如何觀看自由民主？源自儒家思想傳統的一種觀看之道—從清末學人談起為

An Confucian Appraisal of Liberal Democracy: Comments on Some Late Qing Dynasty's Scholars' Democratic Thinking

許雅棠(Ya-Tang Hsu)

《臺灣民主季刊》 9卷3期 (2012/09) Pp. 1-35

https://doi.org/10.6448/TDQ.201209.0001

摘要

源自西方的自由民主通常已視為人類政治在理念和實踐上所能達到的頂端體制，可以批評，可以一時權宜改變，但已難以取代或無法取代。本文則以清末學人為例，指出他們雖未能深入了解西方自由民主的真實精神和內涵，卻得以立足於中國政治傳統，從容評斷自由民主的得失，並且看到自由民主的選舉如何關聯於中國治道的意義。換言之，這是一種以中觀西的態度，有別於當前一面到倒的，以西觀中的做法。本文的初步工作，即是大略說明，西方自由民主不必已然立足絕頂，一覽眾山之小，中國自有一套不同於自由民主內涵的致治體認和內涵的「政治觀」，可以反觀，也可以評判。中西治道的相互觀看是本文隱涵的論點與期望。

關鍵字

以中觀西 ； 自由民主 ； 感通 ； 選賢

並列摘要

Liberal democracy, in its Western meaning or context, is usually taken to be the final human political establishment. This paper thinks the other way, it tries to say that there may exist another kind of political thinking, which found on the ancient Chinese political traditions (especially Confucianism), that can be taken as a framework of reference to evaluate the pros and cons of the liberal democracy. This is a big issue, this paper is only to introduce some suggestions from one case, i.e., the comments of some late Qing's scholars on the liberal democracy. Behind the discussion, there exists an implication that liberal democracy can be evaluated not only by its own way, but by other evaluative frameworks, e.g. the Confucian political thoughts.

並列關鍵字

liberal democracy ； Chinese thinking mode of politics and governing ； selection and election

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