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? | 108 members chosen by civic lottery heard experts and voted by secret ballot, mostly in thematic groups, on options for reaching net zero.Sortition / citizens' assembly | 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? | Professional facilitation, balanced expert leads, secret ballots recording levels of support; no formal channel for disputes with government. | Balanced briefing materials, trained neutral moderators and competing experts structured disagreement. | |
| How are public goods funded? | Funded by the House of Commons (£120,000) and two foundations (£220,000 each); produced a public record of informed citizens' preferences on net-zero trade-offs. | Privately funded; produced published results, media coverage and a peer-reviewed study. | |
| How is AI used? | No AI role. | No AI role. | |
| What are the main risks? | No duty on government to respond; remit too broad for six weekends; agenda set by organisers rather than members. | Self-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.