Terry Bouricius is the guest on a new episode of History Unplugged, hosted by Scott Rank.
The episode looks back to ancient Athens, where many public offices were filled not by election but by lottery. That practice, known as sortition, gave ordinary citizens a direct role in public decision-making and helped prevent political power from being captured by a permanent ruling class.
Terry connects that history to the present-day crisis of electoral democracy. In Democracy Without Politicians: Government By the People, he argues that elections do not produce rule by the people. They produce politicians — a small, self-selected class shaped by parties, donors, campaigning, and the need to win office.
The conversation also explores modern citizens’ assemblies and Terry’s model of multi-body sortition: a way to adapt this older democratic idea for the needs of a large, modern society.