Chapter 23 Two or three restrictions

Small things can be used to make sense.It's fun to fly a kite in spring.As soon as it is blown up to the sky, it will wobble, and the person who released it will like it; but the string should be held tightly in the hand so that it can be retracted once it is tired of releasing it.Another new gadget, the car.Relying on gasoline, the horsepower is not small, so it can carry people, transport goods, and even go for a drive in the fields.To do these things, you must have strength; but in order not to run around indiscriminately, the driver must have the strength to command, especially to stop.Any power to do something for human beings must be powerful on the one hand, and on the other hand, human beings must have the power to limit it and keep it from acting recklessly.Do something.Things can be big or small, and generally speaking, small things require little power, and the power to restrict can also be small; big things are not the same, and the power needed cannot be small, and the power to restrict cannot be small.Bigness also includes complexity, such as kites, which are not powerful, and a single thread is enough to limit the power; cars are not enough, because the power is increased, and the mechanical parts will be more complicated.As for personnel affairs, the most important thing is the state affairs. If the person in charge is not powerful, such as resisting foreign aggression, it will be very difficult; but the great power may also be used in the wrong place, and sometimes the consequences will be unimaginable.How can we achieve coordination, or guarantee?The problem is clearly complex.But from the point of view of the requirements, it is simple and clear, and it is: to find ways to make the people who receive the power of the people only have the freedom to do good deeds, but not the freedom to do bad deeds.

It seems not difficult to distinguish good from bad within the scope of common sense; but sometimes, especially when dealing with more complicated things, there will be differences of opinion.Different, not all can be right, as a last resort, it is necessary to further distinguish between right and wrong.The next step is to find a deeper rationale. In this way, whether you want to or not, you will eventually fall into the quagmire of philosophy.Politics can't go beyond family affairs, and of course we can't wait for Cheng Zhu, Lu Tu and Tu to nod their heads before doing it.A safer approach is to try to avoid new and big problems that will lead to philosophical speculation.For example, to deal with the problem of population growth, it is not a big problem to advocate or limit a couple to have at most one child. For the sake of eugenics, childbirth should be made the profession of some people with excellent mind and body, and the problem will become new and big, which will cause great controversy from the theoretical point of view, and serious consequences from the practical point of view.Politics is a major event, which is closely related to the happiness of the people of the whole country. It should not be based on daydreams or jokes.However, thousands of things in history can prove it.People who have possessed unlimited power are most used to making jokes, specifically based on a dream or dream of their own.As soon as the hall shouted, the whole people trembled.Even if Fan Tian is not so big, like Qin Shihuang, when he got angry, his books would be burned, and Confucianism would be persecuted; like the muddled and vicious old lady of Nala family in the late Qing Dynasty, when he got angry, the six gentlemen of 1898 would be kidnapped and sent to Caishikou, decapitated. Therefore, in order to avoid this danger, after the people have delegated the power, there must be some measures to restrict the power from being used indiscriminately.

This limitation, generally speaking, or in terms of spirit, is the supremacy of law.This spirit is very important, it makes a clear boundary between autocracy and democracy.Despotism is the supremacy of man, what he says, even fantasies, is the law.Therefore, all the people must abide by it; only he is the exception, because the law is set by him, and he can change it at will.The supremacy of the law is very different. Those in power are relegated to the second place, so if they have something to do, they have to look up.This, also from the spiritual aspect, is the people.The people are most concerned about their own health and death, so as long as there is a way, they will not let those in power do whatever they want, in order to ensure happiness and safety, at least not to tremble frequently.

More affordable than theory is the solution.There may be an ideal solution, and the extreme ones, such as anarchism, may be counted, that is, even the matter of authorization is removed, fearing that those who are superior will mess around. If there is no superior, wouldn’t it be thorough?It's a pity that this is fantasy, because the people are not all forged from the furnace of Confucius and Mencius, they will also make nonsense.Therefore, the affairs of the public cannot be ignored.In order not to go off topic here, we still talk about civil management. So far, there are any methods that have been used or available.Generally speaking, it is the people's legislation that restricts those in power to act in accordance with the law.There are two situations.One is that things are routine and can be done as usual.The vast majority of administrative affairs are of this nature. As long as we do it seriously and do not seek personal gain or cheat, there will be no problems.The other is non-routine matters, especially those that have a major impact on the national economy and people's livelihood, such as declaring war abroad, internally, converting private property into public property, etc., which must be approved by the people.

