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柏拉圖在理想國談論失控的民主
2014/04/26 00:03:56瀏覽892|回應0|推薦0
柏拉圖在理想國談論失控的民主

When a democracy which is thirsting for freedom has evil cup-bearers

presiding over the feast, and has drunk too deeply of the strong wine of
freedom,then, unless her rulers are very amenable and give a plentiful
draught, she calls them to account and punishes them, and says that they are cursed oligarchs.

我設想一個情境,一個民主城邦渴望自由,很可能選出最差的團隊來領導,
接受這最差團隊所有花言巧語的欺騙,就像沉醉於美酒中而不可自拔。
如果是由正派團隊來領導,他們只要稍微要求秩序,不再過份縱容,
這個社會就群起攻之,罵他獨裁,還要將他趕下台嚴辦。

and loyal citizens are insultingly termed by her slaves who hug
their chains and men of naught; she would have subjects who are like rulers,
and rulers who are like subjects: these are men after her own heart, whom she
praises and honours both in private and public. Now, in such a State, can liberty have any limit?

至於那些願意守秩序的人們,就被指為奴性太強,受到唾罵;平民向官員高高在上,
官員向平民低聲下氣。這樣的國家走向極端自由不是必然的嗎?

the father grows accustomed to descend to the level of his sons
and to fear them, and the son is on a level with his father, he having no
respect or reverence for either of his parents

父親畏懼兒子,而做兒子的和父親沒大沒小,不怕父母,似乎這樣做才叫自由人。

In such a state of society the master fears and flatters his scholars, and
the scholars despise their masters and tutors; young and old are all alike;
and the young man is on a level with the old, and is ready to compete with
him in word ordeed; and old men condescend to the young and are full of
pleasantry and gaiety; they are loth to be thought morose and authoritative,
and therefore they adopt the manners of the young

另外還有一些類似的情況。老師害怕學生,奉承學生,學生反而篾視老師。
年輕人裝老大,向長輩嗆聲,針鋒相對;而老一輩的人則處處討好年輕人,
學起年輕人用語說說笑笑,態度低聲下氣,學起年輕人一樣行事,就怕被年輕人認為是老古板。

And above all, I said, and as the result of all, see how sensitive the
citizens become; they chafe impatiently at the least touch of authority,
and at length, as you know, they cease to care even for the laws, written
or unwritten; they will have no one over them.

重點是,公民變得非常敏感;即使只要求一點點限制,他們也會變得煩躁不耐煩;
最後,你知道,他們再也不在乎任何的法令與規範,不會接受任何人的管制。

The ruin of oligarchy is the ruin of democracy; the same disease magnified and
intensified by liberty overmasters democracy–the truth being that the
excessive increase of anything often causes a reaction in the opposite
direction; and this is the case not only in the seasons and in vegetable and
animal life, but aboveall in forms of government

獨裁政體瓦解的原因同時也是民主政體瓦解的原因。同樣的弊病,被自由擴大加重後,
就會毀滅了民主政體。——事實就是:物極必反。這種現象,不僅在季節、動植物生命
中都是如此,在政治的形式上也是如此。

The excess of liberty, whether in States or individuals, seems only to pass into excess of slavery

無論是國家還是個人,只要是極端的自由,最終反而會走向極端的奴役

And so tyranny naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated
form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme form of liberty?

獨裁政體很自然地是從民主政體中生出來,
最嚴重的獨裁體制和奴隸制體制來自於最極端的自由形式,是嗎?

( 時事評論政治 )
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