The main story is that regular folks became extremely motivated, worked hard, and became proficient about the topic of the proceedings. Thus, citizens have the capacity to shed their apathy, overcome their ignorance, and reason conscientiously about an unfamiliar and complex political issue. It is important, however, to mention some caveats about the quality of citizen decision-making. First, competence is not easily achieved. It took a lot to improve citizen engagement and decisions: it took a multi-million-dollar almost year-long deliberative project to get participants to that point. Second, competence is not easily sustained. One of the three citizen assemblies unfolded in a particular manner. … when the stimulus and the … Continue reading When Citizens Decide