论托克维尔“以社会制约权力”思想

A Critical Review of Tocqueville' s Conception of "Restriction of Power by Society

“以社会制约权力”的思想是托克维尔《论美国的民主》一书的重要内容。托克维尔认为,在限制国家专制权力和多数暴政方面,“以权力制约权力”的宪政体制固然必不可少,但一个相对自主的多元社会也是不可或缺的,它能对权力产生“社会的制衡”。这一思想对后来的民主理论,尤其是多元民主理论产生了很大的影响,同时它也存在不足之处。

According to Alexis de Tocqueville, a relatively independent and a pluralistic society is as indispensable as the 'Let power limit power' constitutional government system in efforts to check autarchy and tyranny. The former facilitates a kind of 'social balancing of power'. The conception, known as 'restriction of power by society' exerts great influence on democracy theories to come, especially those of pluralist democracy. To be fair, Tocqueville' s thinking also suffers from a number of shortcomings, as illustrated in the paper.