Democracy by Chance

Abstract

The Greeks assigned administrative responsibilities by a lottery system followed by a popular evaluation at the end of each term of office. Over the last thirty years or so there has been a resurgence of numerous political experiments where citizens are drawn by lots, either to establish a municipal budget, to give their opinion about a project, or to choose development principles. Society has become so complex that the knowledge of experts and decision-makers is no longer sufficient and direct interaction with the public is necessary by random selection. After two thousand years, have we returned to Athenian democracy? If so, why is the idea of drawing lots completely absent from all political literature since the nineteenth century?