.00:
Democracy, community, and dialogue today – some premises – moderated discussion

• if true democracy needs direct involvement = community: are today’s “parliamentary” democracies, as modes of indirect citizen participation, true democracies? 
• Is direct involvement possible in times of mass societies, sheer number of people?
• Is direct involvement possible in times of fragmented societies?
  → assumptions:
  • true democracy needs true community; a ‘true’ community is one with a limited number of people (Aristotle: ideal size of polis = 3.600 inhabitants max)
  • true democracy needs some minimum degree of social cohesion + shared values
• The evergreen-idea of ‘direct’ democracy vs. the state organization: Is the idea of the state as overarching organizational architecture suited for democracy?

13.00 – 13.45: break, buffet

13.45 –  14.30:
the threats to democracy – moderated discussion

• The enemies of dialogue: Sentimentalism & Fundamentalism
• Lack of commonly believed values: “open” society & fragmentation (see above) – where remains the society?
• The world as market & product: consumerism vs. community – the neoliberal agenda. Related:
• Lack of direct contact and personal exchange – I don’t need social media, I have real friends?

14.30 – 15.00:

What can dialogue do to overcome these threats? – moderated discussion

15.00 – 15.15: coffee break

15.15 – 16.00:
Why true dialogue needs real communities – moderated discussion
Theses:

• Need for direct personal contact, to lead a dialogue – mediated meetings do not enable this
• Real community: do I need to know people personally
• Real community needs humanely sustainable relationships, not just Internet-based “chats”
• Real community needs common values & goals, not just “opinions”

16.00 – 16.30:
Polis revisited: how to establish real communities in recent conditions? – moderated discussion

16.30 – 16.45: coffee break

16.45 – open: summarizing findings –  moderated discussion