中國式現代化與全過程人民民主

文/大衛·弗格森（David W.Ferguson，英國） 譯/史聰一

對于那些貧窮及欠發達國家而言，西方的政治模式并不符合其需求。在這些國家中，鮮有采用西方政治模式并因此走向成功和繁榮的例子。

在實行西方民主制度前，許多國家既非處于貧困狀態，又非處于欠發達狀態，這樣的例子反而不少。以俄羅斯和烏克蘭為例，二者在20世紀90年代成為西方“民主國家”后，兩國國內生產總值皆折損了2/3。曾幾何時，利比亞是整個非洲大陸上最穩定、最有序、最繁榮的國度之一。而今，利比亞在成為“民主國家”后卻變得支離破碎。過去，利比亞的主要產業是石油。但現在，這個國家的主要產業竟然是人口販賣。

西方民主模式在強加于世界其他國家時之所以會失靈，是因為西方國家并非先成為民主國家，而后才繁榮起來。相反，這些國家是先富裕起來，然后才成為所謂的“民主國家”，這就是它們的現代化道路。因此，要理解和討論中國式現代化，就必須從辯證與歷史的維度分析世界的現代化進程。

我認為，西方發達國家的現代化道路建立在“三重剝削”的基礎之上。

第一重剝削，是西方國家對本國工人階級的無情剝削，使后者成為工業化城市工廠中的苦力，生活極其困頓，物質極端匱乏。在美國，也曾有數百萬奴隸作為農村勞動力受到剝削。

第二重剝削，是西方國家對其他國家的無情剝削，方式無外乎兩種：一是殖民主義，二是暴力侵略和占領，從而掠奪其他國家的資源。

The Western political model is ill-suited to the needs of poor and underdeveloped countries.There are few examples of poor and underdeveloped countries that adopted the Western political model and went on to become successful and prosperous as a result.

And there are plenty of examples of countries that weren’t poor and underdeveloped until they became Western democracies.Russia and Ukraine each lost two thirds of their GDP after becoming Western democracies in the 1990s.Libya was one of the most stable,orderly,and prosperous countries on the whole African continent.Now it’s a democracy,and it’s a broken state.Its main industry used to be oil.Now it’s human trafficking.

There’s a reason why the Western democratic model doesn’t work when it’s forced on other countries.Because Western countries did not become democracies and then become prosperous.First they became rich,and then they became democracies.That was their path of modernisation,and in order to understand and discuss China’s modernisation,you must conduct a dialectical and historical analysis of the whole history of modernisation across the globe.

The developed West followed a path of modernisation built on what I call the Three Exploitations.

First,ruthless exploitation of their own working class,who became factory fodder in industrial cities,living in dreadful poverty and deprivation.In the US they also exploited millions of slaves as rural labour.

Second,ruth less exploitation of other countries,either through colonialism or simply through invasion and occupation,in order to loot their resources.

大衛·弗格森在中國共產黨國際形象傳播創新論壇（2023）上發表演講（中國外文局國際傳播發展中心 劉嶸 焦非 攝）

第三重剝削，是西方國家對自然環境的無度透支。整個西方世界用了200年時間才明白了一個道理：將實現現代化建立在破壞環境的基礎之上，絕非明智之舉。

當今世界，這些剝削方式都是不可容忍甚至是難以想象的。中國的現代化進程顯然不能采取這種模式。

在中國共產黨的百年建黨史及70多年的執政歷程中，那種將窮人視為可剝削資源的觀點同中國共產黨的所有思想皆背道而馳。

中國同世界其他國家的關系建立在對外開放、和平友好、共同發展的基礎之上，并通過“一帶一路”倡議等付諸實踐。比如在環境方面，中國只用了不到40年的時間，便洞悉了西方花了兩個世紀才真正明白的理念。

中國式現代化建立在一整套與現代世界和中國國情相適應的結構、進程及一系列相關舉措的基礎之上，這些要素共同構成了全過程人民民主。

Third,ruthless exploitation of the environment.It took the West two hundred years to understand that modernisation achieved by destroying the environment is not a good idea.

