民主的悖论——英国议会选举制度改革

A Paradox of Democratization:British Parliamentary Electoral System Reform

英国1832年前的议会选举制度是贵族控制的,具体体现在选区、选举权、选举活动和议员结构等方面。1832—1918年的英国选举制度改革客观上促进了英国的民主发展,但这不是英国决策者的意图。对于英国统治精英来说,改革的宗旨是为了保持贵族的统治和避免真正的民主。英国的议会选举制度改革在民主问题上形成了一个悖论:反民主的举措却促进了民主的发展。

The electoral system in Britain before 1832 was under peers' sway which represented in aspects such as parliamentary constituency,franchise,electoral actions and structure of MPs. Objectively,the electoral system reform from 1832 to 1918 promoted the democratization in Britain. However,this was not the intention of the British elites who designed the Reform Acts. For them,the aim of the electoral reform was to keep aristocratic domination and to avoid veritable democracy. So the British electoral system reform is a paradox: the anti-democratic acts promoted the development of democracy.