“贤能政治”将走向何方?——与贝淡宁教授商榷

Where Is the “Political Meritocracy” Heading for:A Discussion with Prof. Daniel A.Bell

"精英主义"原是西方现代民主制度下的一种政治现象和政治倾向,贝淡宁却将它强加于古代儒家与当代中国,谓之"贤能政治"。贝淡宁所倡言的"贤能政治"是一种反民主的政治理论,且充满着逻辑矛盾:它时而是民主制的对立物,时而又是民主制的补充物;时而坚决拒斥民主,时而又需要民主机制来保证其合法性。贝淡宁对民主政治的批评在理论上难以立足,对"贤能政治"的辩护也多似是而非。"贤能政治"的要害不仅在其关于民主的工具理性思维方式,从而否定人民主权,更在于它在本质上是一条回归前现代之路。

'Meritocracy' is one of the political phenomena and political orientations under the Western modern democratic system,but Prof.Daniel A.Bell imposes it on ancient Confucianism and contemporary China and calls it 'political meritocracy' .The 'political meritocracy' Bell advertises is a political anti-democratic program.The theory of 'political meritocracy' is full of logical contradictions,because it is now the antithing of democracy,now the supplement of democracy,or sometimes resolutely rejects democracy,sometimes desperately needs democratic mechanism as the ultimate guarantee of its legitimacy.Bell’s criticisms against democracy are the mere platitudes that are untenable,and his defenses for 'political meritocracy' are the lame arguments that are specious.His presentation of so-called 'China model' is not only self-contradictory,but also a determination of Chinese party and government with reactionary nature.The bull’s-eye of 'political meritocracy' is not merely the thinking way of instrumental reason about democracy and thereby a blatant negation of popular sovereignty,but a road to totalitarianism in its essence.