01 · Knowledge Atlas
Switch to graph viewAn encyclopedia of social systems
Theories, political philosophies, economic models, institution types and forms of self-government — each idea traced through theory, real examples, critique and results.
All entries · A–Z
- Champlain Housing TrustExperimentA community land trust in Burlington, Vermont, that began in 1984 and keeps homes affordable through resale restrictions.
- Charles TieboutThinkerEconomist whose 1956 model described residents 'voting with their feet' among local jurisdictions.
- Charter cityInstitution typeA new city on largely uninhabited land, governed by a charter whose rules differ from those of the host country — a concept proposed by Paul Romer in 2009.
- CityDAOExperimentA DAO organised as a Wyoming DAO LLC in 2021 that acquired land in Wyoming and governs it through token-holder votes.
- Civic republicanismIdeologyA political tradition that treats freedom as self-government and non-domination, sustained by active citizens, civic virtue and mixed institutions. Rooted in Rome, Florence and Venice, and revived by Pettit and Skinner.
- Commons governanceConceptManagement of shared resources by their users through locally devised rules, rather than by privatisation or central state control.
- Community land trustMechanismA nonprofit holds land in trust and sells or leases the buildings on it with resale limits that keep housing affordable.
- Condorcet methodsMechanismRanked-ballot voting methods that elect the candidate who beats every rival in head-to-head majority comparisons, when one exists, and differ in how they resolve cycles. Used mainly in organisations such as the Debian Project.
- ConsociationalismTheoryArend Lijphart's theory that deeply divided societies can sustain democracy through elite power-sharing: grand coalition, mutual veto, proportionality and segmental autonomy. Associated with Lebanon, Belgium, Northern Ireland and Bosnia.