【 Quora 】:代议制民主的缺陷？ [美国媒体]

What are the flaws of representative democracy?

【 Quora 】:代议制民主的缺陷？





Flaws in representative democracy, briefly:
1. Parties do not represent all of a voters preferences
2. Parties increasingly abandon their manifestos and are vague on many policy issues unless they think it will win them the election.

代议制民主的缺陷：
1.政党们并不代表所有的选民偏好
2.政党们越来越放弃宣言，对许多政策问题上含糊不清，除非他们认为能赢得选举。

3. What parties in opposition oppose, they often enact when in power. Legislation that they say is flawed, they leave alone when voted in, or tweak it rather than throwing it back out.
4. Politicians rely on advice from their bureaucracy, which is often biased. Politicians are not experts in all the areas they pass legislation on, and it shows.
5. Lobby groups, special interest groups, cronyism, inter-party fighting and politicking etc all modify party behaviour.

3.反对党反对的却是他们执政的时候会实施。他们说法律是有缺陷的，他们却在立法投票时留下，或调整，而不是把它扔回去反对。
4.政治家们依靠官僚集团的建议，这往往是有偏见的。政治家往往也不是他们立法领域的专家。
5.游说团体，特殊利益集团，任人唯亲，党内斗争，政治活动等都会改变了政党的行径。

6. Governments tend to grow, not shrink, as does legislation, and politicians increasingly aren't really in control of any of it. Obvious things - like Obama promising to close Gitmo if elected,  and three years on and the debate is on where else the prisoners might be moved to. The reality and complexity of the situation changes.
7. The power of the vote every election cycle is overstated. In many countries, coalitions or mixed membership models diffuse the vote further - chances are the ruling party doesn't even have a majority, and minor parties can exert a disproportionate influence over the supposed "mandate" from "majorty rule".
8. If power corrupts, it explains the poor choices politicians often make - moving to direct democracy can diffuse that power base and provide better results.

6.政府和立法的规模一样倾向于扩大而不是缩水，而政治家越来越不能真正控制其中的任何一个。显而易见的是， 就像奥巴马承诺如果当选，三年后关闭关塔那摩监狱，和讨论囚犯可能会被转移到哪里。事实上现实远比理想复杂。
7.每个选举周期的投票权被夸大了。在许多国家，联盟或混合政党模式进一步扩大了投票权 - 执政党甚至没有超过50%的可能性（必须联合其它政党），小党可能对“联合规则”所谓的“联合权利”施加不成比例的影响。
8.如果权力腐败，这就解释了政治家经常做出的糟糕决定 - 而直选民主可以放大这个权力基础，就可以获得较少的权利腐败。

Updated after getting some sleep:
9. Depending upon the countries electioneering rules, incumbent parties can receive disproportionately more funding, more air time and more media coverage than minor parties or new entrants. In systems like the USA, spending can get to excessively ridiculous levels that suggests money can influence outcomes
10. The media can be responsible for unbalanced reporting
11. Personality politics can override reasoned discourse.

睡觉起来后更新：
9.根据国家竞选规则，可能执政党可以获得比小型党派或新进入者更多的资金，更多的电视时间，更多的资源和更多的媒体报道。在像美国这样的系统中，花费可能会达到过于荒谬的程度，这表明金钱会影响结果。
10. 媒体可以推出一份不合理的报告。
11.人格政治可以践踏合理的名言。

12. Low voter turnout, gerrymandering, ballot manipulation, scrutineering standards, confusing ballot forms, and low literacy rates can skew results.
13. The role of swing electorates,  and the differing electoral systems ( first past the post, mixed membership proportional and single transferable vote systems for example  have significant impact on party strategies and placement of ministers that can weaken the concept of democracy.  Under MMP for example, a despised Minister can be placed on the list and be elected without people voting for them. They also are not accountable to any particular electorate.
14. The Youth vote is declining and youth are disengaged (generally speaking) with the political process, weakening the effectiveness of representative democracy

12.低选民投票率，不公正的划分选区，投票操纵，监察标准混乱的选票形式，和低识字率可以扭曲结果。
13.摇摆选民的作用，以及不同的选举制度（首先在岗位上，例如混合成员比例和单一可转让投票制度对党的战略和部长的安置产生重大影响，这可能削弱民主的概念。例如，一个被鄙视的部长可以被列入名单，并在没有人投票的情况下当选，他们也不对任何特定的选民负责。
14.青年投票正在减少，青年人与政治进程远离（总体而言），削弱了代议制民主的效力。

Equally, there is a fallacy that there is a right answer, if only we listen to a minority opinion (rule by the intelligentsia, or experts). The situation is that we need to live together in a society where there is limited resources, and politics is the process of determining who gets what.  When society breaks down, it is because of moral decay and fundamental injustices.
Relying on the government for a fair distribution of resources is just as dangerous as relying on a completely free market.  Both approaches end up hurting people as the system corrects itself.

