Polity Atlas

How each model solves the same problems

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

Question+ Model
How are decisions made?Self-managed workers' and consumers' councils and their federations; annual iterative planning.A stratified random sample of 523 voters deliberated in moderated groups and plenaries and answered questionnaires before and after; no decisions were taken.Sortition / citizens' assembly
How are conflicts resolved?Planning rounds of proposals and revisions, facilitated by a board, until a feasible plan emerges.Balanced briefing materials, trained neutral moderators and competing experts structured disagreement.
How are public goods funded?Authors claim the planning procedure handles externalities and public goods equitably and efficiently.Privately funded; produced published results, media coverage and a peer-reviewed study.
How is AI used?No documented AI role.No AI role.
What are the main risks?Time costs of repeated planning rounds; local-knowledge limits; influence concentrating in facilitators.CLM-0323CLM-0951Self-selection into attendance; artificial setting; analysis by the method's designers; no institutional uptake.

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