borgocracy

In its simplest form, a borgocracy can be defined by a number, e.g. "Borgocracy level 5."

All decisions are assumed to affect the entire population and are be choices between two options.

The way decisions are made is as follows (replace 5 with n for the general case, 25 with n squared, etc.)

On the individual level, people are assigned to groups of size 5, and they decide by majority vote which option they favor.

For every 5 such 5-person groups, there is an overgroup that includes all 25 members. The decisions of each group are compared to one another. Again there are 5 votes, and the decision is made by majority vote.

For every 5 such size-25 overgroups, there is an even larger overgroup of size 125. This same process is repeated as many times as necessary to get to the level of the entire population.

In a borgocracy of level 0, no one is enfranchised. This is the representation of an autocracy, colonial rule, or other system of government from above with no say from below.

In a borgocracy of level 1, everyone is their own highest authority. This is the representation of anarchy.
In a borgocracy of level 2 (if we do not allow abstentions or ties) the population waits until everyone agrees before taking action. This is an ideal-communal (not Communist) representation.
In a borgocracy of level P, where P is the size of the population, is a pure democracy.

By allowing more numbers and choices to enter the mix, we can represent other forms of government. For example, in the United States, voting citizens are members in at least three separate groups for the purposes of choosing a national government.

1. They are part of a group called a "Congressional district" which chooses not on actual issues (usually) but from among a list of individuals who wish to represent that group in the overgroup known as the House of Representatives.
2. They are part of a group called a "State" in a similar manner, which chooses representatives for the overgroup known as the Senate. The Senate and the House of Representatives have an overgroup that could be called Congress; that is, the two groups must agree with each other for a choice to go forward.
3. Also as members of the State, they pick representatives known as the Electoral College through somewhat mysterious means. These Electors select, within their larger group, a group of size one known as the President.

Another interesting idea about borgocracy is corruptibility. How many properly placed voters does it take to subvert the process and take total control, in a given borgocracy?

Level 0, 1, and 2 borgocracies are immune to this sort of subversion, although level 2 borgocracy is subject to another form of subversion, where one member refuses to compromise and brings the apparatus of governance to a halt.

For odd numbered borgocracies of level (2n+1) with (2n+1)^m members, the required number to subvert is (n+1)^m. In a 625-member level-5 borgocracy, it takes 81 properly placed members to subvert. In a 49-member level-7 borgocracy, the number is 16, somewhat below half. In a (2n+1)-member level-(2n+1) borgocracy (this is a democracy, remember), it takes n+1, or a strict majority. If the United States (Population ~ 3^18) were a level-3 borgocracy, it would take only 200,000 properly placed voters to subvert the system.

It is a bit more math in the real case, but it is an interesting exercise: how many properly-placed voters would it take to "stack" Congress and the White House. The answer is not all that surprising, but it's interesting, with all our talk of "democracy."

Incidentally, the word borgocracy is some sort of reference to Star Trek's Borg. I don't know exactly what the connection is; perhaps it has to do with methods of collective decision-making.