（一）制度痼疾积重难返
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/12672.html
1. The system fraught with deep-seated problems文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/12672.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/12672.html
美国一贯以“山巅之城”、“民主灯塔”自称，标榜其自诞生之初就设计了一套为保障民主自由而生的政治体制。然而，民主这一理念同今天的美国已经貌合神离。从金钱政治到精英统治，从政治极化到制度失灵，美式民主已身染沉疴。文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/12672.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/12672.html
The US calls itself “city upon a hill” and a “beacon of democracy”; and it claims that its political system was designed to defend democracy and freedom at the time of its founding. Yet, the vision of democracy has lost its shine in the US today. The self-styled American democracy is now gravely ill with money politics, elite rule, political polarization and a dysfunctional system.文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/12672.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/12672.html
1．美式民主沦为“金钱政治”文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/12672.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/12672.html
(1) American-style democracy has become “a game of money politics”文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/12672.html
美式民主是建立在资本基础上的“富人游戏”，与人民民主有着本质区别。
The American-style democracy is a rich men’s game based on capital, and is fundamentally different from democracy of the people.
100多年前，美国俄亥俄州共和党联邦参议员马克·汉纳这样形容美国政治：“在政界，有两样东西很重要，第一是金钱，第二个我就不记得了。”100多年后再看，金钱依旧是美国政治的“硬通货”，而且作用更无可替代。以2020年美国总统和国会选举为例，此次选举总支出高达140亿美元，是2016年的2倍和2008年的3倍，被称为“史上最烧钱的大选”。其中，总统选举花费再创历史纪录，达到66亿美元；国会选举花销超过70亿美元。
Over a hundred years ago, Republican Senator from Ohio Mark Hanna said of American politics: “There are two things that are important in politics. The first is money, and I can’t remember the second.” More than one hundred years have passed, and money has not only remained “the currency” in US politics, but also become even more indispensable. For example, the 2020 presidential election and Congressional elections cost some US$14 billion, two times that of 2016 and three times that of 2008; indeed, they are known as the most expensive elections in American history. The cost of the presidential election reached another record high of US$6.6 billion, and the Congressional elections cost over US$7 billion.
美国民众不得不面对的事实是，金钱政治贯穿美国选举、立法、施政的所有环节，实际上限制了民众的参政权利，经济地位的不平等已经转变为政治地位的不平等，只有口袋里有足够多资本的人才能享受宪法规定的民主权利。金钱政治越来越成为美国社会难以根除的一颗“毒瘤”，成为美国民主的莫大讽刺。
The fact that the American people have to face is that money politics has penetrated the entire process of election, legislation and administration. People in fact only have a restricted right to political participation. The inequality in economic status has been turned into inequality in political status. Only people with enough capital can enjoy their democratic rights provided by the Constitution. Money politics have increasingly become an “irremovable tumor” in American society and a mockery of democracy in the US.
一位美国联邦参议员一针见血地指出：“有些人认为美国国会控制着华尔街，然而真相是华尔街控制着美国国会”。据统计，91%的美国国会选举都是由获得最多资金支持的候选人赢得，而大企业、少数富人以及利益集团出手更加阔绰，成为选举资金的主要来源。这些所谓“民意代表”成功当选后，往往为其背后的金主服务，化身既得利益的代言人，而不是为普通民众发声。
A US Senator had a sharp observation, “Congress does not regulate Wall Street. Wall Street regulates Congress.” According to statistics, winners of 91% of US Congressional elections are the candidates with greater financial support. Big companies, a small group of rich people, and interest groups are generous with their support and have become the main source of electoral funding. And those so-called representatives of the people, once elected, often serve the interests of their financial backers. They speak for vested interests rather than the ordinary people.
2020年3月，加州大学伯克利分校公共政策教授、美国前劳工部长罗伯特·莱克出版《系统：谁操纵它，我们如何修复它》一书。该书认为，过去40多年，美国的政治系统被极少一部分人操控。政治献金几乎被视为“合法的贿赂”，让富人拥有了更强大的政治影响力。2018年中期选举中，巨额政治献金占到了竞选资金的40%以上，这些巨额资金主要来自占美国总人口0.01%的富豪。金钱政治和游说团体正在扭曲美国普通民众发声的渠道，绝大多数人表达真实意愿的声音都被少数利益集团盖过了。这些寡头又用手中的权力来充实自己的财富，而普通民众的利益则被抛诸脑后。
In March 2020, Robert Reich, Professor of Public Policy at University of California, Berkeley and former Secretary of Labor, published a book entitled The System, Who Rigged It, How We Fix It. According to him, the American political system has been hijacked by a tiny minority over the past four decades. Political donations are almost seen as “legitimate bribery”. They enable the rich to have more political clout. During the 2018 midterm elections, the huge political donations, mostly coming from the top 0.01% ultra-rich of the American population, accounted for over 40% of campaign finance. Money politics and lobby groups are restricting channels for ordinary Americans to speak out, whose voices expressing genuine concerns are overshadowed by a handful of interest groups. The oligarchs would enrich themselves with the power they have got while totally ignoring the interests of ordinary Americans.
