3 ways to upgrade democracy for the 21st century | Max Rashbrooke

Transcriber:

譯者: 至磊Zi Le 黃Ng 審譯者: Helen Chang

（毛利語）各位好。

我今天想和你們討論民主，

討論它正面臨的挑戰，

還有這房間裡的我們 全都可能是其解方。

(Māori) Kia ora koutou, everyone.

I want to you today about democracy,

但在我們進到主題之前，

我想先繞點彎路，討論過去的事。

about the struggles that it's experiencing,

這是一張雅典的照片，

and the fact that all of us together in this room

更精確地說，這是普尼克斯的照片，

might be the solution.

But before I get onto that,

大約兩千五百年前

I want to take a little detour into the past.

古希臘人、古雅典人聚集於此，

This is a picture from Athens,

共同做出重大的政治決定。

or more specifically, it's a picture of a place called the Pnyx,

我說古雅典人，

但實際上只包括男人。

which is where, about two and a half thousand years ago,

其實只有自由、定居、 擁有財產的男人。

the ancient Greeks, the ancient Athenians,

gathered to take all their major political decisions together.

但儘管有這些缺點，

這仍是個革命性的想法：

I say the ancient Athenians.

平民可以解決當時最重要的議題，

In fact, it was only the men.

Actually, it was only the free, resident, property-owning men.

不必依賴一位高高在上的統治者。

But with all those failings,

你知道，這是一種做事情的方法，

it was still a revolutionary idea:

that ordinary people were capable of dealing

這是一種政治體系，

with the biggest issues of the time

你可以說這是一種適合 那個時代的民主制度。

and didn't need to rely on a single supposedly superior ruler.

時間快轉到十九世紀，

It was, you know, it was a way of doing things,

民主來到另一個蓬勃發展的時機，

it was a political system.

當時他們所使用的 民主制度是代議民主。

It was, you could say, a democratic technology appropriate to the time.

Fast-forward to the 19th century

你必須選出一夥人——

when democracy was having another flourishing moment

男人，在這張照片裡都是男人， 在那個時代是理所當然——

and the democratic technology that they were using then

was representative democracy.

你必須選出他們守護你的最佳利益。

The idea that you have to elect a bunch of people --

如果你考慮到當時的情況，

gentlemen, in the picture here, all gentlemen, at the time, of course --

不可能實體地聚集所有人，

當然也沒有虛擬地 聚集所有人的方法，

you had to elect them to look after your best interests.

這又是一種適合 那個時代的民主制度。

And if you think about the conditions of the time,

the fact that it was impossible to gather everybody together physically,

再度快轉到二十一世紀。

and of course they didn’t have the means to gather everyone together virtually,

全世界都知道我們生活於 民主的災難之中。

it was again a kind of democratic technology

我稱之為代議民主的災難，

appropriate to the time.

人們開始不愛用這個制度

Fast-forward again to the 21st century.

把事情給完成，

認為這根本不可行。

And we're living through what's internationally known

as the crisis of democracy.

我們看到這個災難 在各國有不同的形式。

What I would call the crisis of representative democracy,

在英國，

the sense that people are falling out of love with this

你看到一個國家有時幾乎無法治理。

as a way of getting things done,

that it's not fundamentally working.

在匈牙利和土耳其這些地方，

And we see this crisis take many forms in many different countries.

可怕的是專制的領導者被選了出來。

So in the UK,

在紐西蘭，

you see a country that now at times looks almost ungovernable.

我們看到將近一百萬人

可以在最近一次大選投票，

In places like Hungary and Turkey,

但他們決定不投。

you see very frighteningly authoritarian leaders being elected.

這些各種困難、

In places like New Zealand,

各種形式的民主災難 當然有很多根源，

we see it in the nearly one million people

但對我而言其中最重大的

who could have voted at the last general election,

是我們沒有升級民主制度。

but who chose not to.

我們目前仍太依賴繼承自 十九和二十世紀的制度。

Now these kinds of struggles,

these sort of crises of democracy have many roots, of course,

but for me, one of the biggest ones

我們知道這點， 因為在一次次調查中，

is that we haven't upgraded our democratic technology.

眾人告訴我們：

「我們不覺得我們有公平的決策權，

We're still far too reliant on the systems

that we inherited from the 19th and from the 20th century.

決定發生在其他地方。」

And we know this because in survey after survey

他們說：「我們不覺得 現在的體系和我們的政府

people tell us, they say,

真的有實現共同利益，

“We don’t think that we’re getting a fair share of decision-making power,

也就是我們身為公民 應享有的利益。」

他們說：「我們比以前 更不畢恭畢敬，

decisions happen somewhere else."

