摘要
好的政體或好的政治秩序的問題，是政治理論在其最初發源處的核心問題。但隨著政治理論探討課題的日趨多樣化以及實證研究的勃興，好的政體的問題似乎逐漸被驅趕出它應有的核心位置。然而，改善群體生活是政治理論最終的實踐目標，而對於好的政體的理論探索又係改善群體生活的前置作業，因此，忽視好的政體的問題將會是政治理論的一大危機。本文將申論探討好的政體的重要性，並試圖從近代以降政治思想的主潮歸結出，「使人活得更有尊嚴」乃是當代世界裡的較合宜的評量好的政體的判別標準。再者，做為理念型的現代民主政體，實可被視為是當代的好的政體的候選項。不過，仍存在著諸多影響民主政體之良窳的內部因素，這在最終亦將決定特定的民主政體能否繼續保有做為好的政體之候選項的資格。
並列摘要
The question of good polity or good political order was the core question of political theory during its founding period in ancient Greece. As the topics that political theory endeavors to deal with have become much more diversified, and also due to the extensive development of the positivist branch within it since the last century, this question has been tremendously marginalized, if not totally ignored. However, the improvement of collective life is the ultimate goal of political theory, and the theoretical investigation of good polity is the preparatory operations for achieving that goal. Therefore, to underestimate the question of good polity will render political theory insensitive and alien to its own nature, and also make its very existence a pale one. As a proponent of reviving the discourse of good polity, à la the legacy of Plato, this author tries to formulate the criteria of modern good polity and to evaluate whether modern democracy as an ideal type can be taken as a candidate of good polity in the contemporary world.