Deliberation

Societal Support

The societal / cultural millieu influences how people feel about deliberation

In the US -- thanks to the mass media (and other factors) -- deliberation (and other forms of civic and community work) is devalued and protrayed as being boring, nerdy and/or marginal. (Everybody knows that buying stuff is the ultimate in coolness...)

In other countries, of course, civic and community work is total anathema...