2020年9月23日，哈佛大学法学院教授马修·史蒂芬森在接受“今日哈佛法律”采访时表示，美国在廉政方面绝不是世界领袖，游说、政治献金等做法在其他国家被认为是腐败，但在美国不仅被允许，还受宪法法律保护。
On 23 September 2020, in an interview with Harvard Law Today, Harvard Law School Professor Matthew Stephenson said that the US is by no means the world leader in clean government, and certain practices related to lobbying and campaign finance that other countries would consider corrupt are not only permitted but constitutionally protected in the US.
2．名为“一人一票”，实为“少数精英统治”
(2) “One person one vote” in name, “rule of the minority elite” in reality
美国是一个典型的由精英阶层主导的国家，“多元政治”只是一种表面现象，精英们把持政治、经济、军事等方面的统治地位，操控国家机器，制定规章制度，把握舆论风向，主导商业公司，行使各种特权，等等。特别是自19世纪60年代以来，民主、共和两党轮流“坐庄”分享国家权力，多党制名存实亡。普通选民把选票投给第三党或独立候选人等于浪费投票机会，只能在两党推出的候选人之间做出非此即彼的选择。
The US is a typical country dominated by an elite class. Political pluralism is only a facade. A small number of elites dominate the political, economic and military affairs. They control the state apparatus and policy-making process, manipulate public opinion, dominate the business community and enjoy all kinds of privileges. Since the 1960s in particular, the Democrats and Republicans have taken turns to exercise power, making the “multiparty system” dead in all but name. For ordinary voters, casting their votes to a third party or an independent candidate is nothing more than wasting the ballot. In effect, they can only choose either the Democratic candidate or the Republican one.
在“驴象之争”背景下，两党始终将大众政治参与限定在狭小范围。对于普通选民而言，选举时召之即来，选举后挥之即去，大多数人都只是选举游戏的“群众演员”，“民治”在美国政治实践中很难有所体现。
In the context of Democratic-Republican rivalry, the general public’s participation in politics is restricted to a very narrow scope. For ordinary voters, they are only called upon to vote and are forgotten once they have cast their ballots. Most people are just “walk-ons” in the theater of election. This makes “government by the people” hardly possible in US political practice.
美国麻省理工学院政治评论家与社会活动家诺姆·乔姆斯基指出，美国是“真实存在的资本主义民主”，美国人对政策制定的影响力与他们的财富水平之间呈正相关性，约70%的美国人对政策制定没有任何影响，他们在收入水平、财富等方面处于劣势，相当于被剥夺了参政权利。
Noam Chomsky, a political commentator and social activist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, points out that the US is a “really existing capitalist democracy”, where there is a positive correlation between people’s wealth and their influence on policy-making. For the lower 70% on the wealth/income scale, they have no influence on policy whatsoever. They are effectively disenfranchised.
美国马萨诸塞州大学教授贾拉拉贾在《大西洋月刊》发表文章表示，美国目前的民主只是形式上的民主，而不是实质民主。总统选举的全国范围初选完全受富人、名人、媒体和利益集团的操纵，民众投票支持的总统参选人往往不真正代表民意。
Ray La Raja, Professor at the University of Massachusetts, notes in an article for The Atlantic that America’s current system is democratic only in form, not in substance. The nominating process is vulnerable to manipulation by plutocrats, celebrities, media figures and activists. Many presidential primary voters mistakenly back candidates who do not reflect their views.
3．权力制衡变成“否决政治”
(3) The checks and balances have resulted in a “vetocracy”
美国政治学家弗朗西斯·福山在其专著《政治秩序与政治衰退》中指出，美国存在根深蒂固的政治瘫痪现象，美国的政治体制中有太多的制衡，以致集体行动的成本大大增加，有时甚至寸步难行。这是一种可被称为“否决制”的体制。20世纪80年代以来，美国的“否决制”变成了通往政治僵局的“灵丹妙药”。
American political scientist Francis Fukuyama points out in his book Political Order and Political Decay that there is an entrenched political paralysis in the US. The US political system has far too many checks and balances, raising the cost of collective action and in some cases making it impossible altogether. Fukuyama calls the system a “vetocracy”. Since the 1980s, the “vetocracy” of the US has become a formula for gridlock.
