人的精神理念在歷史變革中的作用－美麗島事件和台灣民主化

The Role of Moral Value in Political Change: Explaining Democratic Transition in Taiwan

吳乃德(Naiteh Wu)

《台灣政治學刊》 4期 (2000/12) Pp. 57-103

https://doi.org/10.6683/TPSR.200012.4.57-103

摘要

1980年代末期開始的民主化，是台灣當代政治發展最重要的現象。由於民主體制對政治生活的巨大影響，對民主化現象的解釋和分析在過去三十年間，成為美國政治學中最受重視的研究主題之一。本文指出：不論是美國或台灣本地學者對台灣民主化的解釋，在基本取向上，受到美國政治學者過度的影響；而在歷史真實的呈現上，則過度誇張了獨裁者蔣經國對台灣民主的貢獻。以上兩種論點都忽視了群眾及反對運動的參與者，其價值理念和行動對台灣民主化的重要貢獻。
本文同時也檢討當代美國政治學主流對人的政治行為的基本假設－「理性選擇模型」。該模型假設，人類政治行為最重要的動力是理性的利益考慮。此種假設忽視了，價值和理念在人類的政治行為中的重要角色。本文指出，源自群眾和民主運動參與者的價值理念和行動，是台灣民主化最重要的動力。在民主運動於美麗島事件中受獨裁政權嚴厲壓制之後，一般群眾和運動參與者對價值理念和行動的堅持，終於排除了獨裁政權再度訴諸武力的選擇。當武力壓制的選項被排除，唯一的選擇就是民主妥協。這種以價值理念為基礎的政治行動，是台灣民主化最重要的動力；然而卻是最被忽視、最少被研究的現象。

關鍵字

民主化 ； 政治變遷 ； 道德價值 ； 理性選擇 ； 蔣經國

並列摘要

Democratic transition has been one of the most researched topics in the American political science in the past several decades. As Taiwanese politics was transformed in the late 1980’s to democracy, the case also gained wide attention from both the American and local scholars. This paper points out that the literature on democratic transition in Taiwan case, some have followed too closely, or applied indiscreetly, the arguments of American political scientists in explaining Latin American cases. Secondly, others have given too much credit to the role of the dictator Jiang Jing-guo. These two flaws resulted in a distortion of historical reality and also the overlook of an important factor: the role of political idealism and the effort motivated by that idealism on the part of the mass and activists in democratic struggle.
This paper also discusses the problems of an assumption about human Political behavior in the mainstream American political science, namely the rational choice model. The model by giving no place to the role of value and idealism in human political behaviors fails to explain the pivotal role of human agency in many political and social transformations. Taking the case of Taiwan as an example, this paper shows how the idealism on the part of the common people and activists in the democratic movement has contributed to the great political transformation. After the severe repression on the democratic movement In 1979, the unexpected growth of the movement has removed the option .of repression by the authoritarian regime. A deJ110cratic compromise thus was achieved.

並列關鍵字

democratization ； political change ； moral value ； rational choice ； Jiang Jing-guo

參考文獻

Almond, G. A., Verba, S.(1963).The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations.Princeton, N. J.:Princeton University Press.

Arendt, Hannah(1994).Eichmann in Jerusalem: a Report on the Banality of Evil.New York:Penguin Books.

Arrigo, L. G.(1994).The Other Taiwan: 1945 to the Present.Armonk, N. Y.:M. E. Sharpe.

Bardhan, Pranab(1999).Democracy's Value.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.

Barry, Brian(1978).Sociologists, Economists, and Democracy.Chicago:University of Chicago Press.