ARCHIVE - The Trouble With Elections: Everything We Thought We Knew About Democracy is Wrong

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ARCHIVE

CHAPTER 1. Introduction

Entire chapter 1 audio

Democracy Worthy of Disdain

Fears of the Framers

Enter Sortition

My Path

Sortition in an Electoral World

PART I: THE CURRENT SITUATION

CHAPTER 2. The Hopes and Claims of Democracy by Election

Entire chapter 2 audio

The Hopes and Claims of Democracy by Election

Throw the Bums Out: The Minimalist View of Democracy

Understanding Voter Participation

Is the Red/Blue Divide Real?

An Un-Representative Congress

What About Electing a Chief Executive?

CHAPTER 3. Electoral Imperatives

Entire chapter 3 audio

Chapter 3 Electoral Imperatives: Election Campaigns

Setting the Agenda

Planning to Stay in Power: part 1

Planning to Stay in Power: Part 2

Deliberation or Denunciation?

CHAPTER 4: Election Reforms?

Election Reforms?

CHAPTER 5: Proportional Representation

Entire chapter 5 audio

Proportional Representation - Part 1

Proportional Representation - Part 2

PART II - HISTORICAL ROOTS

CHAPTER 6: Origins

Entire chapter 6 audio

Part II: Historical Roots

Athenian Democracy and the Issue of Scale

Evolution of Athenian Democracy

Athenian Democratic Principles

Parliamentary and Town Meeting Roots

The History of Juries

A Republic or a Democracy

Consent of the Governed vs. Self-Rule

The Constitutional Convention: Who Should Govern

CHAPTER 7: Representation

Entire chapter 7 audio

Representation

Merit vs. Mirror

Elections in the French Revolution

Descriptive Representation

Representation by Sortition

CHAPTER 8: Neuro-Politics

Entire chapter 8 audio

Neuro-Politics: Rational Ignorance - Part 1

Rational Ignorance - Part 2

Thinking Fast and Slow

Follow the Leader

Voter Decisions

CHAPTER 9: Competitive Electoralism

Entire chapter 9 audio

Competition, Consensus and Compromise

Tribalism: Part 1

Tribalism: Part 2

Competitive "Democracy"

Testing Competitive Theories

Psychology of Elected Representatives: Part 1

Psychology of Elected Representatives: Part 2

Mindset of an Elected Legislature

Confirmation Bias

Overconfidence and the illusion of knowledge

CHAPTER 10: Participatory Democracy

Entire chapter 10 audio

Participatory Democracy

Optimal Participation

Participation Through Lottery

Achieving Accurate Representation

CHAPTER 11: Deliberation

Entire chapter 11 audio

Deliberative Democracy

Good Deliberation

The Argumentative Theory of Reasoning

The Importance of Diversity

Diversity Can Trump Ability

Polarization and Groupthink

Active or Independent Deliberation

History of Internal Deliberation

PART III - THE SORTITION SOLUTION

CHAPTER 12: Sortition Can Fix the Problems of Elections

Entire chapter 12 audio

Chapter 12: Sortition Can Fix the Problems of Elections

Better Than Election Reforms

Some Benefits of Sortition

Government by Sortition

Multi-Body Sortition

CHAPTER 13: Objections to Sortition

Entire chapter 13 audio

Objections to Sortition: Randomness and Apathy

Basic Competence

Competence of Randomly Selected Groups

Mobs and Elections

Politicians and Competence

Political Expertise

Accountability for Politicians: Part 1

Accountability for Politicians: Part 2

Accountability Under Sortition

CHAPTER 14: Contemporary Sortition

Entire chapter 14 audio

The Modern Revival of Sortition

British Columbia Citizens' Assembly

More Modern Sortition

Further More Sortition

CHAPTER 15: Other Uses of Sortition

Entire chapter 15 audio

Non-governmental Uses for Sortition

The Iron Law of Oligarchy

Avoiding Oligarchy Through Sortition

Sortition for School Democracy

Sortition on a Global Scale

CHAPTER 16: Sortition Design for the Future

Entire chapter 16 audio

Dilemmas of Sortition Design

Solving Dilemmas with Multi-Body Sortition

Reviewing Bills (Review Panels)

Final Adoption of Laws (Policy Juries)

Meta-legislative Functions (Rules and Oversight Councils)

CHAPTER 17: Selecting a Path to Sortition

Chapter 17: Selecting a Path to Sortition

Selecting a Path to Sortition ... continued

A Better Transition to Sortition

Conclusion

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REFERENCES

Each chapter of The Trouble With Elections contains numerous references, which are hyperlinked in the text wherever possible. For a full list of works cited, click the button below:

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