美国民主程序分散、冗长，存在大量否决点，个别否决行为即可影响体系行动，所谓“相互制衡蕴涵纠偏能力”的预设在实际操作中日益走样。美国政治极化加剧，两党诉求大相径庭，共识不断压缩，甚至出现“最自由的共和党人也比最保守的民主党人大大右倾”的极端状况，对立制约已成家常便饭，“否决政治”成为政治生态，“我办不成事也不能让你办成”蔚然成风。
The US democratic process is fragmented and lengthy, with a lot of veto points where individual veto players can block action by the whole body. The function of “checks and balances”, which was purportedly designed to prevent abuse of power, has been distorted in American political practice. Political polarization continues to grow as the two parties drift further apart in political agenda and their areas of consensus have reduced significantly. An extreme case is the fact that “the most liberal Republican now remains significantly to the right of the most conservative Democrat”. Antagonism and mutual inhibition have become commonplace, “vetocracy” has defined American political culture, and a vindictive “if I can’t, you can’t either” mentality has grown prevalent.
华盛顿的政客关注的是保住党派利益，国家发展的宏图伟略早已抛诸脑后。否决对手会加强自身阵营身份认同，身份认同的加强又迅速巩固自身阵营支持力量，美国两党痴迷于“否决”，陷入难以自拔的恶性循环，其结果必然是政府效能被弱化、公正法治被践踏、发展进步被迟滞、社会分裂被放大。当今美国，“我是美国人”正渐次被“我是共和党人”“我是民主党人”所替代，“身份政治”“部落政治”向美社会各层面恶性传导加剧“否决政治”。
Politicians in Washington, D.C. are preoccupied with securing their own partisan interests and don’t care at all about national development. Vetoing makes one identify more strongly with their peers in the same camp, who may in turn give them greater and quicker support. Consequently, the two parties are caught in a vicious circle, addicted to vetoing. Worse still, the government efficacy is inevitably weakened, law and justice trampled upon, development and progress stalled, and social division widened. In the US today, people are increasingly identifying themselves as a Republican or a Democrat instead of as an American. The negative impacts of identity politics and tribal politics have also spilled over into other sectors of American society, further exacerbating “vetocracy”.
2021年10月美国智库皮尤研究中心对美国、德国、韩国等17个发达经济体所做调查结果显示，美国被视为政治极化最严重国家，90%的美国受访者认为不同党派的支持者之间存在严重分歧，近六成美国受访者认为民众不仅在政策领域意见相左，在基本事实方面也难以达成共识。
According to a Pew Research Center report in October 2021 based on a survey of 17 advanced economies (including the US, Germany and the Republic of Korea), the US is more politically divided than the other economies surveyed. Nine in ten US respondents believe there are conflicts between people who support different political parties, and nearly 60% of Americans surveyed think their fellow citizens no longer disagree simply over policies, but also over basic facts.
韩国庆熙大学政治学教授徐正健指出，美国政治两极化愈演愈烈，依靠选举推进改革的民主主义自净程序无法正常运行。美国国会参议院陷入“冗长辩论”议事程序陷阱，不能发挥立法应对社会变化的代议机构作用。
Jungkun Seo, Professor of Political Science at Kyung Hee University, observes that as political polarization intensifies in the US, the self-cleaning process of American democracy, which aims to drive reform through elections, will no longer be able to function properly. With the Senate trapped in a filibuster, the US Congress no longer serves as a representative body for addressing changes in American society through legislation.
4．选举规则缺陷损害公平正义
(4) The flawed electoral rules impair fairness and justice
美国总统选举遵循古老的选举人团制度，总统和副总统并非由选民直接选出，而是由选举人团投票决定。美国现有选举人票538张，赢得超过一半选举人票（270张）的候选人即当选总统。这种选举制度弊端十分明显：一是当选总统可能无法赢得多数普选票，代表性不足；二是具体选举规则由各州自行决定，易发生乱象；三是“赢者通吃”制度加剧各州地位不平等、各党地位不平等，造成巨大选票浪费并抑制投票率，深蓝州、深红州选民往往遭忽视，摇摆州获得相对非对称重要性，成为两党竞相拉拢的对象。
The US presidential election follows the time-honored Electoral College system, where the president and vice president are not elected directly by popular vote, but by the Electoral College consisting of 538 electors. The candidate who achieves a majority of 270 or more electoral votes wins the election.
