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维为道来:Three 'genetic defects' of the Western model | 西方模式的三个本质缺陷

2018-03-13 CGTNOfficial

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From the 2008 financial crisis, to Brexit, to the rise of Trump – these are all signs that the Western model is in deep trouble. Historically, Western political elites say that the Founding Fathers of the United States were much more cautious than today’s Western politicians on the issue of democracy. Most of them tended to emphasize republicanism and the rule of law as a way to preempt populism, a common movement within democracies. 

从2008年金融危机到英国脱欧,再到特朗普上位【上任】,许多迹象表明西方模式已经陷入困境。历史上的西方政治精英,比如美国的国父们,对待民主的态度都比今天的西方政客更加谨慎。他们大都强调以共和主义和法治预防民粹主义泛滥,而民粹往往正是民主实践的产物。


With the end of the Cold War and with what political scientist Francis Fukuyama perceived as the “end of history,” one can clearly discern the arrogance of the West about its political system. After the Cold War, Western countries, especially the United States, marketed Western-style democracy around the world with the zeal of a missionary, pushing for the “third wave of democratization,” which, for a time, seemed to have gathered momentum. 

然而随着冷战的结束和“历史终结论”的提出,西方明显对自己的政治体制产生了傲慢心态。冷战结束后,以美国为首的西方国家以传教般的狂热在世界范围内推销西方民主,推动所谓的“第三波民主化浪潮”,一时间显得势不可挡。


Now, with the lapse of two decades, there are few positive results, at least by Chinese standards. In sharp contrast, China categorically rejects the Western political model and the country has risen at an unprecedented rate.

今天来回顾这二十年,至少以中国标准来评判,这波民主化浪潮没有产生什么积极作用。与其形成鲜明对比的是,中国断然拒绝西方政治模式,结果却以大规模高速崛起刷新了人类历史。

To me, there are three what I call “genetic defects” in the Western political model: the assumption that human beings are rational; the principle of absolute rights; and prohibitive procedures. Let’s discuss them briefly one by one.

在我看来,西方政治模式存在几个“基因缺陷”:一、它预设人是理性的;二、它把权利看作绝对的;三、它迷信程序是万能的。下面我们来一一分析。


First, the assumption that human beings are rational presumes that humans can exercise reason to make rational choices in casting their votes. So far, all relevant scientific studies have proven that humans can be both rational and irrational and even ultra-irrational. 

首先,对理性人的假设意味着它认为所有人都能理智地思考,并在投票时做出理性的抉择。然而相关科学研究告诉我们,人类既有理性的一面,也有非理性的一面,甚至可能极不理性。


“The rise of social media has furnished a fertile ground for the spread of the irrationality.”- Zhang Weiwei

“新型社交媒体的崛起更是为非理性的滋生提供了绝佳的环境。”—张维为


With the growing role of money and social media in politics, there may well be a rise of irrationality. Many politicians are taking advantage of voters’ irrationality and are playing the populist card in hopes of winning more votes and making more personal gains. In fact, we all know Adolf Hitler came into power this way in the 1930s. The rise of social media has furnished a fertile ground for the spread of the irrationality. 

随着金钱和社交媒体在政治中扮演越来越重要的角色,非理性的一面可能越发突出。这样一来许多政客便试图利用选民的非理性心理,大打民粹牌以争取选票或个人利益。我们知道,1930年代希特勒上台,正是靠这种手段。新型社交媒体的崛起更是为非理性的滋生提供了绝佳的环境。

 

The logos of Facebook and Twitter. 


Second, the principle that rights are absolute is also a problem, notably the inflated concept of individual rights and the decline of individual responsibilities. There are so many rights, each of which are exclusive and absolute, often leading to a conflict of rights. 

其次,“权利绝对化”也是个大问题,特别是个人权利极度膨胀,与个人责任大不相称。各种绝对化的权利彼此排斥、互不相让,导致权利之间爆发冲突。


“The principle that rights are absolute is a problem, notably the inflated concept of individual rights and the decline of individual responsibilities.”-Zhang Weiwei

"“权利绝对化”也是个大问题,特别是个人权利极度膨胀,与个人责任大不相称。"—张维为


If one looks at the United States today, one finds the grave problem of groups of people in conflict over the interpretation of rights: those for and against marriage equality for the LGBT community; those for and against abortion; those for and against religious equality for all religions, especially non-Christian ones. This kind of conflict causes a heavy toll on the cohesiveness of a society and the functioning of a state, as in the case of the US today.

