認識「民主」與一些反省

Some Reflections on Understanding Democracy

本文通過「民主」在人類歷史中的發展，可以看到絕大多數時間思想家對之是蔑視的，「民主」受到正向肯定則是近兩百年的事，此與美國的發展息息相關。今判斷一個政體是否民主，多簡化為是否定期普遍選舉。而在民主發展過程中，選舉一直是階級性的，因為財產限制、性別關係、人種區隔等因素一直存在著。今日的民主政體已不是雅典式的直接民主，而是來自羅馬共和的代議制。因此，我們應客觀面對「民主」及「民主制度」，不應將之視為萬靈丹的神話，抑或是視為烏托邦的完美制度。基於此，本文對現今「民主」及其制度做了五點反省：「民主」作為一種「社會管理體制」必然包含了優點與不足、「民主」及其制度的擴散帶來的是災難而非自由平等的價值理想、以「民主」之名施行財富集中而擴大了全球的貧富差距、現實民主制度本身弊病叢生，以及民主精神立基於不證自明的「人生而自由平等」一意上之預設極可能是源於基督宗教的信仰。最後指出，當我等吸收他人優良智慧外，也當反思自身優良的傳統文化以凝聚國家的集體意志，方能展現人民生活尊嚴與公平發展機會均等的「新民主」。

During history philosophers often looked at democracy with suspicion, only in the last two hundred years it was commonly embraced. This embrace has a lot to do with the development in the United States. Nowadays free elections are often used as a cornerstone to decide whether a country is democratic or not. But during the development of democracy elections have characterized by class divisions, be it along income, racial or gender lines. Moreover, today's democracy is not based on the old Greek model of Athens, but on the Roman model. Thus we must conclude that democracy is not the seen cure for all ills of mythological times or that the democratic system is perfect. Based on these assumptions this essay put forward five reflections: Democracy as a system of social control has strengths and weaknesses. The spread of democracy has brought about many a catastrophe and not its ideal of equality. Under the name of democracy a concentration of capital and the gap between rich and poor has widened on a global scale. There are problems inherent in the democratic system and its unproven assumption that 'men are free and equal by birth' is most probably based on the Christian faith. Lastly it is pointed out that when adopting other cultures' strengths one is well advised to be aware of one's one culture's tradition and its ability to forge a common will. Only in this way a 'new democracy' as a way of life that vouchsafes human dignity and gives equal opportunity to everybody can be developed.