论政府责任及其限度

政府究竟应当对公共事务承担哪些责任,存在着许多争论。近代西方关于政府职责的讨论集中于政治领域,焦点问题是安全、公平与平等;现代的讨论扩展到经济和社会领域,焦点问题是弥补市场缺陷与维护社会公平。随着关于"政府失灵"和非政府组织作用的提出,关于政府职责的讨论被置于一个更广阔的背景下。市场、社会组织和政府三种机制都各有优缺。政府职责的限定,应当遵循比较优势、优势互补和量力而行三条原则。

On the responsibility of the government and its limits

Of what responsibility the government should assume for public affairs,there is much controversy.The modern Western discussion on government duties centers on the political arena,focuses being security,equity and equality;contemporary discussion expands to the economic and social fields,focuses being to make up for market imperfections and to maintain social justice.With the concept of "government failure" and considering the role of non-governmental organizations,the discussion on government responsibility is placed in a broader context.All of the three mechanisms,namely,market,social organizations and the government,have strengths and weaknesses.Definition to government responsibility should follow three principles,i.e.,comparative advantage,advantage complementation,and affordability.