看看今天的美国,你就会发现不同权利形同水火,造成了极其严重的问题:有同性恋者的权利和反同性恋者的权利;有堕胎者的权利和反堕胎者的权利;有宗教信徒的权利和无神论者的权利;有隐私权和知情权等等。共和党有共和党的权利,民主党有民主党的权利。这些冲突严重影响了美国社会的团结和政府的正常运转。

 

Participants are seen in the 48th Annual Heritage of Pride March in New York, US on Jun. 25, 2017. 


Thirdly, the belief in procedural importance in Western democracies is admirable, but in practice it has bogged down the government’s ability to function. Western democracy has evolved into a procedural democracy, and once the procedure is deemed right, it does not matter who comes into power. 

第三,程序固然重要,但西方民主在实践中已经把程序上升到神圣和万能的地位了。西方民主已经变成了程序民主,只要程序正确,谁掌握权力并不重要。


“Western democracy has been bogged down by procedural importance.”- Zhang Weiwei

“西方民主在实践中已经陷入程序民主的困局之中。”—张维为


Stein Ringen, an Oxford scholar, explored this dilemma in his book “Nation of Devils”. He highlighted “uncontrollable legislation” in the United States as seen in the fact that all kinds of interest groups use lobbying as a way to protect their own interests. He described the dilemma as: If the United States wants to carry out reforms, it needs to amend the Constitution, yet constitutional amendments have to go through prohibitive procedures. In other words, due to procedural reasons, reforms can hardly be “authorized by democracy,” and “how can you expect a sick man to cure a sick man?” Once procedural justice has been taken as justice itself and made absolute, the consequence is often substantial injustice.

牛津学者斯坦•林根在《魔鬼之国》一书中,探究了美国政治体制的困境。他认为美国已经“立法失控”,各种利益集团都在用游说手段保护自身利益。他指出美国如果想要改革,就必需修订宪法,而修宪则必需跨过非常高的程序门槛。也就是说,由于程序的原因,改革很难获得“民主授权”。他问道:“你怎么能指望病人给病人看病呢?”一旦程序正义被当作最高正义并被绝对化,产生的结果往往是实质性的非正义。

 

The White House.


As a matter of fact, many enlightened people in the West have come to realize the deep trouble with the Western model. I remember in Belgium, after going through a crisis of more than 500 days without a central government, many Belgian intellectuals published a “Manifesto of One Thousand People Group” in November 2011, which vehemently criticized the failure of Western democracies to keep up with change: “Except for democracy, innovations all over the world are everywhere.” 

事实上,西方许多有识之士已经意识到了西方模式的严重问题。2011年,比利时遭遇了500多天没有中央政府的危机,之后比利时许多知识分子联合发表了《千人集团宣言》,严厉批评西方民主未能与时俱进:“除了民主,全世界到处都在创新。


For instance, companies must continuously reform; scientists must go beyond disciplinary boundaries; athletes must keep on breaking world records and artists must keep on bringing forth the new. But when speaking of the form of social organizations, obviously we remain self-complacent with the procedures of the 1830s. 

例如,公司必须不断革新;科学家必须不断跨越学科藩篱;运动员必须不断打破世界纪录;艺术家必须不断推陈出新。但说到社会组织的形式,我们显然仍自满于1830年代的程序。


Why do we have to cling to the 200-year old curios? Democracy is a living organism and the form of democracy is not fixed; it should continuously develop to meet the demands of time.”                              

我们为什么必须死抱着两百年的老古董不放手?民主是活生生的有机体,不存在固定不变的形式,而应不断发展以顺应时代的需要。”


Editor's Note: Zhang Weiwei is a Chinese professor of international relations at Fudan University, and a senior research fellow at the Chunqiu Institute. He is the author of The China Wave: Rise of a Civilizational State. The Chinese Way by Zhang Weiwei is a 10-part CGTN Digital series casting a critical eye over the governance of modern China. Professor Zhang identifies merits and flaws in the Chinese system and contrasts the China model with Western equivalents in a series of short films.



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