Ancient Athens Picked Its Leaders by Lottery for Over 200 Years. Some Think This System Should Replace Electoral Democracy

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

History, Society & Culture

4.2 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2026

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For almost two centuries, Ancient Athens—the most successful democracy in history—selected citizens by lottery to fill government positions. Athens adopted sortition—a random lottery system—to select most public officials and the members of the Council of 500, a reform pioneered in 508 BC to break aristocratic control and distribute power equally among ordinary citizens. Some say it worked much better than the Assembly of Athens. In 406 BC, the Assembly rashly voted to execute all six victorious generals following a victory over Sparta because a storm prevented them from recovering the bodies of those who were lost at sea during a terrible storm. The Council of 500 later intervened by carefully reviewing the case, exposing procedural illegalities, and helping restore calmer judgment that tempered the Assembly's impulsive decision.

This governing system soon disappeared from the earth. The Council of 500 was disbanded in 322 BC when Macedonian forces crushed Athens’ democracy. Rome never adopted it because its republican system favored election of magistrates and a powerful Senate of lifelong aristocrats, viewing random selection as too chaotic and unfit for a large, conquest-driven state.

Athens' ancient sortition has made a modern comeback in America through randomly selected jury trials for fair justice and in new "citizens' assemblies"—which have re-emerged from Oregon to France--where ordinary people are lottery-picked to deliberate and recommend policy.

Today’s guest is Terry Bourcious, author of “Democracy Without Politicians.” He is a former politician from Vermont, and he argues we should return to the Athenian model, adapted for modern governance through "multi-body sortition," where randomly selected citizen bodies, with expert staff, would draft legislation, set agendas, review proposals, and make final decisions.

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Transcript

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0:34.7	It's going to hear with another episode of the History and Plug Podcast.
0:39.3	For almost two centuries,
0:44.5	ancient Athens, the most successful democracy in history, selected citizens by lottery to fill government positions. Athens adopted sortition, a random lottery system to select most public
0:49.8	officials and members of the Council 500. Some say that the system worked much better than the Assembly of Athens.
0:56.0	For example, in 406BC, the Assembly rashly voted to execute all six victorious generals in a battle with Sparta
1:02.1	because the storm prevented them from recovering the bodies of those who were lost at sea during a terrible storm.
1:07.3	The Council of 500, in contrast, intervened by carefully reviewing the case, exposing procedural
1:12.5	legalities, and helping to restore calmered judgment but tempered the Assembly's impulsive decision.
1:18.1	However, this governing system of election soon disappeared from the earth.
1:22.2	The Council 500 was disbanded in 322 BC when Macedonian forces forces crush Athens' democracy. Rome never adopted it because
1:30.2	its Republican system favored election of magistrates and a powerful Senate of lifelong aristocrats
1:35.5	because they thought random selection was too chaotic and not fit for a large conquest-driven state.
1:41.8	Now, Athens' sortition method has made a modern comeback in America
1:45.2	through randomly selected jury trials for fair justice, but we've also seen Sortition make a
1:50.8	comeback in new citizens' assemblies, which have reemerged everywhere from Oregon to France,
1:55.4	where ordinary people are lottery-picked to deliberate and recommend policy. Today's
	...

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