Let’s talk elections, sewage and deliberative democracy.
In case you didn’t notice, democracy is not doing so hot. If you are a political scientist, you’ve been seeing these trends for a while.
One of the most important books on democracy in the last decade is Against Elections: The Case for Democracy. The author David Van Reybrouck lays out the case that elections often undermine true democratic participation and advocates for alternatives like citizen assemblies to create more inclusive and effective forms of democracy.
What’s missing from most modern democratic systems is a deep, long-term vision for governance—one that prioritizes sustainability, resilience, and fairness over fleeting electoral cycles and partisan power plays.
Superstruct focuses on companies looking multiple generations ahead and we need our governments to do the same.
Sewers in Brooklyn, an example of democracy failure
Instead of focusing on the current moment, post 2024 presidential election, let’s go back to the 1850s when Brooklyn, New York was first building networks of sewage pipes. The design used is called combined sewer system; stormwater and sewage flow through the same set of pipes. During heavy rainstorms, the volume of water overwhelms the system, causing it to overflow and discharge untreated sewage into nearby waterways or sometimes back up into homes or buildings. This design mistake was quickly realized by residents, businesses, and pedestrians walking by storm water release areas like the Gowanus Canal.
Despite plenty of local investigative journalism spotlighting this issue over the last 175 years, this design error has never been fixed. If you want to see this gross reality, watch the water of the Gowanus Canal, one of the places where storm water and sewage will flow out every time there is significant rain. StandUpVirgin on Instagram regularly posts videos.
The largest city in the United States has not been able to address over a century of raw sewage overflowing into our waters and occasionally our businesses, our homes. Why? According to the decision makers – elected politicians – the cost of such a fix would be enormous, and the benefits would only be felt far beyond the next election cycle. Politicians, caught in the cycle of short-term decision-making, avoid long-term investments like sewage infrastructure, and the people continue to suffer.
I am using an example of where I live but you’ll be quick to find a local example, no matter where you live on our globe. Between environmental degradation, to lack of access to health care and housing that is affordable, these significant needs are common across global north and global south countries, in small towns to the largest cities.
Why do we continue to ignore these infrastructure and environmental crises that are stacking for our future generations? The answer lies in the very design of our democratic systems, where short-term rewards and electoral strategies often trump long-term sustainability. To address such systemic issues, we need a new vision of governance—one rooted in long-term resilience, fairness, and adaptability.
The Reintroduction of Deliberative Democracy
We are primarily familiar with democracy as a republic, as it’s been practiced in the last 200 or so years – choosing decision-makers based on election outcomes. However, that’s just one way to practice democracy. Many ancient societies, including ancient Greece and medieval Iceland, are examples where decision-making was carried out through assemblies, councils, or other forms of public deliberation rather than elections.
Deliberative democracy is a system of governance where decision-making is based on careful discussion, diverse perspectives, and consensus-building rather than mere electoral competition. It is founded on the belief that public policies should reflect the collective wisdom of the people rather than the narrow interests of politicians, parties, or lobbyists.
The key principles of deliberative democracy include:
Diverse Representation – Bringing together a broad spectrum of voices, including those traditionally marginalized in decision-making processes.
Informed Deliberation – Ensuring that participants have access to accurate information, expert insights, and the time needed to consider all sides of an issue.
Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making – Moving beyond binary votes to encourage nuanced solutions and compromise.
Transparency and Accountability – Making decision-making processes open to public scrutiny to enhance trust and legitimacy.
Deliberative democracy challenges the idea that governance must be dictated by political elites and asks: What if ordinary citizens were given more direct involvement in shaping policies?
What are examples of deliberative democracy in action?
While we are most familiar with elected politicians, there are actually examples of deliberative democracy happening all around us – most at a smaller scale, sometimes not tied to a binding decision, and usually the exception to the rule.
Deliberative Polling
In the US, deliberative polling is perhaps the most recognized in the political science space, often influenced or led by Stanford University Professor James Fishkin. In Fishkin's deliberative polling, a random sample of citizens is invited to a structured discussion on a specific policy issue. They receive information, engage in moderated discussions, and then provide informed opinions. One example is the Texas Deliberative Poll on health care reform, where citizens deliberated and then expressed their views on healthcare policy after careful reflection. The caveat here is deliberative polls are not always connected to power – an ability to ultimately make a decision on resources or law.
Citizen Assemblies
Citizen Assemblies are a good example of where power is often at the table. These assemblies bring together a group of randomly selected citizens to deliberate on a specific issue, providing diverse and informed perspectives. Through structured discussions, expert input, and deliberation, the assembly makes recommendations that aim to reflect the collective judgment of the public.
An example of this is the Ireland's Citizens' Assembly (2016-2018) that was tasked with making recommendations on several issues, including abortion law reform. A random selection (sortition) of citizens deliberated on the issue and then voted to recommend a change to Ireland's constitution, which eventually led to the legalization of abortion in a referendum.
There are also examples of ongoing Citizen Assemblies, such as Newark People’s Assembly. The Newark, New Jersey mayor ultimately decides on the outcome of the Assembly’s recommendations, but it's an important democracy exercise in the East Coast of the US that can be built upon.
Participatory Budgeting
Participatory budgeting is a process where citizens are directly involved in deciding how a portion of public funds should be allocated.
In New York City, participatory budgeting has been implemented in several neighborhoods, where local residents decide how to allocate part of the city’s budget to community projects.
The participatory budgeting process in Porto Alegre, Brazil, is famous for being one of the most successful and pioneering examples of citizen involvement in local governance and budget allocation. First established in 1989, citizens are directly involved in deciding how public funds are allocated for local government projects. However, this process has evolved over the decades and its scope and influence is not as strong.
A Call To Experiment
At Superstruct, we’re working to transform the way we think about governance, infrastructure, and resource distribution. The problems we face today—from sewage management to healthy food access—require systems that are adaptable, sustainable, and rooted in fairness. It’s time for us to ask different questions—questions that challenge the assumptions of our current systems and open the door to new, more resilient futures.
As political polarization, institutional distrust, and social fragmentation continue to grow, the need for new governance models has never been greater. One of the biggest barriers to governance innovation in the U.S. is that we are heavily relying on the same democracy models. What we need are strong, smart coalitions practicing different types of democracy. Deliberative democracy offers a proven, scalable, and adaptable framework for creating more inclusive and responsive decision-making systems.
People are hungry for change. Everyone knows the system isn’t working, but few are discussing constructive alternatives. We need to give ourselves permission to experiment, iterate, and refine new governance models—whether in local government, business, or community initiatives.
In New York City, we saw an attempt at reform through ranked-choice voting in the last mayoral election. Other cities are experimenting, trying to break out of the status quo. And the question I keep asking myself is: how can we integrate these ideas into our work?
The question now is: how do we expand these models to build a better future for business, government, and society?
At Superstruct, we are committed to exploring these ideas further. If governance is at the heart of how systems function, then reinventing governance must be central to building a sustainable, resilient future.
Let’s push the boundaries of what’s possible.
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