The register of “dysfunctional democracy” haunts contemporary political theory and commentary. Echoing between diagnosis and elegy, it is not a simple observation of backsliding or shortcoming. Seeking to account for and respond to this curious formulation, which resonates today in diverse political and analytical settings, the following lines trace political openings between ergonomics and inoperativeness. On the threshold of new democratic wanderings, what other ways of (dys)functioning politically might be possible? What conceptualizations of the body politic might accompany the transformations of the commons? What practices and inclinations would enable us to undergo the experience of its fragile emergence? What role could political thought play in this kind of shared embryology?