台灣偏鄉老人的公民參與：民主理論的在地實踐與詮釋

Civic Engagement by the Elderly in Taiwan’s Remote Areas: The Practice and Interpretation of Democratic Theory

談民主，不能不談公民參與或政治參與。美國民主思想家與教育哲學家杜威主張「民主不僅是某種政治形式」，民主更是一種生活方式，每個人都必須參與政治，共同決定規劃公共生活的各項價值。台灣已於2018年邁入高齡社會階段，然而，台灣偏鄉老人的公民政治參與實踐與詮釋卻極少受到關注。本研究旨在耙梳民主理論中的公民參與概念，並考察花蓮縣志工老人的公民參與實踐及其如何看待其公民參與的意義。本研究期盼能豐富在地的民主理論意涵。

It is impossible to discuss democracy without civic engagement or political participation.“Democracy is more than a form of government,”John Dewey argues that it is also a way of life, in which every mature individual has to participate in politics and make decisions on every kind of public values collectively. Taiwan officially becomes an aged society with people over 65 years old breaking the 14% mark. The practice and interpretation of civic and political participation by older adults in remote areas in Taiwan, however, were less paid to attention.
This paper is aimed to review the concepts of civic engagement in democratic theory and explore how 28 senior volunteers in Hualien County performed and interpreted their civic/political participation, expecting to enrich local democratic theory.