佩迪特的共和主义民主理论

Pettit's Republican Theory of Democracy

佩迪特提出了一种共和主义的自由观,但只有理解了他的民主理论,才能充分理解这种自由观。他区分了"政治合法性"与"社会正义",表明政治上的合法性要以民主为基础,而民主需要公民对国家个体化、无条件和有效的控制。共和主义的民主是一种"论辩式"的民主,以民众对政府决策进行论辩的能力为核心。为了使民主更好地运转,在某些方面需要实行"去政治化",将相关决定权交给专家,避免决策者受到非理性情绪的影响。佩迪特的论述对民主理论做出了重要贡献,但从更为纯粹的民主主义视角来看,他的思想仍然存在不够民主的方面。

Philip Pettit proposes a distinct republican theory of freedom. However, we cannot fully comprehend his republicanism unless we understand his theory of democracy properly. He distinguishes between 'political legitimacy' and 'social justice', and argues that political legitimacy comes from the establishment of democratic institutions, which requires the individualized,unconditioned and efficacious control of the state by the citizens. The republicanism democracy is a contestatory democracy, the core of which is the populace's capacity to contest governmental decisions. According to Pettit, in order to make democracy work better, 'DE politicization' is required. We need to grant certain power to experts, so that the final decision would not be influenced by irrational emotions. Pettit makes a significant contribution to democratic theory. Nevertheless, a more enthusiastic democratic may still think that some aspects of his ideas are not democratic enough.