None of these exploitations is in any way tolerable or even thinkable in today’s world,and China’s modernisation clearly cannot follow that model.

Through its hundred years of existence and its seventy years of governance,the idea that the poor are a resource to be exploited is the antithesis of everything the CPC believes in.

China’s relationship with the rest of the world is based on opening up,peace and friendship,and mutual development,through initiatives like the BRI.For example,in terms of the environment,China learned in less than forty years what it took the West two centuries to understand.

China’s modernisation is based on a set of structures and processes and a series of actions properly matched to the modern world and China’s conditions.Together they formWhole-Process People’s Democracy.

首先，中國擁有成文憲法，依憲治國，任何人不得有超越憲法的特權，所有修改憲法內容的建議都必須嚴格按照法定程序，經權力機關批準通過。

從不那么概念化的視角來審視，中國政治制度中最為重要的特征之一是：在中國，你能夠確定出現在面前的領導干部就是實實在在地參與治國理政的人，你能確定全國人民代表大會、中國共產黨中央委員會、中國共產黨中央委員會政治局以及國家主席都在治國理政中發揮重要作用。

中國政治制度的第二個重要特點是：領導干部始終堅持將發展計劃詳細地闡釋出來。闡述的過程較為冗長，實事求是地講，有時候會令人感到無聊，但之后他們總會去付諸實踐。從“五年規劃”到兩會報告，均是如此。

中國共產黨所做的一切，都是為中國人民謀幸福，增進人民福祉。在遠離中國本土的地方，中國共產黨可曾毫無根據地發動或是煽動戰爭？又有多少貧窮無辜、手無寸鐵的百姓在這樣的戰爭中失去生命？對第一個問題，答案是兩個字：沒有；對第二個問題，答案仍舊是兩個字：沒有！

事實上，中國共產黨為實現中國經濟社會變革作出了艱苦卓絕的努力。在20世紀70年代，中國曾比撒哈拉以南非洲諸國還要貧窮。但時至今日，中國是全球第二大經濟體，并躋身中等收入國家行列，且不斷接近高收入國家的標準。

在中國，每一個孩子都有免費接受義務教育的權利。過去的50年中，中國成功地從零開始創建了福利制度，為全國人民提供基本的福利覆蓋。在某些情況下，中國的福利制度比西方發達國家的制度要好很多。例如，中國養老保險制度是員工和雇主共同繳納養老保險，成年無業人員也能通過個人繳納的方式獲得養老保障。

我夫人的姐姐退休前是普通的中國工人，她們每月都可以有大概相當于300英鎊的退休金。按絕對值計算，這筆金額大約是英國國家養老金的一半；就購買力平價而言，這筆退休金的價值不亞于英國，甚至價值更高。但是，她們作為工人，在50歲時就可以退休了。而在英國，女性的退休年齡過去是60歲，現在是66歲。在我看來，她們在中國所享受到的養老金，比我在英國所享受到的養老金性價比要高。

First of all,China is a state governed by a written constitution.No one can act outwith the authority of the constitution,and any proposed amendment to the constitution has to be approved by properly authorised bodies in accordance with defined procedures.

From a less conceptual perspective,one of the most important features of China’s political system is this: in China,you can be certain that the people who are running the show are people you can see,right in front of your face.In China you can be certain that the country is being governed by the National People’s Congress,and the Central Committee of CPC,and the Political Bureau,and the President.

A second important feature is that these people always spell out exactly what they are planning to do -in long,and to be honest sometimes boring detail -and then they go ahead and do it.The Fiveyear Plans and the reports to the Two Sessions,for example,do exactly that.

Everything the Party has done has been in the interests of and to the benefit of the Chinese people.How many groundless wars has the CPC launched or fomented in distant parts of the world? How many millions of poor,innocent,and defenceless people have died in these wars? The answers are none and none.

