But anyhow, in the State of Nature, people generally become cooperative, and smart enough to try and keep the peace and order. Sure, people are concerned with their own interests, but they are rational enough to think of ways for reaching their interests without causing conflict with others. After all, keeping peace with people would be a self interest.
30、蘇格拉底觀點：民主是有缺陷的體係
Socrates held highly critical view of the democracy. Socrates believed that democracy was a flawed system, because it left the state in the hands of the unenlightened and it valued all opinions as equal.
Socrates believed it was his duty to stand for the law and justice despite the wishes of The Assembly, and this could cost him his life. Socrates stated to obey the laws of the State, only if they are just. It could be said that Socrates’s views on democracy and justice is what ultimately led to his death. Socrates believed poor leaders were chosen, simply on their basis of their rhetoric ability, not on their ethics or character.
He opposed the efforts of the Sophists to teach their students virtue, knowledge and rhetoric as practical subjects needed by citizens to participate in the institutions of Athenian democracy. His belief on knowledge and virtue was that these required absolute definitions were to be attained through exhaustive philosophical dialogue and debate. He seemed to offend many Athenians with his negative dialectic method, revealing people’s ignorance and inability to give definitions of truth and virtue. He believed the citizen’s lack of knowledge made it impossible for the citizens to vote properly for their leaders or for the leaders themselves to even run.
31、民主的概念
In political theory, democracy describes a small number of related forms of government and also a political philosophy. A common feature of democracy as currently understood and practiced is competitive elections. Competitive elections are usually seen to require freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and some degree of rule of law. Civilian control of the military is often seen as necessary to prevent military dictatorship and interference with political affairs. In some countries, democracy is based on the philosophical principle of equal rights.
Majority rule is a major principle of democracy, though many democratic systems do not adhere to this strictly—representative democracy is more common than direct democracy, and minority rights are often protected from what is sometimes called “the tyranny of the majority”. Popular sovereignty is common but not universal motivating philosophy for establishing a democracy.
32、民主的內涵
Many people use the term “democracy” as shorthand for liberal democracy, which may include additional elements such as political pluralism, equality before the law, the right to petition elected officials for redress of grievances, due process, civil liberties, human rights, and elements of civil society outside the government. In the United States, separation of powers is often cited as a supporting attribute, but in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the dominant philosophy is parliamentary sovereignty （though in practice judicial independence is generally maintained）. In other cases, “democracy” is used to mean direct democracy.
33、外在因素對社會製度的影響
External factors—including war, migration, colonial domination, imported ideas, technology or plagues, and natural disasters—also shape the ways in which each society evolves. The outlook of the Soviet Union, for example, is strongly influenced by the devastating losses it suffered in both world wars. The societies of American Indians were ravaged and displaced by the diseases and warfare brought by colonists from Europe. In the United States, forcible importation of Africans and successive waves of immigrants from Europe, Latin America, and Asia have greatly affected the political, economic, and social systems （such as labor, voting blocs, and educational programs）, as well as adding to the nation’s cultural variety. Natural disasters such as storms or drought can cause failure of crops, bringing hardship and famine, and sometimes migration or revolution.
34、戰爭及其類型
War is a state of widespread conflict between states, organizations, or relatively large groups of people, which is characterized by the use of lethal violence between combatants or upon civilians. It is estimated that during the 20th century between 167and 188million humans died as a result of war.
A common perception of war is a series of military campaigns between at least two opposing sides involving a dispute over sovereignty, territory, resources, religion or other issues. A war said to liberate an occupied country is sometimes characterized as a “war of liberation”, while a war between internal elements of a state is a civil war. Full scale pitched-battle wars between adversaries of comparable strength appear to have nearly disappeared from human activity, with the last major one in the Congo region winding down in the late 1990s. Nearly all war now is asymmetric warfare, in which campaigns of sabotage, guerrilla warfare and sometimes acts of terrorism disrupt control and supply of better-equipped occupying forces, resulting in long low-intensity wars of attrition.
35、戰爭與技術
War is a strong catalyst in technology. Throughout history there has been a constant struggle between defense and offense, for example, between armor and the weapons designed to breach it. Modern examples include the bunker buster bomb, and the bunkers which they are designed to destroy. Important inventions such as medicine, navigation, metallurgy, mass production, nuclear power, rocketry and computers have been completely or partially driven by war.
36、草根運動
A grassroots movement （often referenced in the context of a political movement） is one driven by the constituents of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it is natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between it and the movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures. Often, grassroots movements are at the local level, as many volunteers in the community give their time to support the local party, which can lead to helping the national party. For instance, a grassroots movement can lead to significant voter registration for a political party, which in turn helps the state and national parties.
37、產出均等的概念
Equality of outcome is a form of egalitarianism which seeks to reduce or eliminate differences in material condition between individuals or households in a society. This usually means equalizing income and/or total wealth to a certain degree.
In theory, equality of outcome can be distinguished from equal opportunity. Outcomes can usually be measured with a great degree of precision, while opportunities cannot. That is why many proponents of equal opportunity use measures of equality of outcome to judge success. To the extent that inequalities can be passed from one generation to another through substantial gifts and wealth inheritance, it is unclear that equality of opportunity for children can be achieved without greater equality of outcome for parents. Moreover, access and opportunity to various social institutions is partially dependent on equality of outcome. Proponents recognize that greater equality of outcome can be a force preventing co-optation of non-economic institutions important to social control and policy formation, such as the legal system, media or the electoral process, by individuals and coalitions of wealthy people.
