The case for governing by lottery

America really would be better off picking its leaders at random, says a group of political scientists

By Kevin Hartnett
Globe Correspondent /  December 1, 2012
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It might seem unlikely that a random collection of Americans would be capable of hashing out the minutia of tax policy or figuring out how to reform Medicare. But then again, that may be selling our own judgment short. There is already a place in American life where we count on randomly selected groups of ordinary citizens to decide crucial questions, often highly technical and morally momentous. It’s called the jury system, and so far it has worked out pretty well.

Kevin Hartnett, a freelance writer, lives in Ann Arbor, Mich.end of story marker

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