民主VS民粹|《全球脑库》:民粹主义的本质,在于它的反民主性

2016-11-05 从余启 我与我们的世界 我与我们的世界

欢迎打开“我与我们的世界”,从此,让我们一起“纵览世界之风云变幻、洞察社会之脉搏律动、感受个体之生活命运、挖掘自然之点滴奥妙”。

我与我们的世界,既是一个“奋斗”的世界,也是一个“思考”的世界。奋而不思则罔,思而不奋则殆。这个世界,你大,它就大;你小,它就小。

欢迎通过上方公众号名称打开公众号“查看历史信息”来挖掘往期文章,因为,每期都能让你“走近”不一样的世界、带给你不一样的精彩


本期导读:世人皆知,民主是个好东东。既然民主是个好东东,就没有人不想得到它。


纵观人类的历史,特别是人类的近现代史,几乎就是一部民主斗争史。横看当今的世界,特别是比较吸引眼球的地方,几乎都是人们为民主吵得热火朝天的地方。


人类世界,芸芸众生,听说好东西或是看到好东西,都会蜂拥而至,不管它是好在哪里,不管追寻的方向是否找对,不管采取的办法是否得当,不管是否真的符合自己的胃口,不管是否真的如所称道的那么灵妙


也正是在这么一个乱哄哄的追寻过程中,人们往往迷失方向、忘记初心,甚至有些人会从此掉入万劫不复的深渊,永无回路可寻。。。



The Anti-Democratic Heart of Populism

民粹主义的本质,在于它的反民主性


Many of the men and women who turned out for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund in early October were saying something like this: “Imagine if the Republicans had nominated someone with the same anti-trade views as Trump, minus the insults and the sexual harassment. A populist protectionist would be headed to the White House.”

十月初,参加国际国币基金组织年会的很多人,不管男女,都有这样的感慨:“可以想象,若共和党提名的,是一位与反对自由贸易的特朗普持相同观点的总统候选人,当然不能有侮辱谩骂、骚扰异性的缺点,那么,无疑,那位民粹主义、保护主义的提名人将会成为白宫的主人。”


1.populism ['pɑpjəlɪzəm] n. 民粹主义,平民主义

2.nominate['nɒmɪneɪt] vt. 推荐;提名;任命;指定

3.insult[ɪn'sʌlt] vt. 侮辱;辱骂;损害;n. 侮辱;凌辱;无礼

4.harassment [hə'ræsmənt]   n. 骚扰;烦恼


The underlying view is that rising populism on the right and the left, both in the United States and in Europe, is a straightforward consequence of globalization and its unwanted effects: lost jobs and stagnant middle-class incomes. Davos men and women hate this conclusion, but they have embraced it with all the fervor of new converts.

之所以有那样的感慨,可能是基于这样一种思考:民粹主义潮流在膨胀,不管是右翼还是左翼,不管是在美国还是在欧洲,而这样的结果,直接原因是,全球化及其所带来的负面影响,如就业机会减少、中等阶层收入停滞等。尽管政治经济精英们不喜欢这样的结论,但随着越来越多的人加入到民粹阵营,他们也已接受了这个结论。


1. view [vjuː] n. 观察;视野;意见;风景;vt. 观察;考虑;查看

2.underlying [ʌndə'laɪɪŋ]  adj. 潜在的;根本的;在下面的;优先的;v. 放在…的下面;为…的基础;优先于(underlie的ing形式)

3.stagnant ['stægnənt] adj. 停滞的;不景气的;污浊的;迟钝的

4. Davos 位于瑞士的小镇达沃斯,因达沃斯论坛即世界经济论坛而举世闻名

5.fervor ['fɜːvə] n. 热情;热烈;热心;炽热

6..convert[kən'vɜːt] vt. 使转变;转换…;使…改变信仰;vi. 转变,变换;皈依;改变信仰;n. 皈依者;改变宗教信仰者


Yet there is an alternative – and more persuasive – view: while economic stagnation helps push upset voters into the populist camp, bad economics is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for bad politics. On the contrary, argues Princeton political scientist Jan-Werner Mueller in his new book: populism is a “permanent shadow” on representative democracy.

不过,也可有另一种思考,而且是一种更具说服力的思考:经济变糟,是促使受影响的人加入民粹阵营的条件,但经济变糟,却既不是构成政治变糟的必要条件,也不是构成政治变糟的充分条件。相反,正如普林斯顿大学政治学者杨·维尔纳·米勒在其新书中所表示的:民粹主义是代议民主的“永久性阴暗面”


1.alternative [ɔːl'tɜːnətɪv] adj. 供选择的;选择性的;交替的;n. 二中择一;供替代的选择

2.persuasive [pə'sweɪsɪv] adj. 有说服力的;劝诱的,劝说的

3.upset [ʌp'set] vt. 使心烦;颠覆;扰乱;vi. 翻倒;adj. 心烦的;混乱的;弄翻的;n. 混乱;翻倒;颠覆


Populism is not about taxation (or jobs or income inequality). It is about representation – who gets to speak for the people and how.