People, the number of people is large, no matter whether it is a long-term plan, legislation, or temporary approval of some new and big move, they cannot gather in one room or one place, and vote by speaking or raising hands.There is another reason why this form cannot be used. Matters concerning the long-term welfare of the public are both specialized and complicated. People, at least some of them, do not know the truth, especially in the short term, so it is difficult to make a choice.As a last resort, we had to use the method of agency, that is, to entrust some people to handle matters such as legislation and approval on behalf of the people.Such people must meet two conditions: one is to be able to represent the people, and the other is to have the ability to replace the people in making decisions. The number of people is also determined by these two conditions.These people are elected by the people and have great backgrounds; when organized, they have the power to make major decisions.As for the name, you can choose whatever you want, and it is generally called the parliament.It is compared to trying a horse on the road. The council has no strength to run, but holds a slow rope in its hand, so in terms of status, it becomes the number one in Tianzi.Number one, will she do whatever she wants?No, because it is restricted by two conditions: one is that there are hundreds of people, and no one is in the position of a king.The second is that the term of office is limited. If you want to be re-elected, you have to show docility to the voters.In short, although the parliamentary form may not be the best form for the people to exercise power, it should always be regarded as a barely acceptable form of power limitation after authorization.This can also be proved from the fact that this form is adopted, and those in power are not crazy.

The role of parliament is to represent the people and limit the power of those in power.There are three main forms of restriction.Legislation is binding on both those who govern and those who govern, so this law must be perfect and feasible.To be perfect and feasible, legislators must have extensive knowledge and foresight.From this point of view, the parliament can also be regarded as an advisory organization of the people.Another form of power restriction is approval or refutation, which is straightforward compared with legislation, so the image of restriction is more obvious.There is also another form, out of necessity, to show the dagger out of poverty, and simply take back the power by casting a vote of no confidence.The three limitations all have the meaning of determining the identity, that is to say, the person who has great power due to the delegation is only a person in charge of government affairs, not some pastoral or leading savior.

The form of parliament is the most direct form of power limitation, because it, at least in theory, sits next to the people.Sitting a little further away, there are other things that can do the same thing.One is the supervisory agency.Compared with the parliament, what the supervisory agencies deal with is often divided into parts, or from dealing with incidents to dealing with people.However, at least some people have great power or small power. If the supremacy of officials really becomes the supremacy of the people, they will be even more afraid of this, because if they don't work hard, once the whip hits the head, the unlucky ones will be their own wealth.Another is the independence of the judiciary, which has the power. Once you use your power to mess around and break the law, no matter how crowned you are, you will have to deal with the court.In addition, there is another kind, which is not an institution.It is the freedom of the people, mainly freedom of the press and freedom of speech.Words and deeds are unreasonable, and they are most afraid of freedom of speech, especially those who cannot see the light of day, most afraid of freedom of the press.These two self-comparisons are closely related to the independence of parliament, supervision, and judiciary. Specifically, the former must be backed by the latter.In fact, it is not just the backing, but, if there is no powerful latter three, there will be no freedom of speech and freedom of the press.Let’s assume here that there are the latter three as the backing. Taking freedom of the press as an example, there will be a great power of supervision, because, for the sake of the longevity of political life or at least the safety, one has to face the abyss, walk on thin ice, do good deeds with all your strength, and avoid falling .

However, no matter what, Quan has an indissoluble bond with Dali after all, so it is inevitable that he will lose control.Whether it is considered as a supplementary condition for restricting rights, there are two other regulations that are worth noting.One is limited tenure.This is like telling the authorized person that if he has the desire to continue to hold power, he must work hard to do good deeds so that he can get more votes the next time he is authorized.This is also a sign of the significant difference between autocracy and democracy.In the autocratic era, take the Qing Dynasty as an example. Kangxi was in power for 61 years, Qianlong was in power for 60 years (actually, the Supreme Emperor was added for three years), and the term of office was life-long. Alas, the throne was changed, because he believed that This great position was granted by the heavens, or by the ancestors, and it is a matter of course that the power is unlimited.In the past, it has become a democracy, or just to show that the people are the master, that is, the source of power. It is necessary to take out the ballot and shake it again after a period of time. In this way, repeating the above meaning, the authorized person can once again be authorized. , I had no choice but to bow my head and obey my ears, not to be the pride of heaven.Another stipulation, perhaps more important, is that no one has the right to use force except the people (whose representatives or the laws made by their will).More importantly, it is because if a certain person is allowed to use force freely, the people can only shout long live in order to survive, and authorization and restriction of power will all be reduced to smoke.