Plurality

Concept

Timour Kosters:

“As Vitalik Buterin summarizes:

- “Plurality is a social philosophy that recognizes and fosters the flourishing of and cooperation between a diversity of sociocultural groups and systems.”

The core insight is that societal conflicts can be harnessed productively. Differences in opinion are not inherently bad, they are just exagerrated by platforms that prioritize ‘engagement through enragement’. Audrey likens polarization to untapped energy: “Plurality is the idea that societal conflicts and social differences are like fire on the ground. Before combustion engines, we could only put fire out. But if you have a good combustion engine, you drill down and harness the energy from conflict.” Plurality transforms differences into cooperative strength using digital tools like Pol.is, a tool allowing participants to express opinions without descending into hostility. Pol.is clusters citizens' opinions visually, surfacing consensus beneath superficial disagreements.”

(https://attheedges.timour.xyz/p/a-conversation-with-audrey-tang)

Characteristics

Zukas, Tarik Anaytac:

"Plurality-based systems use trust graphs instead of raw votes. Each person can delegate their voice based on:

• Topic (e.g., environmental policy vs. treasury management)

• Trust (grounded in reputation, relationships, or credentials)

• Identity (verified via proof-of-personhood or community attestation)

These graphs are dynamic. They evolve over time and reflect actual social knowledge.

With cryptographic tools like MACI, Semaphore, and zk-email, we can make this private, secure, and scalable without relying on centralized identity providers."

(https://medium.com/@tarikcanaytac/plural-publics-from-votes-to-voice-from-metrics-to-meaning-a2d60b04a18b)

Discussion

Timour Kosters:

“This philosophy matters now because technology and democracy are at odds. As Audrey and Glen Weyl write in their book, Plurality, we're walking a tightrope between AI-enabled authoritarianism on one side and algorithmically-driven polarization and enragement on the other. Technology, which once promised greater freedom and connection, increasingly fuels division, misinformation, and centralized control, while democracy is struggling to adapt. Audrey argues that we urgently need to upgrade our democracy—like open-source software—through continuous experimentation, feedback, and collaboration.

She often frames this challenge in software terms, urging us to think about how we can "fork" our democratic systems or submit "pull requests" to upgrade their core functions.

Plurality caught me and many others because it is the most coherent set of ideas that I’ve seen to address problems caused by technology, such as increased polarization, while acknowledging that tech has a role to play in the solution. Beyond just ideas, it is also a set of practices and tools for turning polarization and conflict into productive, collaborative energy.

But is this just a hopeful idea from a relatively homogenous island nation, or can it actually scale?”

(https://attheedges.timour.xyz/p/a-conversation-with-audrey-tang)

Video

Video via http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IzryBRPwsog

Excerpted from Rick Falkvinge:

"This short film, however, had me absorbed from the get-go. When it was over, it felt like 30 seconds had passed. That in itself is remarkable – but the short film also communicates a very chilling insight into where we’re going. The movie is about ever-increasing surveillance, and how it always ends up where we don’t want it – with quite a few surprises baked in. In the movie, DNA scanners are everywhere, and links your DNA with centralized access control lists to everything. Predictably, it started out as a convenience, until legislation stipulated that law enforcement can and shall have access to all of it. The plot twists towards the end are gripping."

(http://falkvinge.net/2012/10/05/plurality-an-amazing-short-film-about-surveillance-in-2023/)