民粹主义,与加税减税无关,也和就业机会升降无关,更与收入是否平等无关。民粹主义,只与代表问题有关,即由谁代表人民以及如何代表


Advocates of democracy make some exalted claims on its behalf. As Abraham Lincoln put it at Gettysburg, it is “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” But modern representative democracy – or any democracy, for that matter – inevitably falls short of these claims. Voting in an election every four years for candidates chosen by party machines is not exactly what Lincoln’s lofty words call to mind.

民主的支持者们,总以民主代言人的角色,对民主大加赞扬。亚伯拉罕·林肯在葛底斯堡的演讲中说过,民主就是“民有、民治、民享”。但是,现代代议制民主,以及其他任何形式的民主,就其本质来说,都肯定远远没有达到林肯所说的那个标准。四年一次,选民对经过政党机器筛选出来的候选人进行投票,绝不是林肯那崇高的理想所蕴含的本意


1.advocate ['ædvəkeɪt] vt. 提倡,主张,拥护;n. 提倡者;支持者;律师

2.exalted [ɪg'zɔːltɪd] adj. 高尚的;尊贵的;兴奋的;v. 高举;赞扬;使激动(exalt的过去分词)

3.lofty ['lɒftɪ] adj. 高的;崇高的;高级的;高傲的


What populists offer, Mueller says, is to fulfill what the Italian democratic theorist Norberto Bobbio calls the broken promises of democracy. Populists speak and act, claims Mueller, “as if the people could develop a singular judgment...as if the people were one...as if the people, if only they empowered the right representatives, could fully master their fates.”

米勒表示,民粹主义者所能带来的,就是意大利民主理论家诺尔贝托·博比奥所称的“民主诺言的泡影化”。米勒称,民粹主义者的言、行,让人觉得,“人民,能形成一个全民一致的判断······全体人民能成为一体······人民,若有了正确的代言人,就能完全掌控自己的命运。


1.fulfill [ful'fil]  vt. 履行;实现;满足;使结束(等于fulfil)

2.empower[ɪm'paʊə] vt. 授权,允许;使能够


Populism rests on a toxic triad: denial of complexity, anti-pluralism, and a crooked version of representation.

民粹主义的形成,基于一种深具有害性的“三位一体”否认现实的复杂性、反对意见的多元性、主张虚幻的代表性


1.toxic ['tɒksɪk] adj. 有毒的;中毒的

2.triad ['traɪæd] n. 三和音;三个一组;三价元素

3.pluralism ['plʊər(ə)lɪz(ə)m] n. 多元主义;多元论;兼任

4.crook[krʊk] n. 骗子,坏蛋;弯处,弯曲部分;钩状物;vt. 使弯曲;欺骗,诈骗;vi. 弯曲,成钩形


Most of us believe that social choices (Build more schools or hospitals? Stimulate or discourage international trade? Liberalize or restrict abortion?) are complex, and that the existence of a plurality of views about what to do is both natural and legitimate. Populists deny this. As Ralf Dahrendorf once put it, populism is simple; democracy is complex. To populists, there is only one right view – that of the people.

大多人都会认为,社会选择决策,如增建学校还是增建医院、鼓励国际贸易还是限制国际贸易、支持堕胎还是禁止堕胎等,都是复杂的,而且,关于某个问题的观点,也都是多元的,这不仅是很自然的,也是很合理的。而民粹主义者,对此则都持否定态度。正如拉尔夫·达伦多夫曾表示的,民粹是简单的,民主是复杂的。对民粹主义者来说,正确的观点只有一个,那就是,人民的观点


1.stimulate ['stɪmjʊleɪt] vt. 刺激;鼓舞,激励;vi. 起刺激作用;起促进作用

2.abortion [ə'bɔːʃ(ə)n] n. 流产,堕胎,小产;流产的胎儿;(计划等)失败,夭折

3.legitimate [lɪ'dʒɪtɪmət] adj. 合法的;正当的;合理的;正统的;vt. 使合法;认为正当(等于legitimize)


If so, the complex mechanisms of liberal democracy, with its emphasis on delegation and representation, are all unnecessary. No need for parliaments endlessly debating: the unitary will of the people can easily be expressed in a single vote. Hence populists’ love affair with plebiscites and referenda. Brexit, anyone?

