Cumulative Democracy: A game changer

Rodrigo Lañado
Nov 14
4 min read

Cumulative Democracy: the decision-making model we propose for eco-villages and regenerative settlements of the future

By: Rodrigo Lañado Cruz

At Hombres de Maíz we propose that residential developments, eco-villages, eco-feuds, regenerative communities, and any type of self-sustaining settlement adopt a new model of decision-making.

We call it Cumulative Democracy.

This system is fairer, more precise and more stable than traditional binary voting. It forms part of the broader concept known as the Ecosocial Regenerative System (S.E.R.) which we introduced in our book The Second Renaissance, published in April 2025.

We believe the idea is simple and powerful:

Decisions should not depend on winners and losers. They should reflect the real degree of accumulated support and translate that directly into the level of implementation.

What is Cumulative Democracy?

Cumulative Democracy replaces the classical yes or no vote with a model that more accurately expresses the collective will.

In this system, each vote does not approve or reject. Each vote contributes a real percentage of implementation of the proposed change.

Instead of a minority being erased and a majority taking all power, every person contributes a proportional fraction of progress or reduction in the decision.

It is surprising that such an obvious flaw exists in the current democratic model. In the communities of the future this flaw should not be ignored.

How does it work in practice?

Imagine a community with 100 voters considering a proposal. It could be building a wetland, installing solar panels, modifying a rule or adjusting a budget.

In a traditional vote:

If 49 people vote yes and 51 vote no, the proposal is cancelled.

That tiny difference completely eliminates the will of 49 percent.

In Cumulative Democracy the outcome changes completely:

Practical example

100 people vote
30 vote in favor
The change is implemented at 30 percent until the next vote

This means:

The will of the minority is not erased
The will of the majority is not imposed absolutely
The outcome aligns exactly with the level of real support

What happens in future votes?

Every new vote recalculates the degree of implementation.

If the next vote reaches 55 percent support, the change increases to 55 percent
If later 80 percent support it, the change rises to 80 percent
If support then falls to 20 percent, the change decreases to 20 percent

The system moves with the community. It flows with it. There are no impositions and no deadlocks.

What does this model prevent?

Tyranny of the majority

A narrow majority can no longer erase a large minority.

Tyranny of the minority

No one can block a change that the community continues to request.

Impulsive or absolute decisions

Changes adjust gradually and proportionally to real support.

Why is it ideal for eco-villages and regenerative communities?

This model:

Promotes stability
Reflects the evolution of collective thinking over time
Allows gradual and reversible experimentation similar to natural ecosystems
Reduces polarized conflict
Encourages continuous participation

In communities where harmony, flexibility and coherence are core values, this method works far better than the traditional voting model.

The essence of the model

In one sentence:

Cumulative Democracy does not approve or reject change. It implements change in the exact measure of the support it receives.

Each vote becomes a fine adjustment to the shared reality. The system always reflects the community as it truly is, not simply whoever wins by a small margin.

Why we propose it at Hombres de Maíz

We believe communities today can function with much greater intelligence:

Free from evolutionary and psychological biases
Without total victories or total defeats
With collective will expressed as a living process, as a sort of superorganism
With decisions that evolve gradually, like the ecosystems we aim to regenerate

The system can also become meritocratic if a community chooses. Each vote can carry a specific weight or value. This value may be determined by human-guided criteria or by automated systems. Each community decides how much automation it wants in governance and public administration.

The weight of a vote can be measured by the positive impact or transformational potential of the individual within the environment and society.

All of this can already be monitored in a transparent, tamper-proof, traceable and publicly verifiable way.

Blockchain technology makes the entire voting process transparent, traceable and impartial.

We now have the capacity to sensorize natural and social environments, generating real-time data that supports informed and impartial decision-making within a hyper dynamic form of Cumulative Democracy.

Cumulative Democracy is the ideal tool for this purpose.

It respects the diversity of voices while creating a stable and adaptive path toward sustainable transformation.

For readers who want to explore these ideas more deeply, I recommend my book The Second Renaissance, published in April.

Our wish is peace and progress for all humanity. We will continue sharing more in the coming months.

Sincerely,

Proyecto Colectivo Hombres de Maíz

P.S.

Other possible names for the model. Which one sounds best?