不平等的民主:20世纪70年代以来美国政治的演变

Unequal Democracy: The Evolution of American Politics Since 1970s

政治平等与经济不平等以一种相互冲突的方式共存于民主政治之中,这种冲突性共存构成了理解20世纪70年代以来美国政治演变的基本视角。美国民主政治未能在政治平等的基础上增强公民的社会权利,从而对经济不平等进行有效的调节,反而在富裕阶层的影响下推动了经济不平等的急剧扩大,经济不平等的急剧扩大反过来导致了政治平等的实质性下降。美国的民主政治已经衰落了,而其衰落的真相就在于不平等,也就是政治平等与经济不平等之间的相互制约关系,被政治不平等与经济不平等之间的相互促进关系所代替,并且这种状况正是美国民主政治衰落的根源所在。作者选择政治平等与经济不平等之间的张力作为出发点,通过考察美国民主政治衰落的具体表现、美国民主政治衰落的动态机制以及美国民主政治衰落导致的复杂后果,认为经济不平等对政治平等的损害是民主政治的最大威胁,而政治平等对经济不平等的制约则是民主政治得以维系的关键所在,因此美国政治发展的前景端赖政治平等对经济不平等的制约关系的重建。

The American democracy has fallen into decay since 1970 s,because the economic inequality constantly impairs the political equality. The American democracy can not enhance the social rights on the basis of political rights,which are designed to regulate economic inequality. On the contrary,it has promoted a rapid expansion of economic inequality under the influence of the wealthy,and in turn led to the decline of political equality substantially. The mutual restriction relationship between political equality and economic inequality has been replaced by the mutual promotion relationship between political inequality and economic inequality,which is the root of the decline of American democracy. The damage of economic inequality on political equality is the critical threat to the American democracy,and the constraint of political equality on economic inequality is the key factor for maintaining democracy; therefore,the prospect of the political development of American relies on the reconstruction of the restriction relationship of political equality on economic inequality.