What did democracy really mean in Athens? - Melissa Schwartzberg

在雅典城邦裡民主到底代表著什麼？－ 梅莉莎．史瓦茲博格

譯者: Harry Chen 審譯者: Geoff Chen

Hey, congratulations!

恭喜呀！

You've just won the lottery,

你抽中大奬了

only the prize isn't cash or a luxury cruise.

不過獎項並非是現金或豪華郵輪之旅

It's a position in your country's national legislature.

大獎是國家立法機構的一個席次

And you aren't the only lucky winner.

而且你不是唯一的幸運得主

All of your fellow lawmakers were chosen in the same way.

你全部的立法同儕都是用 同樣的方式選出來的

This might strike you as a strange way to run a government,

這可能讓你感覺像是一種奇特的 方式來競選閣員

let alone a democracy.

撇開民主國家不說

Elections are the epitome of democracy, right?

選舉就是最佳範例的民主沒錯吧！

Well, the ancient Athenians who coined the word had another view.

古時候發明「民主」 這個字的雅典人有另一種看法

In fact, elections only played a small role in Athenian democracy,

事實上在雅典的民主裡選舉的角色不大

with most offices filled by random lottery from a pool of citizen volunteers.

大部分的官職是從有意願之市民 組成的票池隨機抽選來補足

Unlike the representative democracies common today,

不像今天常見的代議式民主體制

where voters elect leaders to make laws and decisions on their behalf,

選民選出領導人代替他們 制定法律和作決策

5th Century BC Athens was a direct democracy

公元前五世紀的雅典是直接民主

that encouraged wide participation

透過 「boulomenos 準則」 也就是開放議會席次給任何想要的人

through the principle of ho boulomenos, or anyone who wishes.

來鼓勵大家廣泛參與政治

This meant that any of its approximately 30,000 eligible citizens

這表示希臘接近 30,000 名合格的市民

could attend the ecclesia,

任誰都可以可以進入「ecclesia」 也就是教會或今日議會

a general assembly meeting several times a month.

一個月裡全體聚集開會好幾次

In principle, any of the 6,000 or so who showed up at each session

原則上在每個會期時與會 將近 6,000 人的任何一位

had the right to address their fellow citizens,

都有權利向市民做演說、提案公投、 還是為大眾開庭審判

propose a law,

or bring a public lawsuit.

Of course, a crowd of 6,000 people trying to speak at the same time

當然了 6,000 人的群體 想要在同一時刻發言

would not have made for effective government.

將無法成為一個有效的政府

So the Athenian system also relied on a 500 member governing council

因此雅典之制度也倚靠一個稱為 「 Boule」 的五百人行政議會

called the Boule,

to set the agenda and evaluate proposals,

來設立議題、評估提案

in addition to hundreds of jurors and magistrates to handle legal matters.

再加上數百位陪審員、 地方法官處理涉法事項

Rather than being elected or appointed,

這些職位的人是從抽獎箱中所抽中的

the people in these positions were chosen by lot.

而不是被大家票選出來或者受指派的

This process of randomized selection is know as sortition.

這個隨機式選取過程就是熟知的抽籤

The only positions filled by elections

唯一利用選舉來安插的

were those recognized as requiring expertise,

是那些被認定需要專才的職位

such as generals.

好比說將軍

But these were considered aristocratic, meaning rule by the best,

不過這些人被當成是貴族 代表著精英治理

as opposed to democracies, rule by the many.

違背民主制度的多數人治理

How did this system come to be?

民主體制是如何成立的呢？

Well, democracy arose in Athens after long periods of social and political tension

經過貴族之間長期的對立

marked by conflict among nobles.

突顯出的社會以及政治壓力 民主制度就在希臘浮現了

Powers once restricted to elites,

權力一度只限於精英才有

such as speaking in the assembly and having their votes counted,

像是在聚會時發言和投票時能算數

were expanded to ordinary citizens.

之後被放寬給一般市民享有

And the ability of ordinary citizens to perform these tasks

一般市民的能力來處理這些任務

adequately became a central feature of the democratice ideology of Athens.

恰恰成為雅典民主理想的特色

Rather than a privilege,

公眾參與是所有市民的責任而不是特權

civic participation was the duty of all citizens,

with sortition and strict term limits preventing governing classes

憑藉抽籤和嚴格的限制條款

避免執政階級或是政治黨派形成

or political parties from forming.

By 21st century standards,

依照二十一世紀的標準來講

Athenian rule by the many excluded an awful lot of people.

雅典是由排除極多的一群人 以外的「多數人」在治理

Women, slaves and foreigners were denied full citizenship,

女人、奴隸、外國人 被剝奪了實在的公民權

and when we filter out those too young to serve,

而且當我們剔除掉太年輕無法任職者

the pool of eligible Athenians drops to only 10-20% of the overall population.

這個合格的雅典人票池降至 只有全國人口的 10－20％

Some ancient philosophers, including Plato,

包含柏拉圖在內的部分古代哲學家

disparaged this form of democracy as being anarchic and run by fools.

恥笑這種民主如同肆無忌憚 以及由愚眾所運行

But today the word has such positive associations,

但是今天這個字有如此正面的聯想

that vastly different regimes claim to embody it.

相去甚遠的政權也都放話要採納它

At the same time, some share Plato's skepticism about the wisdom of crowds.

際此同時少部份人對柏拉圖有關 群眾智慧的批評有相同的感受

Many modern democracies reconcile this conflict

很多現代民主體制平息這種分歧

by having citizens elect those they consider qualified

透過賦予市民票選出他們認為 有資格代表他們立法的人

to legislate on their behalf.

But this poses its own problems,

但是這帶來它本身的問題

including the influence of wealth,

包括了財富的影響力

and the emergence of professional politicians

以及與其選民之利益不同的 專職政客的產生

with different interests than their constituents.

Could reviving election by lottery lead to more effective government

找回抽獎選舉就可以造成 更有效率的政府嗎？

through a more diverse and representative group of legislatures?

藉由產生更多元、有代表性的立法團體

Or does modern political office, like Athenian military command,

還是現代的公務官員 就如同雅典之軍事指揮官般

require specialized knowledge and skills?

也需要專業知識和技能呢?

You probably shouldn't hold your breath

你也許不應該痴等著

to win a spot in your country's government.

在國家政府裡贏得席次

But depending on where you live,

不過取決於你住的地方

you may still be selected to participate in a jury,

你仍然可能被選出參與審判、市民大會 或者是「審慎思辯民調」

a citizens' assembly,

or a deliberative poll,

all examples of how the democratic principle behind sortition

所有這些民主規則如何寄附於抽籤的例子

still survives today.

今天依舊尚未被廢止