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? | Annual open-air assembly votes by show of hands; government and parliament prepare business.Popular assembly | Unknown | 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? | Swiss cantonal and federal courts. | Unknown | Balanced briefing materials, trained neutral moderators and competing experts structured disagreement. | |
| How are public goods funded? | Cantonal taxes approved by the assembly. | Unknown | Privately funded; produced published results, media coverage and a peer-reviewed study. | |
| How is AI used? | No AI role. | Unknown | No AI role. | |
| What are the main risks? | No secret ballot; turnout limited to those who can attend. | Unknown | 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.