Wisdom of Crowds What If We Fired All the Politicians?
May 11, 2026
Osita Nwanevu, writer on democratic institutions arguing to renew electoral democracy, and Hélène Landemore, political theorist promoting sortition and citizens’ assemblies. They clash over whether elections or randomly selected assemblies better fix broken politics. Short, energetic debate on representation, citizens’ assemblies, hybrid models, term lengths, pay, and how to curb corruption and amplify quieter voices.
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Sortition Poses Participation Inequalities
- Nwanevu warns sortition may impose burdens on the shy selected to serve, removing private voting's anonymity and requiring public speaking.
- He emphasizes deliberative settings must mitigate inequalities in speaking skill and confidence.
Make Civic Lotteries Mandatory And Legitimate
- Landemore says sortition should be mandatory like jury duty to ensure representative samples and prevent opt-out bias.
- She suggests a referendum could secure societal consent for switching procedure from elections to lotteries.
France's Climate Assembly Boosted Legitimacy Fast
- Landemore points to France's 2019–20 climate citizens' assembly where public awareness and perceived legitimacy rose dramatically within a year.
- She uses that case to argue citizens' assemblies can gain popular consent and agenda-setting power.
