Polity Atlas

How each model solves the same problems

Instead of “democracy versus anarchism”, compare the concrete ways collective problems get solved.

Question✕✕✕
How are decisions made?Online prioritisation of themes, then deliberation by randomly invited citizens at tables of ten, then a smaller panel to refine recommendations.Sortition / citizens' assemblyA statutory authority (UIDAI) under the central government sets rules; ministries decide where Aadhaar is required; Parliament legislated in 2016 and 2019.Digital identityKings of small kingdoms (túatha) under over-kings; assemblies (óenach); customary law expounded by hereditary jurists rather than legislated.
How are conflicts resolved?Facilitated table discussion; no binding decision rule or formal mandate.Grievance channels at UIDAI and service agencies; constitutional challenges in the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2017 and 2018.Brehon judges; sureties (naidm, ráth, aitire); distraint of livestock; ritual fasting against higher-ranking defendants; body-fines and honour-price compensation.Arbitration
How are public goods funded?Funded by donations and volunteer work from a citizen initiative.A universal, low-cost proof of identity used for welfare transfers, financial inclusion and public services.Rules on shared grazing, co-operative ploughing, mills and fencing; obligatory hospitality; churches and monasteries; few public works.
How is AI used?No AI role.No AI in decision-making as such; automated biometric matching and deduplication decide authentication, and face authentication was added in 2018.None; a medieval legal order.
What are the main risks?No formal mandate or link to decision-makers; recruitment relied on voluntary acceptance of invitations; one-off event.Exclusion through authentication failures, data leaks, surveillance and profiling, weak independent oversight and function creep.CLM-0544Status-graded and unequal protection, unfree labour, endemic raiding and dynastic war, and vulnerability to a centralising conqueror.CLM-0385

This illustrates differences in design; it is not a universal claim about outcomes. Each cell links to mechanisms and the claims behind them.