Traffic Lights and Roundabouts make a good metaphor for the difference between Fiat vs a non-Fiat Radical model. Traffic Lights impose a fixed structure with centralized rules, while Roundabouts have a decentralized structure that lets the drivers manage how they actually work.

Centralized Traffic

Traffic Lights are controlled from a centralized traffic authority. Lights are programmed according to the whims of that local authority, or even the programmer’s whim. For example, one of the lights near my house gave preference to the north lane and this happened to work to my advantage. I can’t say for certain, but my guess is that the programmer lived south of it and arranged it so that the north lane got preferential treatment. In any case, the local community had no say in these rules and to change them you have to either have “pull” or be very persistent with the bureaucracy.

Besides, traffic Lights are very expensive to install and to maintain. And they lean to… homely.

Decentralized Traffic

Roundabouts could be plain, though they usually match their surroundings. Oftentimes, they can be very artistic and even be flamboyant. They don’t cost as much to “install” and maintenance, if any, is minimal. Most importantly, the drivers manage their operation according to what’s happening: sometimes they go in and other times they wait for other vehicles or pedestrians. There’s no bureaucracy to fight and the only “influence” that counts is that of the people at the intersection.

The Important Point

The point, of course, is not the money saving for the local government or the time savings for drivers. The important thing is that with Roundabouts people don’t need an “authority” to tell them how to proceed. As adults they can figure out how to deal with what they see in the place, at the moment.