They say, “We don’t think the current systems

我們比以前要求得更多，

and our government

我們比以前更想要

genuinely deliver on the common good,

參與影響我們的重大政治決策。」

the interests that we share as citizens."

They say, “We’re much less deferential than ever before,

他們知道我們的民主體系跟不上

and we expect more than ever before,

and we want more than ever before

二十一世紀的期望和潛能。

to be engaged in the big political decisions that affect us.”

對我而言，這代表我們需要 對民主體系進行顯著的升級。

And they know

that our systems of democracy have just not kept pace

with either the expectations

or the potential of the 21st century.

這不代表我們要拋棄 現有體系中的一切，

And for me, what that suggests

因為我們永遠需要民意代表

is that we need a really significant upgrade of our systems of democracy.

執行現代世界某些複雜的工作。

但這確實代表要跟雅典更像一點，

That doesn't mean we throw out everything that's working about the current system,

少一點維多利亞時代的英國。

because we will always need representatives

這也表示一大步轉移，

to carry out some of the complex work of running the modern world.

轉往所謂的日常民主。

But it does mean a bit more Athens

其之所以得名，

是因為這是要找到方法， 讓人民離民主更近，

and a bit less Victorian England.

And it also means a big shift towards what's generally called

給我們更多有意義的機會參與其中，

讓我們感覺到我們不只在 數年一次的投票日是政府的一部分，

everyday democracy.

And it gets this name

because it's about finding ways of bringing democracy closer to people,

其他的每一天也都是。

giving us more meaningful opportunities to be involved in it,

日常民主有兩項關鍵的特質，

giving us a sense that we're not just part of government

根據我做過的研究， 我看見它們屢次證明其價值，

on one day, every few years when we vote,

but we're part of it every other day of the year.

第一點是參與，

因為唯有身為公民的我們

Now that everyday democracy has two key qualities

盡可能地參與會影響我們的決策，

that I've seen prove their worth time and again,

in the research that I've done.

才能夠得到我們需要的政治生態，

The first is participation

because it's only if we as citizens,

才能夠實現我們的共同利益。

as much as possible,

第二個重要的特質是商議。

get involved in the decisions that affect us,

這是高品質公共討論的花俏說法，

that we'll actually get the kind of politics that we need,

因為人們參與固然好，

that we'll actually get our common good served.

但唯有我們聚在一起並互相傾聽，

The second important quality is deliberation.

舉出佐證，仔細地思考自己的意見，

And that's just a fancy way of saying high-quality public discussion,

because its all very well people participating,

我們才能確實地 將智慧和想法搬上檯面，

but it's only when we come together and we listen to each other,

而非分散和孤立地處在 我們這個群體之中。

we engage with the evidence, and reflect on our own views,

只有在這個時候群體 才會真正比個人聰明。

that we genuinely bring to the surface the wisdom and the ideas

如果我們問說這個抽象的點子，

that would otherwise remain scattered and isolated

亦即日常民主實行起來會是如何，

amongst us as a group.

好消息是我們不需要憑空想像，

It's only then that the crowd really becomes smarter than the individual.

因為這些事情已經發生於世界各地。

So if we ask what could this abstract idea,

this everyday democracy actually look like in practice,

我最喜歡的名言之一來自 科幻小說作家威廉‧吉布森，

the great thing is we don't even have to use our imaginations

他曾說：「未來已經來了， 只是尚未均質地傳播至各處。」

because these things are already happening in pockets around the world.

我對這尚未均質傳播的未來很興奮，

One of my favorite quotes comes from the science fiction writer,

所以我要和你們分享 與其相關的三件事情，

William Gibson, who once said,

"The future's already here,

it's just unevenly spread."

談論我們研究的民主升級。

So what I want to do is share with you three things

潛在的民主升級的三個要素。

from this unevenly spread future that I'm really excited about

第一個是公民議會。

in terms of upgrading the system of democracy that we work with.

這個點子是政府 和民調公司簽訂契約，

Three components of that potential democratic upgrade.

選出例如一百位公民，

And the first of them is the citizens assembly.

使其完美地代表整個國家。

And the idea here is that a polling company is contracted by government

完美地代表各年齡、 姓別、種族、收入階級等。

to draw up, say, a hundred citizens

將這些人聚在一起 幾個週末或一個星期，

who are perfectly representative of the country as a whole.

支付他們酬勞，

So perfectly representative in terms of age, gender,

請他們討論一個對公眾 至關重要的議題。

ethnicity, income level and so on.

他們被訓練

And these people are brought together over a period of weekends or a week,

如何好好地彼此討論議題，

從在網路上爭執的經驗， 我們當然都知道

paid for their time

and asked to discuss an issue of crucial public importance.

