Deliberative Trouble? Why Groups Go to Extremes

This chapter discusses the phenomenon of group polarization and explores some of its implications for deliberation generally and deliberative democracy in particular. It also describes social influences on individual judgments, with particular reference to the phenomenon of social cascades. The chapter offers a basic account of group polarization, with an elaboration of the underlying mechanisms of social influence and persuasive arguments. It explores the consequences of group polarization for a number of issues at the intersection of law and democratic theory, including feuds, ethnic strife, juries, commissions, multimember courts, and deliberation via the Internet. The chapter draws the various strands together in an effort to show how group polarization can create deliberative trouble. It also focuses on the role of deliberation inside and outside enclaves of like-minded people, emphasizing the need to ensure that members of deliberating enclaves are not walled off from other points of view.