Democracy based on electoral procedures is seriously ill. Citizens are gripped by apathy, voter turnout is falling, and political parties, spurred on by the commercial media, are thinking more about electoral battles than about solving pressing problems of society. How did it happen that a procedure considered the foundation of democracy turned against it? Can democracy be saved, or is it about to collapse under the onslaught of populists and technocrats? David Van Reybroeck (b. 1971), a Belgian historian and writer, believes that in fact the figures of the American and French revolutions, during which the foundations of the current Western political systems, viewed elections as a tool for limiting democracy. Having outlined the clinical picture of the state to which the use of the elective procedure led to democracy, the author proposes to look for remedies in its ancient Greek origins. Both in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, there are examples of the successful use of the procedure of drawing lots, which once ensured long-term political stability, but today it is used only in the appointment of jury trials. David Van Reybrouck shows how sortition can improve the health of democracy and increase its legitimacy and effectiveness.