Aug 9, 2023
S2E14. Sabeel Rahman on Democracy and Administration
On this episode of Free Range Podcast, host Mike Livermore is joined by Sabeel Rahman, a professor at Cornell Law School with substantial public policy experience, including as president of the think tank Demos and as senior counselor and then later as the acting Administrator in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Biden administration. Rahman is also the author of the book “Democracy Against Domination” amongst other works.
Livermore and Rahman begin by placing his book within recent historical context, from the 2008 financial crisis that renewed attention to economic inequality, to the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump, which substantially emphasized attacks on the regulatory estate. For Rahman, he argues that the technocratic, managerial approach to governance that was promoted by many liberals in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis lack the moral resources to truly respond to the political moment, creating an opportunity for Donald Trump to propose an alternative. Rahman also discusses his view that the challenge of the modern economy is not income inequality, but rather that problem of power and domination. (0:48-10:51)
In his book, Rahman is also interested in emphasizing historical ideas that have lost currency, including by thinkers such as Louis Brandeis and John Dewey, that focused on how to construct a democratic system in light of economic power. These ideas have been picked up by modern scholars and policy makers such as Lina Khan and Jed Purdy. The book also discusses how norms of democratic governance interact with the administrative state. (10:51-23:40) The conversation turns to questions related to expertise, the role of interest group bargaining in the administrative process, and the potential for broader participation. (23:40-36.49) They discuss participatory mechanisms such as citizen assemblies, lottocracy, and existing cooperative federalist approaches. (36.49-40:10)
The final segment of the podcast focuses on Rahman’s time at Demos and in the Biden administration. (40:10-1:07) Rahman discusses the role of the civil service in a robust democracy, the need for civil society, and some steps that the Biden administration has taken to facilitate community participation in federal decision making. The conversation ends with a discussion of the complex interplay between deliberation, participation, and the necessary exercise of political power in the real world.