By and for Experts, or by and for All? Authoritarian vs. Democratic Archaeological Heritage Management
By and for Experts, or by and for All? Authoritarian vs. Democratic Archaeological Heritage Management

Summary/Abstract: Heritage management is mainly determined by the solutions we choose for two classical paradoxes: the “Ship of Theseus” paradox; and the paradox of good governance: whether, for the “best for everyone,” “the best” should rule autocratically, who almost invariably turn into tyrants; or whether anyone should have an equal say, which almost invariably leads to suboptimal collective decisions. This paper argues that the solutions of the founding fathers of modern heritage management necessarily lead to authoritarian heritage management that benefits only a small cultural elite, namely: us heritage managers. Yet, while since their times, our “Western” societies have changed their values in line with the latter solution to the good governance paradox, our heritage management systems have not changed. Thus, despite any protestations to the contrary, they neither benefit “everyone,” nor are they compatible with the values of democratic societies. For heritage management to become democratic, it thus must be fundamentally changed.

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