The flaws of such an electoral system are self-evident. First, as the president-elect may not be the winner of the national popular vote, there is a lack of broader representation. Second, as each state gets to decide its own electoral rules, this may create confusion and disorder. Third, the winner-takes-all system exacerbates inequality among states and between political parties. It leads to a huge waste of votes and discourages voter turnout. Voters in “deep blue” and “deep red” states are often neglected, while swing states become disproportionately more important where both parties seek to woo more supporters.
美国历史上出现过5次赢得了全国普选票却输掉总统选举的情况。最近的一次是，2016年大选共和党总统候选人唐纳德·特朗普获得6298万多张普选票，得票率45.9%。民主党总统候选人希拉里·克林顿获得6585万多张普选票，得票率48%。特朗普虽然输掉普选票，但赢得304张选举人票，希拉里仅获得227张选举人票，特朗普以选举人票数优势当选总统。
There have been five presidential elections in US history in which the winners of nationwide popular vote were not elected the president. The most recent case was the 2016 presidential election in which Republican candidate Donald Trump won 62.98 million popular votes or 45.9% of the total, while Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won 65.85 million or 48% of popular votes. Although Trump lost the popular vote, he won 304 electoral votes while Clinton secured only 227, which gave Trump his presidency.
美国民众公认的选举制度另一大弊病是“杰利蝾螈”。1812年，马萨诸塞州州长杰利为谋求本党利益，签署法案将州内一个选区划成类似蝾螈的极不规则形状。这种做法后被称为“杰利蝾螈”，即指通过不公平的选区划分，帮助本党赢得尽可能多的议席，巩固优势地位。美国每10年进行一次人口普查，然后按“各选区人口大致相等”原则并结合人口变化情况重新划分选区。美国宪法将划分选区的权力赋予各州立法机构，为州议会多数党“杰利蝾螈”提供操作空间。“杰利蝾螈”主要靠两种操作，一是“集中”，即尽可能将反对党选民集中划入少数特定选区，牺牲这些选区以换取其他选区绝对安全；二是“打散”，即将反对党选民相对集中的地区拆分划入周边不同选区，从而稀释反对党选票。
Another flaw of the electoral system widely acknowledged by the US public is gerrymandering. In 1812, Governor of Massachusetts Elbridge Gerry signed a bill in the interest of his own party, creating in his state an odd-shaped electoral district that was compared to a salamander. Such practice was later called gerrymandering, which refers to an unfair division of electoral districts in favor of a particular party to win as many seats as possible and cement its advantage.
The US conducts a census every ten years. Following the completion of the census, redistricting or the redrawing of electoral district boundaries will take place under the principle of maintaining roughly equal population in every voting district while considering demographic shifts. Under the US Constitution, each state legislature has the power to redistrict. This leaves room for the majority party in state legislatures to manipulate the redrawing of electoral districts. Two principal tactics are often used in gerrymandering. One is “packing”, i.e. concentrating the opposition party’s voters in a few districts, thus giving up these districts to secure the others. The other is “cracking”, i.e. splitting up areas where the opposition party’s supporters are concentrated and incorporating them into neighboring districts, thus diluting votes for the opposition party.
民主党主政的俄勒冈州于2021年9月27日在全美率先完成选区重新划分，民主党牢牢控制的选区由原来的2个增至4个，“摇摆选区”由2个减至1个，这意味着该党可凭借57%的实际选民占比，控制该州83%的国会选区。反之，共和党控制的得克萨斯州于今年10月25日确定新的选区划分，牢牢控制的选区由原来的22个增至24个，“摇摆选区”由原来的6个减为1个，共和党可凭借52.1%的实际选民占比，占据该州65%的国会众议院席位。
On 27 September 2021, the Democratic-governed state of Oregon became the first in the country to complete redistricting. Electoral districts firmly in the hands of the Democratic Party have increased from two to four, and swing districts reduced from two to one. This means that the Democratic Party can control 83% of the state’s congressional districts with 57% of voters. On the contrary, the Republican-controlled state of Texas, with new electoral district boundaries determined on 25 October 2021, has seen districts held by Republicans grow from 22 to 24 and swing districts shrink from six to one. The Republican Party now occupies 65% of state House seats with just 52.1% of voters.
