Public Sphere the Case for Essay

..[that is]...the natural reed of all peaceable folks" (66). Furthermore, Bohman states that Kant includes peace in this list of goals (179). Integrating these ideas and expounding on them, one can determine that the goal of the global public sphere is, indeed, what is best for society -- freedom from harm, fear, and discrimination. Thus, the goals of the public sphere can be summed up in the words "peace" and "social justice." In order to achieve these goals, however, a secondary, and perhaps one should say causal, goal of the public sphere is to express their opinions for societal betterment in a way that cannot be denied by the more powerful individuals.

Having set these goals, it is important to distinguish what this type of social public sphere will look like in order to determine its structure. Although one large, national state may be an intriguing idea, Kant is more correct when he suggests a system of federalism that will help groom members for a perfect society (Bohman 179-181). Thus, the goals of the public sphere will be best captured by a federalist system of large coalitions like the European Union. Like the United States' federalism, this will allow local problems to be solved through local cultural organizations, while still maintaining a unified front. Furthermore, the system will increase the popularity of social justice socialism and peace by providing communities in which people feel a strong membership. Rather than moving to a unified state, however, like Kant suggests, this vision of the public sphere will provide the ultimate in benefits without the costs.

Thus, the system proposed here is neither full-blown democracy nor anarchism. Instead, by focusing on the goals of peace and social justice, or what is best for the society, the public sphere can be best represented by a combination of socialism and democracy, in that socialism is achieved by expression of public opinion.

Works Cited

Bohman, James. "The Public Sphere of the World Citizen."

Wilson,…