若無處練習，

這不是我們與生俱來的能力，

They're given training

很令人沮喪。

on how to discuss issues well with each other,

在公民議會中，

which we'll all know of course, from our experiences of arguing online,

人們要提出證據或專家的說法，

他們會有時間與同胞 深入探討該議題，

if nowhere else,

is not an ability that we're all born with innately,

more’s the pity.

達成一致的意見。

In the citizens assembly,

people are also put in front of evidence and the experts,

這種議會已經在加拿大獲得使用，

and they're given time to discuss the issue deeply

用來為整個國家草擬一份新的 心理健康的全國行動計畫。

with their fellow citizens

and come to a state of consensus recommendations.

最近公民議會也被使用於墨爾本，

So these kinds of assemblies have been used in places like Canada,

為全市新的十年財政計畫奠定基礎。

where they were used to draw up

a new national action plan on mental health

for the whole country.

所以這些議會可以 真的有實權和份量。

A citizens assembly was used recently in Melbourne

第二個民主升級的關鍵元素：

to basically lay the foundation

of a new 10-year financial plan for the whole city.

參與式預算。

這個點子是地方議會或市議會

So these assemblies can have real teeth, real weight.

拿出用在新建築和新服務的預算，

The second key element of the democratic upgrade:

並說：

participatory budgeting.

我們會把這一堆資金交由公眾決定，

The idea here is that a local council or a city council

但你們必須先彼此 謹慎地討論此議題。

takes its budget for spending on new buildings, new services,

這個過程從街坊鄰居的層級開始。

and says,

we're going to put a chunk of this up for the public to decide,

請人在社區大樓、籃球場一起開會，

but only after you've argued the issues over carefully with each other.

達成妥協，

說：「我們要把錢花在新的健康中心

And so the process starts at the neighborhood level.

還是用來改善本地道路的安全性？」

You have people meeting together in community halls, in basketball courts,

人們發揮各自在生活中的專長。

making the trade-offs,

這些討論接著會提升到 市郊或市區的層級，

saying, "Well, are we going to spend that money on a new health center,

or are we going to spend it on safety improvements to a local road?"

然後再到市的層級，

最後經過整個公眾的檢視，

People using their expertise in their own lives.

社會大眾自己決定預算的最終分配。

Those discussions are then pushed up to the suburb or ward level,

在參與式預算的發源地，

巴西的阿雷格里港，

and then again, to the city level

其擁有大約一百萬名居民，

and in full view of the public,

每年有五萬人可參與此過程。

the public themselves makes the final allocation of that budget.

And in the city where this all originated,

第三項升級的元素：

Porto Alegre in Brazil,

線上共識形成。

a place with about a million inhabitants,

as many as 50,000 people get engaged in that process every year.

幾年前在臺灣， 優步叫車服務剛進入市場，

The third element of the upgrade:

政府立即展開線上討論的過程，

online consensus forming.

利用一個叫 Polis 的軟體，

這也恰巧或不恰巧地是

In Taiwan a few years ago, when Uber arrived on their shores,

古雅典人做出集體決定時的自稱。

the government immediately launched an online discussion process

Polis 的運作方式是 將人們組合在一起，

using a piece of software called Polis,

which is also coincidentally, or not coincidentally,

接著利用機器學習 和很多其他的技術，

what the ancient Athenians call themselves

鼓勵參與者進行良好的討論。

when they were making their collective decisions.

它允許人們提出提案， 然後獲得討論，

And the way Polis works is it groups people together,

退回，修正，

and then using machine learning and a bunch of other techniques,

直到達成百分之八十的共識。

it encourages good discussion amongst those participating.

在當時的這個例子，於大約四週內，

It allows them to put up proposals, which are then discussed,

這個過程產生了六項提議，

knocked back, refined,

反映人們希望如何管制優步。

until they reach something like 80 percent consensus.

那些建議幾乎全部立即被政府採用，

And in the time, in this case, within about four weeks,

並獲得優步的接受。

this process had yielded six recommendations

for how people wanted to see Uber regulated.

我覺得這些案例非常鼓舞人心。

And those, almost all of them,

別人有時會問我為什麼這麼樂觀，

were immediately picked up by the government

而答案很大一部分是因為這些創新，

and accepted by Uber.

因為你知道，我認為它們確實展現出

Now I find these examples really inspiring.

政治可以積極回應公民需求，

People sometimes ask me why I'm an optimist

and a large part of the answer

is these kinds of innovations,

但避免侵害人類自由的危險，

because I think they,

you know, they're really show us that we can have a kind of politics

不威脅公民自由，

which is deeply responsive to our needs as citizens,

不會跟專制的民粹主義者一樣。

but which avoids the peril of the threats to human liberties,

它們呈現出即便我們 看似身處相當黑暗的時期，

有些事物卻如緊急照明一般，

the threats to civil liberties

that authoritarian populism descends into.

