两种民主的困境及其自我化解机制——托克维尔《论美国的民主》的一个解读

The Paradox of Two Kinds of Democracies with the Mechanism of Self-moderating: An Analysis about Tocqueville's Democracy in America

在托克维尔的理论中,划分出了两种民主:一种是从社会状况出发定义的民主,这种民主即平等所带来的民情;另一种民主为政治制度,是保障自由的政治安排。两种民主存在矛盾和张力,社会民主易带来多数暴政和中央集权,而政治民主则是其矫正机制;社会民主又是政治民主得以存在的基础,没有社会民主,政治民主只是空中楼阁。托克维尔对民主的这一洞见,对我们今天践行民主具有重要意义。

According to Tocqueville＆#39;s theory, there are two sorts of democracies.One is social democracy that makes the society equal, and the other is political democracy which makes the political system free.However, there is a tension between these democracies.In other words, the social democracy tends to the tyranny of the ma-jority and centralization.Fortunately, the political democracy moderates the social democracy.Certainly, the so-cial democracy is the basis on which the political democracy works well.That is to say, if there is no social de-mocracy in the society, it is impossible that the free political system is in good condition.It is the insight about democracy that enlightens us about setting up and running the democracy in our regime.