Reviews
One of “the best books about constitutional design I’ve read recently (“recently” broadly defined).”
Mark Tushnet (Professor, Harvard Law School), Balkinization, “Thinking Way Outside the Box”
“…the book marks a significant advance in the presentation of lottocracy, in the institutional choices and ‘choice-points’ that it presents, and in the standards on which we might judge it.”
Annabelle Lever (Sciences Po Professor), European Journal of Political Theory, “Lottocracy: For and Against” (also reviewing Lafont and Urbinati, The Lottocratic Mentality: Defending Democracy against Lottocracy)
“…a landmark argument that must be reckoned with… The argument is superbly detailed, even relentlessly thorough. Guerrero offers a response to just about every objection a reader might think of. But ultimately, the case is not convincing.”
Niko Kolodny (Professor of Philosophy, UC Berkeley), Boston Review, “Could Ditching Elections Save Democracy?”
“Lottocracy… is imaginative, bold, forcefully argued, and highly provocative. In laying out a comprehensive case for lottery-based political institutions, it provides a critical touchstone for current debates at the heart of democratic theory.”
Dimitri Landa (Professor of Politics, NYU) and Ryan Pevnick (Professor of Politics, NYU), Free & Equal: A Journal of Ethics and Public Affairs, “Should We Be Lottocrats?”
“…a landmark intervention. Its clarity, scope, and ambition make it a vital contribution to democratic theory. Guerrero forces readers—scholars, practitioners, and citizens alike—to confront an uncomfortable question: If elections are no longer delivering the democratic goods, why do we continue to rely on them?”
Juri Ardiantoro and Fariz Alnizar (Nahdlatul Ulama University of Indonesia), Political Science Quarterly, “Review: Lottocracy: Democracy Without Elections”
Ethics in the Public Sphere Lecture, UCSD, San Diego, CA
Public lecture on Lottocracy: Democracy Without Elections
American Philosophical Association, Central Division Meeting, Online
Author Meets Critics session on Lottocracy: Democracy Without Elections
Critics: Jason Brennan (Georgetown), David Estlund (Brown), Zeynep Pamuk (Oxford)
American Philosophical Association, Eastern Division Meeting, New York, NY
Paper presentation on “The Future(s) of Democracy: Confucian Democracy, Epistocracy, Lottocracy” at the APA Committee on Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and Philosophies session on Democracy, Value Pluralism, and Human Rights in East Asia.
American Philosophical Association Lecture, San José State University, San José, CA
Lecture on Lottocracy: Democracy Without Elections
PPE Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA
Author Meets Critics session on Lottocracy: Democracy Without Elections.
Moderator: Wendy Salkin (Stanford)
Critics: Claudio López-Guerra (Richmond), Ryan Pevnick (NYU)
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Lecture on “Hierarchy, Equality, and Power Inversion Democracy,” in which questions of political equality are considered by comparing electoral representative democracy, lottocracy, and what I call “power inversion democracy.”
Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Westchester, Bronxville Public Library
Lecture on Lottocracy: Democracy Without Elections.
Democracy R&D Annual Conference, Vancouver, B.C.
This workshop aims to explore and compare two models of permanent political institutions using sortition. First, it examines Alexander Guerrero's lottocracy, which replaces elections with randomly selected issue-specific legislative bodies. Second, it looks at the Sortition Foundation's proposal for a sortition-based House of Citizens in the UK to replace the House of Lords. The conversation will explore the pros and cons of each model, address transition and implementation, and consider the ideal model with a focus on equality, self-government, responsiveness, and democracy.
Leads: Alexander Guerrero and Tom Lord
American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, PA
Elections vs. Lotteries: Retrenching or Renewing Democracy?