What is emergence? This is the presence of certain features in any system that are not characteristic of its parts, and the sum of the system's features cannot be reduced to the sum of the properties of its components.

In particular, the emergent effect of democracy can be created by the interaction of certain actors –– branches of state power, civil society, media, business, international organizations, opinion leaders, citizens, etc., who help each other fulfill their roles and strengthen each other in their spheres.

Let's play "Justice"?

Two teams participate in the game. The members of each group are called citizens of the state. At the beginning of the game, the state and its citizens have the same number of resources called "successes." "Successes" are randomly distributed differently among citizens and belong to different social groups.

At the beginning of each round, a numerical indicator is determined by which the number of "successes" of the state should increase. After that, each citizen takes a certain number of "successes" of the state at his discretion so that at the end of the round, he also returns a certain number of "successes" to the state. Between these two steps, citizens can communicate to agree on how to "ensure" the growth of public wealth.

This game has one secret revealed to the participants at the end. After all, the same state wins every time in this game. Participants have to guess what principle is laid down and what is the key to victory.

What does this game teach us? For the balance of the system and the prosperity of society, it is worth keeping in focus only one factor. Trust, teamwork, constructive conflict, and strategy can be more effective when the one factor on which the game is built is considered.

Another important point made by the participants is that caring for the common good, in the long run, can ultimately lead to greater individual good. But balance is important too. А focus only on personal welfare very quickly destroys the system, making it impossible for the community to survive. On the other hand, the pursuit of only the common good is very reminiscent of communism, which also does not contribute to the survival of the system.

So, it is in democracy from the discussion mentioned above. The joint work of various actors for the common and individual good provides freedom and personal space to everyone, simultaneously creating the emergent effect of democracy.

How to achieve a balance between familiar and individual good? Let's look at the example of the game "Justice"