The democracy of sortition. Hekastocracy and the principle of rotation of offices

This article critically examines democracy based on sortition. Lottocracy theorists argue that random selection better represents citizens’ opinions and interests than elections, ensuring equal representation and legitimacy grounded in equality. Lottocratic theories face significant challenges: random selection does not directly involve citizens, bypassing the population’s need to organize politically and hindering the emergence of a democratically responsible political class. The conclusion highlights potential benefits of «participatory mini-publics», randomly selected citizen assemblies performing auxiliary functions alongside democratic institutions.