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? | Sovereign cantons (Landsgemeinde assemblies in rural cantons, councils in cities) linked by treaties; a diet of envoys bound by instructions; majority voting only for common lands.Popular assembly | 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. | |
| How are conflicts resolved? | Arbitration by neutral cantons under alliance treaties; mediation by the diet; confessional peace treaties after civil wars.Arbitration | A four-member Constitutional Tribunal appointed by the co-princes and the General Council; ordinary courts. | |
| How are public goods funded? | Communal alpine pastures and forests; cantonal defence; mercenary contracts financing governments; joint administration of condominiums. | Health, education and infrastructure funded by indirect, corporate and personal taxes; parishes run local services. | |
| How is AI used? | None; a pre-modern confederation. | No specific role for AI. | |
| What are the main risks? | No common executive, religious civil war, oligarchic city rule, exploitation of subject lands, dependence on foreign pensions. | Clash between the episcopal co-prince and legislation such as abortion; exclusion of non-citizens; dependence on France, Spain and the EU. |
This illustrates differences in design; it is not a universal claim about outcomes. Each cell links to mechanisms and the claims behind them.