Yes. It's modeled after a republic, in contrast to today's dominant models, which are, in fact, either feudal or corporate (monarchical).
The problem with Urbit used to be that each node was permanently bound to a single parent and "lords" had too much control over their "subjects", including things like kicking them out of the Urbitverse. That was changed so AFAIK it's no longer a concern. Most P2P systems are completely different because nodes can use any relay and relaying is separate from identity.
> Most P2P systems are completely different because nodes can use any relay and relaying is separate from identity.
A planet has just one Star that sponsors them in Urbit, but as a planet, you can choose to leave your Star and move to a different Star.
So you can also choose a different relay in Urbit. And yes, your Planet address is spawned by a Star, but you do fully own your address. It is separate in the sense that you can move it elsewhere.
Okay, but aren't most P2P networks modelled like this? You have client-servers, relays, and super-relays.
The only difference is the amount of buy-in required to run a relay or super-relay. But the amount of buy-in can also be compared to the cost to run an Eth2 node. It's a proof-of-stake network, essentially.