同样，只有我们听取少数人意见（由知识分子或专家统治），才会导致正确答案的谬误。事实上是我们共同生活在一个资源有限的社会，而政治就是决定谁得到什么的过程。社会崩溃的时候，就是因为道德败坏和原则的不公正。
依靠政府公平分配资源，与依靠完全自由的市场分配一样危险。这两种方法最终会在系统风险修正的时候伤害到人们。

An advantage of Direct Democracy when it is just one part of the democratic state (because not many advocates of direct democracy suggest it should be used for everything) is that it can act as a balance to representative democracy, and also give voice to the people outside of election cycles where one vote supposedly endorses all of ones voting preferences, when in actuality the party you prefer, even if voted in, will not truly represent your preferences.  Having more direct input for those who are interested in participating might create a more informed and interested populace.  That can only be a good thing.

直接民主也是民主国家的一部分（因为没有多少倡导者认为直接民主应该被用于一切），它的优点是它可以代表民主作为一种平衡，也可以在选举周期之外向民众发声，一个投票人应该支持所有的投票偏好，但实际上，即使选民投过了票，也更愿意代表本身的偏好。对有兴趣参与的人有更多的直接投入，可能会创造出一个更为知情和感兴趣的民众。这只能是一件好事。（选民可以更多的参与政策活动，以及推行过程）

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I won't name all the flaws but the major one in my opinion (and the main reason I dislike democracy) is that all people are treated equally regarding votes, but all people aren't equal.
Farmers know nothing about health policy. Doctors know nothing about Agriculture. The general public knows nothing about anything a lot of the time (except that they hate high taxes and like their buses on time). Therefore why do countries take the opinion of an expert at the same level of importance as the opinion of an ignorant?

我不会指出所有的缺点，但我认为的主要原因（也是我不喜欢民主的主要原因）是，所有的人对选票的待遇都是平等的，但所有的人都是不平等的。
农民对卫生政策一无所知。医生对农业一无所知。大部分时间，大众对什么都一无所知（除了他们讨厌高昂的税和像他们的高额巴士费用一样的时候）。那么，为什么国家要相同对待专家者和无知者的意见呢？

This has been recently displayed in the UK, especially regarding elections for European Members of Parliament. The general public care very little about politics (statistically). The general public can therefore be easily manipulated by various groups with their own agendas, because they cannot be bothered to check facts. Various anti-European groups in the UK were telling outright lies about the effect of the European Union on the latest recession, employment and rights. They were essentially saying "The Credit Crunch was caused by Britain's membership in the European Union and that's why you're unemployed", with no facts to back it up.
Now, for people who lost their jobs in the recession; who want someone to blame, immigrants are a good scapegoat. People from older industries in particular, which are focused in the north of the country, have larger groups of non-cosmopolitan populations and more 'old-fashioned' values than populations in the south. This is how extreme right wing parties like the British National Party, get influence in society. They take advantage of vulnerable groups with savvy media campaigns and complete lies (a bit like how Michael Moore convinces people his opinions are true). This gets them votes and that gets them representation.

英国最近已经展示了这一点，特别是有关欧洲议会议员的选举。一般公众对政治（统计）的关注很少。因此，普通民众可以很容易地被各种各样的团体用自己的活动来操纵，因为他们不会去检查事实。英国各种反欧洲集团对欧盟对最近的经济衰退，就业和权利的影响充满了谎言。他们基本上是说“信贷紧缩是英国加入欧盟造成的，这就是为什么你失业了”，然而没有任何事实可以支持。
现在，对于那些在经济衰退中失业的人来说，要去怪罪谁，移民是很好的替罪羊。那些聚焦在北方的特别是老行业的人，有更多的非大都会人口，比南方的人口更“老式”。这就是英国国家党这样极端的右派党派，在社会上受到影响。他们利用弱智的群体，精明的媒体宣传和完全的谎言（有点像迈克尔·摩尔（Michael Moore）说服人们的观点是真实的）。让选民投票，并得到他们的代表权。

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Flaw #1: The people elect their representatives by casting their votes on a symbol, usually that of a political party. This is based on two assumptions viz. political parties are inevitable in a Democracy and that the common people/illiterates need a symbol to facilitate their voting. The second assumption presumes that the common people cannot judge the candidates on their own, thus underestimating the average voter's wisdom.
Flaw #2: The political parties have thrived on this dependency of Democracy on them and have also found the method of voting on a symbol, convenient to woo the voters and develop 'vote-banks'. Vote banks are largely responsible for perpetuating the polarization of the society on caste, class, communal and racial lines.
Flaw #3: The voter is not forced to individually uate the candidate he or she is going to vote for. Following the herd and voting on a symbol without knowing the candidate has become the norm. This enables election campaigns based on glam and rhetoric to become all powerful.
Flaw #4: The candidates need not rely on their individual merits for getting votes. There is always the party symbol and the party leaders to bank upon at the time of elections.