若真是这样,自由民主的复杂机制,以及对委托代表机制的强调,也就都毫无必要了。立法机构,也就不需再进行无休无止的争辩:全体人民的唯一正确的意志,通过一张票便可很容易得到表达。因此,民粹主义者对公投情有独钟。英国脱欧,可否算是一例?


1.plebiscite ['plebɪsaɪt] n. 公民投票;平民表决

2.referenda ['rɛfə'rɛndə] n. 普通投票


And not just anyone can represent the people. The claim is to exclusive representation. Remember Trump’s boast in his address to the Republican National Convention: “I alone can fix it.”

同时,在民粹主义者看来,不仅任何一位选民都可代表人民,而且,民粹主义者所想要的,是一种排他的、独享的代表性。是否还记得特朗普在共和党提名大会上曾吹道:“我一个人就能搞定。”


1.exclusive [ɪk'skluːsɪv] adj. 独有的;排外的;专一的;n. 独家新闻;独家经营的项目; 45 33474 45 15287 0 0 2430 0 0:00:13 0:00:06 0:00:07 2916排外者

2.boast [bəʊst] vt. 夸口说,自吹自擂说;以有…而自豪;n. 自夸;值得夸耀的事物,引以为荣的事物;vi. 自吹自擂


Politics is always about morality, Aristotle told us. But populists favor what Mueller calls a particular moralistic interpretation of politics. Those who hold the right view about the world are moral; the rest are immoral, lackeys of a corrupt elite. That was exactly the rhetoric of the late Venezuelan ruler Hugo Chávez. When that failed, and when Chávez’s sank his country’s economy, there was always US imperialism to blame. So populism is a kind of identity politics. It is always us against them.

亚里士多德曾说:政治,即德性。但是,民粹主义者喜欢的是,米勒所称的“对政治进行的一种特定的道德诠释”。对世界持有正确观点的人是道德的,其他的所有人都是不道德的,都是腐化精英们的跟屁虫。这种论调,也正是委内瑞拉已故总统查韦斯曾经所持的论调。出问题时,国内经济颓靡时,总拿美帝主义来说事儿。因此,民粹主义,是一种身份认同政治,永远是我们与他们之间的斗争


1.morality [məˈræləti] n. 道德;品行,美德

2.lackey['lækɪ] n. 男仆;侍从;马屁精;vt. 侍候,服侍;奉承

3.imperialism [ɪm'pɪərɪəlɪz(ə)m] n. 帝国主义


Viewed in this light, populism is not a useful corrective to a democracy captured by technocrats and elites, as Marine Le Pen, Rafael Correa, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, or assorted Western intellectuals want you to believe. On the contrary, it is profoundly anti-democratic, and hence a threat to democracy itself.

这样看来,民粹主义,并不是对专家治国体制和精英民主体制进行改进的良方,也不是如法国极右翼国民阵线主席玛丽娜·勒庞、厄瓜多尔总统拉斐尔·科雷亚、土耳其总统埃尔多安或西方某些知识分子所称道的那样灵妙。相反,民粹主义具有彻底的反民主性,因此,民粹主义本身,就是对民主的一种威胁


1.corrective [kə'rektɪv] adj. 矫正的;惩治的;n. 矫正物;改善法

2.assorted [ə'sɔːtɪd] adj. 组合的;各种各样的;混杂的;v. 把…分等级;把…归为一类(assort的过去分词)

3.profoundly [prə'faʊndlɪ] adv. 深刻地;深深地;极度地


What is to be done? My take (the prescription is my own, not Mueller’s) is that democrats must (and can) beat populists at their own game. The toxic triad can become salutary.

那该怎么办呢?我的看法(即我开出的药方,不是米勒开的)是,民主主义必须(而且能够)击败民粹主义,以其人之道,还治其人之身。而那种深具有害性的“三位一体”,这时也可派上用场,起到有益的作用。


1.take [teɪk] vt. 拿,取;采取;接受(礼物等);买,花费;耗费(时间等);vi. 拿;获得;n. 捕获量;看法;利益,盈益;(入场券的)售得金额

2.prescription [prɪ'skrɪpʃ(ə)n] n. 药方;指示;惯例;adj. 凭处方方可购买的

3.salutary ['sæljʊt(ə)rɪ] adj. 有益的,有用的;有益健康的


First, acknowledge complexity. The only thing that upsets voters as much as being lied to is being treated like babies. People who lead challenging lives know that the world is complex. They do not mind being told that. They appreciate being spoken to as the grownups they are.

