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?100 Parisians drawn by lot choose topics, deliberate in monthly workshops and plenaries, and table motions and a draft resolution for the elected Council to vote on.Sortition / citizens' assemblyGrand Council of 50 chiefs chosen by clan mothers; questions pass between groups of nations, each seeking unanimity, with the Onondaga Firekeepers confirming or resolving disagreement.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?Facilitated workshops and plenary votes; proposals are co-constructed with city services before being tabled.The Confederacy describes the Grand Council as resolving disputes among the nations and planning for the welfare of all the people.Balanced briefing materials, trained neutral moderators and competing experts structured disagreement.
How are public goods funded?City-funded; outputs concern reading, housing renovation, street space, homelessness and loneliness.UnknownPrivately funded; produced published results, media coverage and a peer-reviewed study.
How is AI used?No AI role.No documented AI role.No AI role.
What are the main risks?Electoral-roll sampling excludes non-citizen residents; dependence on the Council majority that created it; co-construction blurring citizen authorship.Operates alongside US and Canadian governments, which limits its practical jurisdiction; its rule of unanimity within and between blocs requires broad agreement.CLM-0117CLM-0118Self-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.