38、國際移民
In terms of the controversial global migration issue, disputes revolve around both its causes, whether and to what extent it is voluntary or involuntary, necessary or unnecessary, and its effects, whether beneficial, or socially and environmentally costly. Proponents tend to see migration simply as a process whereby white and blue collar workers may go from one country to another to provide their services, while critics tend to emphasize negative causes such as economic, political, and environmental insecurity, and cite as one notable effect, the link between migration and the enormous growth of urban slums in developing countries. The cyclical nature of capitalism, increased demand for skilled versus unskilled labor, and the negative effects of globalization—in particular, global economic booms and busts that ratchet up inequality and distribute new wealth unevenly—contribute to the enormous growth of slums.
39、卡爾·馬克思觀點：理想社會
The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Karl Marx was one of the most influential political theorists of the 19th century. His rational thoughts made one of the greatest impacts on social and political reflection around the globe. He sought to combine factual analysis and political prescription in a thorough survey of the modern economic system. His goal for his ideal society was to abolish all private property, allowing for equality among all members of the state. Individuals could contribute to the society according to their skills, abilities, wants and needs. Society would be classless and wealth would be equitably distributed. Ultimately, he predicted that the government would be unnecessary and therefore, such a society would be without rulers. This theory was proclaimed in Karl Marx’s and Friedrich Engel’s most successful book Communist Manifesto. Derived greatly from Plato’s Republic, ancient sources such as the earliest Christian communes and the German idealist thinker G.W.F. Hegel, Marxism shaped the world like none had ever seen before. Marx saw society as having become alienated in a capitalist society. He believed that his utopian world would allow the alienation to disappear and the state would be a fair and equitable place to live. Subsequently, Marxism had great consequences on many societies, namely because of the lost of liberty and freedom to succeed. In the end, Marx’s goal to eliminate alienation just replaced one type of alienation for another. Although his theory was great in concept, allowing for equality among mankind, it did not function well in practice because of human nature. The ideal society is, in reality, a myth created in the mind of man.
40、洛克觀點：理想社會
One of the most prominent political philosophers, especially in North America, would be John Locke. John Locke, to this day, has had a great influence on political systems around the world, namely the United States of America. His theory of the ideal society, developed in his book Two Treatises on Government established a distinction between what he called the state of nature and the political state. By the State of Nature, Locke meant a moral state; a state into which all were born as humans and all were bestowed with certain God-given natural rights. The State of Nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges everyone, and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that, being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.
Locke, however, came to apprehend that his doctrine would never function in practice because of his belief that human nature drives men into society. He then created a social contract in which all citizens would consent to be ruled by a government elected by a minority as long as that government would protect the natural rights. Locke’s philosophy is known today as Liberalism, which is a movement that has as its basic concern the development of personal freedom and social progress. Liberalism took into position the importance of the individual over the state.
In the United States, John Locke’s political writings greatly influenced the writing of the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. In France, Locke’s philosophy was taken over by the leaders of the French Enlightenment, notably by the author and philosopher Voltaire. John Locke’s philosophy on the ideal state has its flaws, yet numerous advantages outweigh the imperfections. His theories clearly state the importance of human morals, freedom and dignity, important concepts in human understanding. Without a doubt, his philosophies will drum on in the hearts of millions around the world as one of the greatest political achievements in history.
41、柏拉圖觀點：理想國家
One of the most powerful thinkers in history was Plato. As Socrates’ young pupil, he was the founder of the Academy and many philosophical theories and dialogues. His most important work was in political and social philosophy; namely, his most famous book simply called Republic. In this book, Plato was concerned with the question of justice and therefore with the questions:What is a just state? And who is a just individual?
According to Plato, the ideal state was composed of three classes: the workers and the artisans, the soldiers and the rulers. The rulers consisted of men who had reached their maximum educational potential and were complete and enlightened in virtues of reality, truth and goodness. The spectacle of his day brought Plato to the conclusion that only philosophers were fit to rule, since they possessed all the necessary knowledge and wisdom. Plato named these rulers philosopher-kings. In the Republic, Plato’s ideal educational system was structured primarily to produce philosopher-kings. In its simplest form, Plato believed that the just state is one in which each class performs its own function well without infringing on the activities of the other classes. He believed that if the philosopher-kings helped train the military who, in return, would control natural unruly peasants, the Republic would be a sort of utopian state; the ideal society of which the world was in search.
Although Plato’s ideal society influenced many philosophers and many developed numerous ideas from Republic, it cannot be regarded as a perfect idea. Many flaws are entwined within Plato’s philosophy, such as the rights of lower class citizens and the idea that asserts the supremacy of the state over the individual. Plato believed that philosophers were, indeed, superior to all others, making the majority of citizens in a society outcasts and left with an impediment.
42、烏托邦並不存在
The ideal society is, in reality, a myth created in the mind of man. There never was nor will there ever be a utopian world in which we could all live harmoniously. Although many influential philosophers have shaped politics around the world, neither one of their theories has been perfect. Human nature plays a great role in creating our society and because we are not perfect, neither will our societies be. We must stop attempting to create utopian states and instead, focus on changing the numerous flaws in our already existing politics. With our own hands we can shape our society and our minds.