Conceptual analysis demonstrates structured proxy representation for voiceless populations, suggesting improved ethical legitimacy in high-stakes policy domains.
Key Points
To address the systematic exclusion of voiceless populations—such as future generations, nonhuman animals, and cognitively impaired individuals—from democratic deliberation and provide a practical governance model.
Critiqued idealized models of deliberative democracy and existing proxy representation solutions.
Developed a pragmatic Six-Actor Framework establishing distinct deliberative roles.
Applied and evaluated the conceptual framework across three policy domains: global health metrics (DALYs), animal welfare regulation, and future generations.
Identified that voiceless stakeholders often constitute the majority of affected entities in health, biotechnology, and environmental policymaking.
Formulated a Six-Actor Framework incorporating policymakers, target populations, laypeople, technical domain experts, and two novel categories: 'benevolent partisans' and 'agent-specific experts'.
Demonstrated that incorporating dedicated proxy agents improves ethical robustness and feasibility when calculating cost-effectiveness metrics and regulating long-term risks.