X—On Time-Slice Democracy and Getting Stuff Done

This paper explores a puzzle about democracies’ ability to effectively shape our collective lives over time. There are compelling reasons to adopt what I will call ‘time-slice democracy’: only the current demos with its current attitudes should have democratic voice. This might seem to condemn democracies to extreme short-termism and ineffectiveness. I argue that this is not so: democracies can get stuff done if they treat past policy commitments and plans as a strong default, and doing so can be justified on grounds compatible with time-slice democracy.