Beehaviour

Check out Piloteer Thomas D. Seeley's research:

"My analyses of collective decision-making by honey bee colonies indicate that a group will possess a high level of SI (Swarm Intelligence) if among the group’s members there is:

1) diversity of knowledge about the available options,
2) open and honest sharing of information about the options,
3) independence in the members’ evaluations of the options,
4) unbiased aggregation of the members’ opinions on the options, and
5) leadership that fosters but does not dominate the discussion."

See: http://www.nbb.cornell.edu/seeley.shtml

You can hear about bees dancing themselves into democratic consensus:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/05/24/136391522/natures-secret-why-honey-bees-are-better-politicians-than-humans?ps=cprs

John