卡普兰民主理论的困境及超越

The Dilemma and Transcendence of Caplan’s Democratic Theory

卡普兰在《理性选民的神话》一书中阐述了自己的民主理论,他试图批判传统公共选择学派的“理性的无知”分析框架,构建起“理性的胡闹”分析框架,并提出解决民主失灵的方案。但他对“理性的无知”的否定是失败的,其理论反而是对理性选择固有共识的肯定、对理性选择理论的补充和发展。卡普兰民主理论实质是对西方选举民主的辩护,我们可从中窥见西方民主的本质——以选举为核心的精英政治。要真正解决民主失灵问题,需要摆脱选举环节的局限和精英主义倾向,中国的“全过程人民民主”方能为其提供新的思路。

Caplan elaborated his democratic theory in his book The Myth of the Rational Voter.He tried to criticize the“rational ignorance”analysis framework of the classical public choice school,build the“rational irrationality”analysis framework,and put forward the solution to the failure of democracy.However,his negation of“rational ignorance”is a failure,and his theory is the affirmation of the inherent consensus of rational choice,the supplement and development of the theory of rational choice.The essence of Caplan’s democratic theory is the defense of Western electoral democracy,from which we can see the nature of Western democracy-election-centered meritocracy.To truly address the failure of democracy,we need to get rid of the limitations of the electoral process and tendency towards elitism,and China’s“whole-process people’s democracy”can provide new ideas for it.