缺陷1：人们通过投票选举他们的代表，通常是某个政党的代表。这是基于两个假设。政党在民主中是不可避免的，普通老百姓需要一个代表来帮助他们投票。第二个假设是假设老百姓不能自己判断候选人，低估了普通选民的智慧。
缺陷2：政党对民主的依赖日益兴盛，并找到了一个代表投票的方法，方便了选民的投票和发展“票选”。投票站主可以划分种姓，阶级，社区和种族界限以及相对应的社会两极分化。
缺陷3：选民不是被迫单独评估他或她将要投票的候选人。在不知道候选人的情况下，在群众中投票并进行投票已经成为常态。这使得基于华丽和花言巧语的竞选活动变得非常强大。
缺陷4：候选人不需要依靠个人优点获得选票。选举时候选人总会以党的标志和党的领导人的身份存在。

Flaw #5: Political success is determined by skills of dubious nature like capacity for background manipulations. Honesty and true merit do not make much electoral sense in a party-based political system. 
Flaw #6: The stability of the government depends on the ruling party/alliance holding together its members. Dissent based on rational argument is discouraged.
Flaw #7: The elected representative need not apply himself to solving the problems of the people of his constituency to retain their goodwill; of more importance is whether he is able to please the superiors in the party and be in tune with the party-line of thinking.

缺陷5：政治上的成功取决于其背后势力操纵能力。诚实和真正的优点在党派政治制度中没有多大的选举意义。
缺陷6：政府的稳定取决于执政党/联盟的成员。基于理性争论的异议是不鼓励的。
缺点7：当选代表不需要自己解决选区人民的问题，只需要对其表面友好;更重要的是能否取悦党内上级，以及党的思路相吻合。

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Green points out that all people aren't equal.  The structural problem with Representative Democracy is that we've failed to capitalize on that important fact.  Plato, if not others before him, felt democracy could not work because 'ordinary people' are 'too easily swayed by the emotional and deceptive rhetoric of ambitious politicians'.  He failed to note that some folks are more easily swayed than others, and that some individuals are not swayed at all.  Yet, Plato's faulty view of democracy has survived through the ages and forms the cornerstone of political thought today.
The weakness in this concept is twofold.  The first is the notion that the only proper view of democracy is as a condition in which all the people make all the decisions.  The second is the failure to recognize that 'the people' is made up of many individuals: some good, some bad; some skilled, some unskilled; some with integrity, some deceitful; some brilliant, some dull; some sociable, some unfriendly; some interested in politics, some not.  The task of representative democracy is to sift through these many types of individuals and elevate those best suited to serve as advocates of the common good.

格林指出，所有人都不平等。代表民主的结构性问题是我们没有把握这个重要的事实。柏拉图，他之前的其他人认为民主是行不通的，因为“普通人民”太容易被雄心勃勃的政治家的情绪和欺骗性的言辞所左右。他没有注意到有些人比其他人更容易摇摆，有些人根本没有动摇。然而，柏拉图对民主的错误观点历经千秋，形成了当今政治思想的基石。
这个概念的弱点是双重的。首先是唯一正确的民主观是全民作出全部决定的条件。其次是没有认识到“人民”是由许多个人组成的：一些好的，一些坏的;一些熟练的，一些不熟练的;有的诚实，有的诡诈;有些辉煌，有些无聊;有些善于交际，有些不友善;有些对政治感兴趣，有些则不对。代议制民主的任务是筛选这些多种类的个人，提升那些最适合的人作为共同利益倡导者的人。

Green also points out the futility of voting.  The word "voting" invokes an image of individuals visiting polls and expressing a preference for one or another of the options made available to them by political parties.  Voting is not limited to that vision; we can vote in many ways, some more powerful than the ballot.
When the people vote for candidates chosen by political parties, the government is controlled, not in the voters, but by those who choose the candidates.  Voting for options provided by others does not give the people control of their government.  It is neither free nor democratic.  It is top-down, not bottom-up, and, as such, is the antithesis of democracy.  
Thus, Green has identified two flaws in the most common current rendition of representative democracy:  Failure to capitalize on the diversity of humanity and letting select groups usurp the people's right to choose their best representatives.  

格林还指出投票徒劳无益。 “投票”这个词引起了民意调查的政党形象，并且表达了对政党提供给他们的选择中的一个或另一个的偏好。投票应该不限于这一目的;我们可以用多种方式选择，比投票更有力量。
当人民投票选出政党候选人时，政府不是选举人，而是选举候选人。给选民提供的选择进行投票并不能使选民对其政府进行控制。它既不自由也不民主。
这是自上而下的，而不是自下而上的，因此是民主的对立面。因此，格林已经确定了代议民主目前最常见的两个缺陷：没有充分利用人类的多样性，让特定群体篡夺人民选择最佳代表的权利。

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I feel the biggest structural problem is the fact that governments are actually competing with each other.  No company can survive if we allow the employee to vote to elect their boss. No army can win the war if we allow the solider to vote to elect their commanders. 
How can we expect our governments to not bankrupt with it?

我觉得最大的结构性问题是很多国家政府实际上是在相互竞争。 如果我们允许员工投票选举他们的老板，任何公司都不能生存。 如果我们允许士兵投票选举他们的指挥官，那么没有哪个军队可以赢得战争。
我们怎样才能期望我们的政府不会破产呢？