Renaissance philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli dissected the threats authoritarian figures pose to representative government.
If people were dropped into a new situation tomorrow, how would they choose to govern themselves?
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The modern representative democracy was the best form of government mid-18th-century technology could invent. The 21st century is a different place scientifically, technically and socially.
France’s Convention for the Climate, held from 2019 to 2020, brought together 150 randomly selected citizens and asked them define measures to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990.
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Decision-making bodies created by random selection, citizens’ assemblies are creating a sense of optimism about democracy among those who have heard about or taken part in them.
Donald Trump is one of many political leaders through history who has claimed he embodies the voice of ‘the people’ – but which people he means matters quite a lot.
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Some fascists claim that democracy and fascism have the same goal – to give effect to the will of the people. But who the people are is where the ideologies divide.