指引我們往更好邁進。

They show us that even though we live in what looks like quite a dark time,

雖然這些都是西方文化的想法，

但它們也可以和各地的 本土文化結合、調整，

there are things that act a bit like emergency lighting,

guiding us towards something better.

只要其也重視讓各方輪流發言 並在做決定時取得共識。

And although these are all ideas from the Western tradition,

能將各種文化繫在一起的絲線

they can also be combined with, adapted by Indigenous traditions

本質上正是對他人的信心。

that also value turn-taking in speech and consensus decision-making.

相信他人有能力處理困難的決定，

相信人類有能力聚在一起

And the thread that binds all these traditions together

並做出聰明的政治決策。

is essentially a faith in other people.

在 Polis 的案例中，

A faith in people's ability to handle difficult decisions,

我們看見政府面對科技的變化 可以保持敏捷靈活。

a faith in people's ability to come together

從參與式預算

and make political decisions intelligently.

我們看見我們可以建立 不成比例地為貧民所用的系統，

In the Polis example,

we see that government can be agile and nimble

建立比傳統方法的品質 更好的公共建設。

in the face of tech disruption.

在公民議會，

In the participatory budgeting,

常常參與的專家說 在這種良好的情況中，

we see that we can build systems

that are disproportionately used by poor people

and which deliver infrastructure

人們一直有驚人的能力 聆聽他人、提出證據、

that is better quality than the traditional systems.

In citizens assemblies,

改變根深柢固的想法。

the experts who observed them time and again,

say that in those good conditions people's ability to listen to others,

這個發現十分讓人充滿希望，

因為我認為在我們生活的這個時代，

to engage with the evidence,

and to shift from their entrenched views is consistently astounding.

你可以看到在全世界

對其他人和其他公民高度懷疑，

And that's a really, really hopeful finding,

高度質疑人們能否承擔

because, you know, I think we live at a time

民主賦與的做決策的重擔。

where you see right around the world,

huge suspicion of other people, of other citizens,

但如果你擔心例如會不會有很多人

huge doubts about whether people are really able to bear the burden

被線上宣傳誤導或欺騙，

of decision-making that democracy places on them.

阻止這件事情比較好的方式

But if you're worried, for instance,

about whether a lot of people out there,

是確保他們能參與公共論壇，

you know, are misinformed or fallen prey to online propaganda,

像新英格蘭鎮民會議的那種論壇。

這種論壇能讓人與人面對面，

what better way to push back against that

或至少有接近的虛擬接觸，

than by ensuring that they're placed in forums.

在這裡他們必須為自己的意見辯證，

Forums like the New England town hall meetings shown here.

需要處理證據，

受到鼓勵去擺脫他們的成見。

Forums where they have to come face-to-face with other people,

or at least be in close virtual contact,

加拿大哲學家約瑟‧希斯說理性，

where they have to justify their opinions,

have to deal with the evidence,

亦即我們做出好決定的能力，

and are encouraged to step away from their prejudices.

不是可以靠個人達成的，

因為我們是一起決定。

理性是要在群體中實現的事物。

The Canadian philosopher Joseph Heath

理性最大的希望就是你我彼此。

says that rationality,

our ability to make good decisions,

用另一個方式看，

isn't something that we achieve as individuals,

if we achieve it at all.

民主的問題不是他人，

It's something we achieve in groups.

不是其他公民。

Our best hope of rationality is each other.

問題是他們——就是我們——

Or to put the thing a different way,

被要求進行民主事務的情境。

the problem with democracy is not other people,

問題是過時的民主技術，

it's not other citizens.

我們全都被迫予以採用。

The problem is the situations in which they -- in which we all --

所以這些案例展現給我的、

令我受到鼓舞的原因

have been asked to do our democratic work.

是我認為他們顯示出 如果你讓情境正確，

The problem is the outdated democratic technology

that we've all been forced to use.

如果你讓民主升級，

那麼事實上我們以公民的身分 聚在一起時所做的事情

And so what these examples show to me,

the reason I find them inspiring,

可以很驚人，

is that I think they demonstrate that if you get the situations right,

而且聚在一起，我們可以 建立一種民主的形式，

真正適合二十一世紀。

if you get the technology upgraded,

then actually the things that we do when we come together as citizens

非常謝謝你們。

（掌聲）

can be astounding,

and together, we really can build a form of democracy

that's genuinely fit for the 21st century.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)