- governance system where authority derives from the collective will of the people
- forms
- direct democracy: citizens vote on every decision (Athens, Swiss cantons, referenda)
- representative democracy: elected delegates act on behalf of constituents (parliaments, congresses)
- liquid democracy: delegable proxy voting, voters choose to vote directly or delegate per-issue
- voting mechanisms: plurality, ranked choice, quadratic voting, conviction voting, futarchy
- DAO is the digital-native implementation: token-weighted or identity-weighted on-chain voting
- cyber enables permissionless participation in knowledge governance: anyone can submit cyberlink as a vote on relevance
- challenges: voter apathy, plutocracy in token voting, information asymmetry, tyranny of the majority
- collective intelligence amplifies democratic capacity when information flows freely
- see also constitution, decentralization, governance, social contract