2021年8月YouGov舆观调查网民调显示，仅16%选民认为本州能够公平划分选区，44%认为不能，其余40%表示不确定。随着美政治极化加剧，两党均竭力谋求自身利益最大化，“杰利蝾螈”成为不二选择。
According to a YouGov poll in August 2021, just 16% of US adult citizens say they think their states’ congressional maps would be drawn fairly, while 44% say they think the maps would be drawn unfairly and another 40% of adults say they are unsure if the maps will be fair. As US politics grows more polarized, both the Republican and Democratic parties are seeking to maximize their own interests, and gerrymandering becomes the best approach.
民主党的“超级代表”制度也阻碍选举公平。“超级代表”由民主党主要领袖、全国委员会成员、参议院和众议院所有民主党议员、民主党现任州长组成，提前“内定”产生，其投票意向完全根据个人喜好和党内高层意志，无法反映民意。《国会山报》政治专家马克·普洛特金撰文表示，美国总统选举民主党党内初选中的“超级代表”制度既不公正也非民主。这样的“精英做法”应该立即被废除。
The superdelegate system of the Democratic Party is also an impediment to fair election. The superdelegates include major Democratic leaders, members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic members of Congress, and incumbent Democratic governors, and are seated automatically. The superdelegates may support any candidate they choose or follow the will of the Party leadership without giving any consideration to the wishes of the general public.
The late political analyst Mark Plotkin wrote on The Hill that the “Democrats’ superdelegate system is unfair and undemocratic”, and “the process of eliminating this elitist exercise should immediately begin”.
5．民主制度失灵引发信任危机
(5) Dysfunctional democracy triggers trust crisis
美式民主如同好莱坞刻意布置的场景，展现的都是精心打造的人设，台前大喊人民、背后大搞交易，党同伐异、金钱政治、否决政治根本不能带来民众所希望的高质量治理。美国民众对美国政治愈发反感，对美式民主愈发消极。
The American-style democracy is more like a meticulously set up scene in Hollywood movies where a bunch of well-heeled characters publicly pledge commitment to the people, but actually busy themselves with behind-the-scene deals. Political infighting, money politics, and vetocracy make it virtually impossible for quality governance to be delivered as desired by the general public. Americans are increasingly disillusioned with US politics and pessimistic about the American-style democracy.
2020年10月，美国盖洛普民调公司调查显示，对总统选举非常有信心的美国受访者比例仅有19%，创下自2004年以来该调查的最低纪录。11月，《华尔街日报》网站指出，在2020年大选中，人们对美国民主制度的信心下降到20年来最低点。
A Gallup survey in October 2020 shows that only 19% of the Americans surveyed are “very confident” about the presidential election, a record low since the survey was first conducted in 2004.
In November 2020, an online Wall Street Journal report argues that the 2020 general election can be seen as the culmination of a two-decade decline in faith in democracy in the US.
根据美联社－NORC公共事务研究中心的一项民意调查，只有16%的美国人表示民主运作良好或非常好，45%的美国人认为民主运作不正常，而另外38%的美国人认为民主运作得不太良好。美国皮尤研究中心调查显示，仅有20%的美国人一直或多数时候都信任联邦政府。
According to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, only 16% of Americans say democracy is working well or extremely well; 45% think democracy isn’t functioning properly, while another 38% say it’s working only somewhat well. A Pew Research Center survey finds that just 20% of Americans say they trust the federal government just about always or most of the time.
2021年5月，布鲁金斯学会网站撰文指出，在2020年大选结束后，美国全部50个州认证选举结果，但仍有77%的共和党选民以选票欺诈为由质疑拜登当选总统的合法性。这是自20世纪30年代以来第一次。9月，美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）民调显示，56%的美国民众认为美国民主“正在遭受攻击”，52%认为选举没有或很少反映民意，51%认为未来几年美国官员可能因本党败选而推翻选举结果。
A Brookings online article in May 2021 indicates that the certification of the 2020 election results by all 50 states still leaves 77% of Republican voters questioning the legitimacy of President Biden’s election victory due to allegations of voter fraud. This is the first time such things happen since the 1930s.
A CNN poll in September reveals that 56% of Americans think democracy in the US is under attack; 52% reply they are just a little or not at all confident that elections reflect the will of the people; 51% say it’s likely that elected officials in the next few years will overturn the results of an election their party did not win.
2021年，皮尤对16个发达经济体的1.6万人和2500名美国人的调查结果显示，57%的国际受访者和72%的美国人认为美国已经不是可供他国效仿的“民主典范”。
A 2021 Pew survey conducted among 16,000 adults in 16 advanced economies and 2,500 adults in the US shows that 57% of international respondents and 72% of Americans believe that democracy in the US has not been a good example for others to follow in recent years.
