On seeking the truth (whatever that is) through democracy: Estlund's case for the qualified epistemic claim

In Democratic Authority David Estlund advances what I call the "Qualified Epistemic Claim," according to which democracy is the best epistemic strategy for revealing the truth from among those strategies that are generally acceptable. I examine this claim, focusing on three issues: the scope of truth claims for which it applies, the test by which we know whether democracy is best, and the mechanism by which democracy has this supposed benefit. I conclude that although Estlund has presented some suggestive considerations in favor of the Qualified Epistemic Claim, he does not present a convincing case for it.