首先,要认识到复杂性。除被骗之外,能让选民懊恼的唯一的事情就是,自己被当成需要照顾的对象。生活不易的人们都知道,这个世界是复杂的,是否告知他们这个,是无所谓的。他们更为期望的是,作为具有独立行事能力的成人,他们也希望能作为独立行事能力的成人来被对待。


1.acknowledge [ək'nɒlɪdʒ] vt. 承认;答谢;报偿;告知已收到

2.appreciate [ə'priːʃɪeɪt] vt. 欣赏;感激;领会;鉴别;vi. 增值;涨价


Second, do not treat diversity of views and identities as a problem calling for a technocratic solution. Rather, make respect for such diversity a profoundly moral feature of society. The fact that we are not all the same and we can still get along is a tremendous democratic achievement. Make the case for it. And do not fall for the tired cliché that reason is for democrats and emotion is for populists. Make the case for pluralistic democracy in a way that inspires and stirs emotion.

其次,不要把观点的多元性、身份的多元性,当做是技术性方案能够解决的问题。反而,应该对这种多元性给予充分的尊重,把它看成是社会所具有的一种德性特征。我们并不总是相同的,但同时我们仍能一起相处,认识到这样的现实,就是一种莫大的民主进步。摆事实,讲道理即可。同时,也不能相信那些诸如民主是理性的、民粹是激情的等陈词滥调。摆多元民主的事实,讲多元民主的道理,并以具有启示意义、激励意义的办法来摆、来讲


1.tremendous [trɪ'mendəs] adj. 极大的,巨大的;惊人的;极好的

2.cliché [kliʃe] n.印版;底片;陈词滥调

3.make (out) a case for something/doing something: to give good reasons why something should be done, to explain why something should be done, its etymology is based on the legal meaning of make a case (to show that what you say is true)

4.inspire[ɪn'spaɪə] vt. 激发;鼓舞;启示;产生;使生灵感

5.stir[stɜː] n. 搅拌;轰动;vt. 搅拌;激起;惹起;vi. 搅动;传播;走动


Third, defend – and update – representation. Leave delegation to complex technical matters. Take advantage of modern technologies to bring other choices – particularly those having to do with the fabric of daily life – closer to voters. Tighten campaign finance laws, regulate lobbying better, and enforce affirmative-action measures to ensure that representatives are of the people and work for the people.

最后,要捍卫并改进代表性。委托代表性问题,可作为复杂的技术问题来对待。可利用现代技术的优势,增强选民的选择权,特别是与选民日常生活有关的选择权,以此来拉近与选民的距离。竞选筹资法律要收紧,立法游说规定要改进,政策措施要积极正面,这样才能确保,代表来自人民,并为人民服务。


1.fabric ['fæbrɪk] n. 织物;布;组织;构造;建筑物

2.lobby['lɒbɪ] n. 大厅;休息室;会客室;游说议员的团体;vt. 对……进行游说;vi. 游说议员

3.affirmative [ə'fɜːmətɪv] adj. 肯定的;积极的;n. 肯定语;赞成的一方


These measures alone will not ensure that all of democracy’s broken promises are fulfilled. But we cannot expect a single set of simple actions to solve a complex problem. Nor can we believe that we alone can fix it.

所有提到的这些措施,并不能完全保证,民主诺言泡影化问题,能得到彻底解决。因为,我们不能期望,一套简单的行动方案,就能解决掉一个具有复杂性的问题。我们也不能认为,我们自己就能搞定。


If we believed that, we would be populists. For the sake of democracy, that is precisely what we should not be.

若我们那样认为,那么我们也就变成了民粹主义者。我们决不能,为了民主,而成为民粹


Contributor: Andrés Velasco, a former presidential candidate and finance minister of Chile, is Professor of Professional Practice in International Development at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He has taught at Harvard University and New York University, and is the author of numerous studies on international economics and development.

作者简介:安德列斯·维拉斯科,智利前总统候选人、财政部部长,哥伦比亚大学国际与公共事务学院“专业实践学”教授,曾在哈佛大学、纽约大学任教,主持过多项国际经济与发展项目的研究。




往期精彩:


追寻真相|《关于“真相”》:真相只有一个,但你却永远无法掌握 

明月映人性|《沁园春·月》:哪些是你的,哪些不是你的,只有你自己知道

神话那点儿事儿|《历史是一部神话》:神话的历史与历史的神话

中国式神话|《儒家神话》:神话,在传说中,在古籍里,也在你我身边


注:

1:本文为原创,若发现不错,可转发共享,转载请注明出处。

2:也欢迎点击“赞赏”,为原创打赏,感谢支持。
3:英文转自 Project Syndicate,该网站主要发布全球各领域大咖文章,故称之“全球脑库”,非商业用途,仅限个人学习之目的。

4:内容不代表译者观点,若有任何问题,欢迎联系沟通。

5:关注可搜索 我与我们的世界 或 meandourworld 也可扫描下方二维码: