[stale2002]

Equal number of people doesn't solve the problem. It has to be the SAME people, working in exactly the same way to make decisions for themselves. IE, you just recreated a market.

An equivalent system would have to have the same people, in control of their own resources.

If you just replace the people who are currently making decisions about themselves, with DIFFERENT people, them the principle agent is no longer making decisions for themselves. A different person is making thise decisions for OTHER people, which is the principle agent problem.

Surveys and computer generated questions sounds an aweful lot like other people making decisions over other people's utility functions and resources. IE, they are not the principle agent.

You'd have to prove that surveys or whatever are better at deciding what a person wants than the person themself.

Even if you have more resources, it is still different resources. It is still different people making decisions for what other people want.