公共舆论：美国民主的社会基础

若干年来,人们对美国民主的研究存在着一个倾向,那就是重视民主制度和法律文本的解释,这种研究实际上是一种政治现象的分析,而对隐藏在现象背后的本质问题往往被忽略了。美国民主的运行实际上是建立在公众对制度认同的基础之上的,公众的政治信仰、政治态度和政治价值观是民主制度的合法性来源,是民主制度的社会支撑,如果撇开公共舆论,美国的民主也是不能够成立的。本文主要分析了美国公共舆论的结构和分布状况,指出公共舆论对于民主的重要意义。

Public Opinion: the Social Foundation of American Democracy

In the past years, there has been a tendency towards the study of American democracy, that is, emphasizing the explanation of democratic institution and legal texts. This kind of study turns out to be an analysis of political phenomena, neglecting the essence concealed behind the phenomena. As a matter of fact, American democracy operates on the basis of the public agreement upon the institution. The legality of American democracy stems from the public belief, attitude and value concept of politics, which should be the supportive forces of democratic institution. American democracy would not be existed if the public opinion should be leaving aside. This paper mainly analyzes the structure and distribution of the American public opinion, and points out the importance of the public opinion for American democracy.