#Democritus (Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmókritos, meaning *chosen of the people*) claimed that everything starts from *atoms*, in a *bottom-up* #causation.

#Democracy (Greek: δημοκρατία, dēmokratiā, from dēmos 'people' and kratos 'rule') can be described as #emergent *top-down* #control mechanisms based on the free association and decision of autonomous individuals.

All #causation is *bottom-up* or from the *inside-out*. There is no such thing as *top-down causation* imposed from the outside. There is only an emergent (internal) level of constraints and other control mechanisms generated by the interaction of individuals fulfilling a common need or objective.