The Pew Charitable Trusts recently looked back at TED Democracy Philadelphia as part of its exploration of what American democracy might look like over the country’s next 250 years. Terry’s proposal stood out:
Athens was also on the mind of former state legislator Terry Bouricius, who, on a day when several people used the word “audacious” to describe the events of 1776, may have had the most audacious idea of all. He reminded attendees that Athenians used lotteries to decide who would serve as lawmakers and on various civic committees—similar to how Americans today are chosen for jury duty. He summarized and condensed a passage from Aristotle, saying, “Elections create oligarchies; lotteries create democracy.” And so Bouricius called for abolishing the role of elected officials and replacing it with “sortition,” in which citizens would serve as lawmakers as part of large citizen assemblies created through lotteries. “We trust random people to make life-and-death decisions on juries,” Bouricius said, so why not trust them to make laws too?
