Chronique

La symétrie / asymétrie du débat public

Gilles Gauthier

The public debate is structured by a constitutive tension between opposition and interaction: it concerns a disagreement about which a discussion is conducted. In order to account for this double burden, a distinction between symmetrical and asymmetrical public debates is first advanced: a debate is symmetrical when it gives rise to an exchange; it is asymmetrical when it is only pure confrontation. Taking the example of some recent Quebec debates, the article first proposes to characterize symmetry by the argumentative content of interventions made in a public debate. Some...