Robert Dahl's Thought Of Social Restriction Of Power

The restriction and supervision of public power has always been the core content of democratic political construction.Different from the traditional use of morality to restrict power,to restrict power by law,and to restrict power by rights,Robert Dahl analyzes and studies from the perspective of society and puts forward the idea of restricting power by society.Dahl's social restraint of power has a profound background.From the perspective of the times,the Western sovereignty theory and the core values of freedom,equality and democracy have been questioned and criticized since the 20 th century.The outbreak of the economic crisis has made the government's position and role in society and economy increasingly prominent,which has brought about the indiscriminate expansion of government administrative power.In terms of real conditions,the United States has a good civil society foundation and a thriving interest group.From the theoretical point of view,Montesquieu's emphasis on the middle power,Rousseau's discussion of the people's sovereignty and Tocqueville's favor of the social checks and balances have become an important theoretical source of Dahl's social power theory.For many of the above reasons,Dahl proposed to achieve the restriction and supervision of public power,that is,to achieve the rule of multiple minorities,must start from a social perspective,including the establishment of a pluralistic democratic society,multiple independent social organizations and multiple political bodies.Dahl's social restrictive power thought transforms the unified view of power into a pluralistic view of power,enriches the traditional democratic theory,and develops the idea of power restriction.It not only helps to raise citizens' awareness of democratic power,but also expands the space for civil society's freedom,thus ensuring the effective operation of the democratic system.However,Dahl's idea of socially restricting power ignores the preconditions of social constraints and ignores the limits of social organization autonomy.At the same time,most of the ways in which social power is restricted are criticisms and suggestions.They are relatively mild and not mandatory,and to a certain extent weaken the effect of social restrictions on power.Although Dahl's social control of power has certain flaws,the legitimacy and value of his thoughts cannot be ignored.The idea of socially restricting power has provided many useful enlightenments and paths for the democratic construction of post-developing countries.On the one hand,it helps to reconcile the confrontation between the government and the society.The social restraint and supervision of government power does not challenge the government's authority,weaken the government's ability,but promote each other and develop together.On the other hand,it is conducive to strengthening the foundation and ability of social autonomy,cultivating the spirit of active citizens,encouraging the development of social organizations,and enhancing the capacity of social autonomy.In this way,we can finally form a social governance structure of consultation and governance,and let society become a positive force for democratic construction.