In Response to Jurg Steiner's "Concept Stretching: The Case of Deliberation"

Steiner's principal objection to our paper is that deliberators in a committee are permitted to speak strategically whereas deliberative theory requires that actors do not lie but are truthful and authentic in their statements. In this response we observe that such a prescription is relevant only to the extent that individuals might be expected to behave otherwise. Our paper explores conditions under which deliberator's strategic (descriptive) incentives are aligned with the (prescriptive) advice to tell the truth.