Instead,the party has conducted endless and painstaking efforts to transform China’s economy and society.In the 1970s China was poorer than sub-Saharan Africa.Now it is a middle-income country,bordering on a high-income country,with the second-largest economy in the world.

Every single child in China has a right to free compulsory education.Over the last five decades China has succeeded in creating out of nothing a welfare system that provides basic coverage to the whole population,in some cases much better than what developed Western countries can provide.For example,the state pension system in China is that working adults contribute and their employers contribute,and non-working adults can have their contributions credited.

My sisters-in law were Chinese ordinary workers.They both enjoy a pension worth about￡300 per month.That is about half of the UK state pension in absolute terms;in terms of purchasing power it is at least as good or better.But like allgongren,my sisters-in-law retired at the age of 50.The retirement age for women in the UK was 60,and it is now 66.My sisters-in law have better pension provision in China than I do in the UK.

在過去50年里，中國有數億人擺脫了貧困。在過去十年中，中國最后的約1億貧困人口也擺脫了絕對貧困。在世界范圍內，總人口超過1億的國家總共也就十幾個，沒有任何其他國家曾經實現過，或是曾經有能力去實現如此雄心勃勃的目標。目前，中國已經制定了一些相關戰略，以確保貧困人口的生活水平能夠繼續以高于全國平均水平的速度增長，從而縮小該群體同其他群體間的收入差距。

實現人員、貨物、信息快速高效運輸與傳送，是經濟發展的關鍵所在。中國有句俗語：要想富，先修路。中國擁有世界上最好的基礎設施及通信設施，這也成為推動中國經濟發展和扶貧工作的一個關鍵性因素。

中國的全過程人民民主，是基于三個“C”展開：合作（cooperation）、協商（consultation）及連續性（continuity）。合作，即各界人士及團體參與人民代表大會和政治協商會議，相互之間精誠合作；協商，是憲法賦予人民就立法提案發表意見建議的權利，而立法機關也有憲法規定的聽取人民意見建議的義務；連續性，即發展戰略需要通過數年甚至數十年的時間制定、試行、檢驗并推行。

發展中國家的貧困人口需要的是住有所居，食能果腹，衣可蔽體；還要勞有所得，子女學有所教，生活安全無憂，未來美好可期。

這是一個重要的事實：要想真正實現富裕，需要為之付出努力。要想為之付出努力，需要滿足某些基本條件。其中，最基本的條件是長治久安。正是中國的全過程人民民主和中國共產黨執政的長期穩定性，為中國人民實現富裕的努力創造了條件。

Over the last five decades China has raised hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.Over the last ten years the last 100 million have been raised out of absolute poverty.There are only about a dozen countries in the world with a total population of more than 100 million.No other country has ever achieved or could ever achieve such an ambitious goal.China now has in place strategies to ensure that the standards of living of the poor continue to rise faster than the average,to reduce the income gap.

Critical to economic development is the ability to move people,goods,and information quickly and efficiently.There is an old saying in Chinaif you want to get rich,build a road.China has by a considerable margin the best physical and the best communications infrastructure in the world.That has been a key factor in both economic development and poverty alleviation.

China’s Whole-Process People’s Democracy is based on three C’s-cooperation,consultation,and continuity.Cooperation between the huge number of individuals and groups representing all walks of life who participate in the People’s Congresses and the CPPCC.Consultation in that individual citizen have a constitutional right to voice opinions and suggestions on proposed legislation,and the legislative authorities have a constitutional obligation to listen to them.Continuity where strategies will be devised,piloted,reviewed and rolled out over periods of years and even decades.

Poor people in developing countries need a roof over their heads,food on the table,clothes on their backs,jobs for themselves,schools for their kids,safe streets,and prospects of a better future.

And here is a very important and absolute fact:You can only achieve prosperity by working for it.And you can only work for prosperity if certain essential conditions are met.Two of the most basic of these are long-term stability and order.China’s Whole-Process People’s Democracy and the longterm stable governance of the CPC deliver the conditions that allow the Chinese people to work for prosperity.