Though "participatory democracy" sounds like "direct democracy", they are distinct. ]Further, by eliding deliberation, the initiative process is the worst kind

Though "participatory democracy" sounds like "direct democracy", they are distinct. ]Further, by eliding deliberation, the initiative process is the worst kind of direct democracy. Except for mob rule, of course. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_democracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_democracy The OP narrowly focuses on the calculus (?) of how randomly choosing reps actually promotes meritocracy. This wiki article is a good overview of the whole burrito. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens'_assembly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens'_assembly