以「理性公民」超越「庸俗民主」與「專業獨裁」

臺灣的民主發展，至今雖然已有相當成果，但由於國民黨政權長期威權統治的負面影響，故仍然面臨許多困境，尚待解決。理想上，民主制度能夠順利運作的前提之一，是假設公民能夠對政治事務做出理性判斷與選擇；而為了要讓臺灣的民主能夠深化，當務之急，則是應該建立起理性的公民社會，並提升公民的水準。但由於公眾事務的繁雜多樣，因此，對於一些公共政策議題，「信任專業」或許確實有其必要性。相較於公民社會需要理性來支撐，專業社群更應該立足在理性基礎之上。然而，臺灣有許多專業社群，在論理時，往往違反理性原則；復由於長期受威權統治者卵翼，故常有扭曲專業、對外以迎合當權者或對內打壓異己的現象。他們輒以冠冕堂皇的「專業」外衣包裝其「非專業」行為，卻又能完全不負任何責任，從而滋生其「專業傲慢」，而得以假「尊重專業」之名，行「專業獨裁」之實。並且，由於既有之被建構的聲名，故其非專業的所謂「專業見解」，卻頗受一般缺乏思想訓練的民眾所相信。傳統中國「大政府，小社會」的特性，與西方社會力量與民主自治共生的關係，大相逕庭。寡佔國家資源並以之為控制社會的手段，正是傳統中國帝國政府的基本統治方針。在國民黨政權長期的威權統治下，為了便利其統治，當權者更是將知識工具化，專業社群往往受其操控。臺灣的專業社群，至今仍未獲得完整獨立且與政府分庭抗禮的地位。在一個真正的民主社會中，專業當然「可以」也「應該」被信賴。然而，不允許別人質疑的「專業」，是獨裁的；只憑感覺、不假理性思索即隨便接受（或拒絕）他人意見而做決定的「民主」，是庸俗的，都是讓統治者得以操弄的工具。因此，唯有尋求建立以「理性公民」為核心的公民社會，做為真正堅持專業者的後盾，才能超越「庸俗民主」與「專業獨裁」所共構的民主困局，而讓臺灣的民主真正獲得提升。

關鍵字

臺灣民主；公民社會；專業知識；專業社群

並列摘要

Although Taiwan's democratic development has so far achieved remarkable results, however, due to the negative influence from the long period of authoritarian rule by the Kuomintang regime, it still faces many difficulties that remain unresolved. Ideally, a prerequisite for the smooth functioning of a democratic system is the assumption that citizens make rational judgements and choices on political affairs. In order to further consolidate Taiwan's democracy, priority must now be given to the building of a rational civil society and to raise the standards of education and culture among the citizens. However, due to the great diversity of public affairs, there may still be the necessity of ＂relying on expertise＂ in some public issues. If a civil society needs to be based on reason, this applies even more to professional circles. However, in Taiwan many professional circles run counter to the principles of reason in their arguments. Furthermore, because the authoritarian regime took them under their wings for many years, it often happens that they distort their expertise, that to the outside world they pander to the ruling class and within their own circles harass those who hold diverging opinions. They frequently use the cloak of high-sounding ＂professionalism＂ to wrap around their ＂unprofessional＂ behaviour, without assuming any responsibility. This breeds the ＂arrogance of the experts＂ and in the name of ＂respect for the experts＂, they exert the ＂dictatorship of the experts＂. Due to their established standing, their unprofessional so-called ＂expert views＂ are widely easily believed by an untrained public. The traditional Chinese characteristic of ＂big government, small society＂ and the Western pattern of co-existence of a strong civil society and democratic self-government are poles apart. The method to control society by controlling national resources has always been the basic ruling guideline for the imperial regimes of traditional China. Under the long authoritarian rule of the Kuomintang regime, the ruling class turned knowledge into a means to facilitate its rule and the professional circles were therefore often manipulated. Even up to this day, professional circles in Taiwan haven't acquired the position of being totally independent of and equal to the government. In a truly democratic society, expert knowledge ＂can＂ and ＂should＂ be trusted. On the other hand, ＂expertise＂ that is not to be questioned, is dictatorial. A ＂democracy＂ that makes decisions purely based on perceptions, that does not deliberate according to reason and that arbitrarily accepts (or refuses) the opinions of others, is in fact a vulgarisation of democracy and turns it into a tool that can be manipulated by the ruling class. Only if a civil society can be built with ＂rational citizenship＂ at its core and backing truly professional experts, then it will become possible to overcome the predicament of democracy created by ＂vulgarised democracy＂ and ＂expert dictatorship＂ and enable Taiwan's democracy to develop further.

並列關鍵字

Taiwan's democracy ； democracy in Taiwan ； civil society ； expertise ； professionals

國際替代計量

以「理性公民」超越「庸俗民主」與「專業獨裁」

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