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? | Enterprise data was to flow to a Santiago operations room, with alerts returning to managers; engineers described the modelling in practice as technocratic and top down. | A 28-member General Council (half elected by parish, half by national list) elects the head of government; the co-princes sanction laws with countersignature. | A statutory authority (UIDAI) under the central government sets rules; ministries decide where Aadhaar is required; Parliament legislated in 2016 and 2019.Digital identity | |
| How are conflicts resolved? | Unknown | A four-member Constitutional Tribunal appointed by the co-princes and the General Council; ordinary courts. | Grievance channels at UIDAI and service agencies; constitutional challenges in the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2017 and 2018. | |
| How are public goods funded? | Unknown | Health, education and infrastructure funded by indirect, corporate and personal taxes; parishes run local services. | A universal, low-cost proof of identity used for welfare transfers, financial inclusion and public services. | |
| How is AI used? | No AI: statistical monitoring and simulation on one mainframe; often cited as an early precursor of data-driven governance. | No specific role for AI. | No AI in decision-making as such; automated biometric matching and deduplication decide authentication, and face authentication was added in 2018. | |
| What are the main risks? | Centralised data collection, limited worker participation in practice, dependence on one government, and claims about its achievements that outrun the evidence. | Clash between the episcopal co-prince and legislation such as abortion; exclusion of non-citizens; dependence on France, Spain and the EU. | Exclusion through authentication failures, data leaks, surveillance and profiling, weak independent oversight and function creep.CLM-0544 |
This illustrates differences in design; it is not a universal claim about outcomes. Each cell links to mechanisms and the claims behind them.