Wiredu's Consensual Democracy, Dialogical Education, and the Construction of Collective Identities and Interests

Given the limits and contradictions of liberal majoritarian democracy, consensual democracy has been proposed as an alternative. Consensual democracy is a governance system that is characterised by collective interests and consensual decision-making. Critics have questioned the practicality of collective interests. The aim of this essay is therefore to demonstrate the feasibility of collective interests. Based on an interpretive paradigm, this essay is an intertextual and contextual reading of Wiredu's writings. This essay argues that dialogue and education play a pivotal role in socially constructing identities and interests, which are key elements of consensual democracy. We assert that the success or failure to transform individual interests into collective interests partly depends on the social dispositions that are nurtured by education. Recognising diverse African historical backgrounds, this paper argues that the pillars of consensual democracy are a vibrant civil society and a developmental state that prioritises decolonised education and egalitarian structures.