Beyond the fact that it can solve your life with a few million euros, the lottery – in lower case, as a general concept – offers some interesting characteristics. One of them, and not the least, is that, in its own way, it is incorruptible. If applied well, there is no human way to circumvent it. Chance plays its role and smiles at some or others in a totally random way, regardless of whether they have spent a fortune on your organization. Another is that, precisely for that reason, it is totally democratic. In the bass drum there is no ball with a greater chance of coming out than another. With such a cover letter, the question we could ask ourselves is: Would a democracy work based on draws, on randomness? Would it work a “lotocracy”? Neither the question nor the term are new. Not at all. What’s more, the Athenians – pioneers par excellence in democratic governments – considered something similar a couple of centuries before our era, when they used lots to elect some public positions. The same mechanism continued to work in certain cases and with conditions throughout history. A formula with history… and supporters We find it in cities of what is now Italy during the Middle Ages and also in the Renaissance; but it declined in the 17th century, with the representative systems. From a formula similar to the one we continue to use today to choose the presidents of the neighborhood communities, we moved to another that, at least on paper, aspires to choose the best for public positions. In a 21st century with the system riddled by corruption and clientelist networks, there are, however, those who advocate recovering the philosophy of “lotocracy.” In the academic sphere we find respected voices, such as that of the philosopher Alex Guerrero, the political scientist Helene Landemore or the historian David Van Reybrouck that invite, at least, to dwell on its virtues. Beyond the tribunes and atriums of the universities there are also movements, such as Sortition Foundationwho advocate a formula that wants to place the citizen in the center of political decision making. “By selecting representative groups of ordinary people by lottery and bringing them together in citizens’ assemblies we can break the stranglehold of career politicians on decisions and circumvent powerful vested interests,” Sortition advocatewith headquarters in the United Kingdom, Austria and the United States, before putting the finger on one of the great problems of modern democracies: the “disillusionment” and “distrust” that the political class arouses. You don’t have to go to the English-speaking world to find it. In Spain, the CIS places corruption, fraud and the behavior of public officials among the main concerns of citizens, even ahead of education or housing. 19th-century painting by Philipp Foltz depicting the Athenian politician Pericles before the Assembly. According to the Sortition registry, there are a good handful of initiatives verified by the OECD throughout the world that, in the style of open assembliesshare or have shared their philosophy of empowering neighbors. In Spain, several are identified, such as the participatory platform Madrid decideswhich was created with the aim of presenting proposals, achieving participatory accounts and voting in citizen consultations; G1000also located in the capital; either Besaya Citizen Jurywhich proposes ways to use European funds in the Besaya basin. Beyond the isolated initiatives that seek to reinforce the political weight of citizens, can a system recover, the lotocracythat –as collected by Leandro Omar El Eter— was conceived as “a form of government that promotes access to public office through lottery”? Pablo Simonpolitical scientist and editor of Politikonremembers that the formula of democracy by lottery has little new, but points out the advantages that could be brought by “exploring” a hybrid model, which combines its strengths with those of the current system, as in the irish constitutional conventionformed in 2012 to discuss proposals for amendments to the nation’s charter and which included, among other members, randomly selected people. There, in Ireland, the citizens’ assembly served, for example, to address complex problems, such as the legalization of abortion. The United Kingdom also verified its usefulness, with a forum of 108 people which, after weeks of debate, prepared a report with a battery of proposals to fight climate change. “I find it interesting to explore this system in combination. For example, the experience of the irish constitutional convention. In those cases the draw was hybridized with the representatives. If we created more forums or spaces with citizen raffles and they were allowed a part of the management, it wouldn’t seem bad to me. Just as we have participatory budgets or the ILPsthat a part of the budget could be managed by a committee chosen by citizens at random, but with technical support. I think we should explore these types of things because it would help people feel more connected to the institutions,” reflects Simón. The key, there is plenty, would be to find “a good design”: “Knowing how it would be done, with whom and what powers or powers would be given to that body chosen by lot. Always looking for combinations that allow correction, returning to a model in which this mechanism of direct citizen participation has a greater perception of accountability, of closeness.” Weaknesses and strengths The system in its purest form, of course, has its strengths and weaknesses. Among the first, the political scientist insists on its fully democratic character. “There is no electoral rule more radically democratic than the lottery and this is because basically it is assuming that everyone is competent to perform the functions of government,” he explains. What does it mean for that to be so? From the outset, it greatly complicates one of the great evils of the current system: clientelism, the networks of supporters that end up forming around those who hold political power. How to do it when someone who holds a position does so by chance and without guarantees that they will retain it? “It is a … Read more
