信访的政治进路

信访制度是一项有着悠久历史的中华政治文明成果,是我党群众路线与现代民主相结合的产物。其在历史上所发挥的维稳功能与维权功能的辩证统一,代表了某种政治制度的创新。对信访制度可能对现代法治基础产生动摇的担忧,源于片面的法治理想主义情怀,以及对司法裁判最终性的盲目追求和对法治精神的僵化理解。信访作为一项以国家的制约性权力为依托的反支配性行为,作为公民意愿的政治表达形式,其制度演化的政治进路是目前学界所"有意"回避的,但却是该制度功效实现的必经之路。

Letters and Visits to Government Institutions by the People:A Political Buffer

Writing letters to the government institutions or paying visit to them by the people for the purpose of airing complaints,a time-honored tradition in China,has played an important role in maintaining the stability of the state and the civil rights of the common people.Some scholars argue that the practice may shake the basis of ruling by law,but such a worry is based on a kind of biased idealism for,and a rigid understanding of,ruling by law.The practice is,as it were,a political buffer for the citizens to give vent to their views and differing opinions.