You've just won the lottery,

你剛剛贏得了抽獎

only the prize isn't cash or a luxury cruise.

只是獎品不是現金或奢華的旅遊

It's a position in your country's national legislature.

獎品是你國家立法機關的一個職位

And you aren't the only lucky winner.

而你不是唯一的幸運得主

All of your fellow lawmakers were chosen in the same way.

你所有的立法同事都是用同樣的方式選出來的

This might strike you as a strange way to run a government,

你可能會認為這是一個奇特的方式來組成政府

let alone a democracy.

更不用說是一個民主國家

Elections are the epitome of democracy, right?

選舉是民主的最佳象徵，不是嗎？

Well, the ancient Athenians who coined the word had another view.

發明「民主」這個字的古雅典人有不同的看法

In fact, elections only played a small role in Athenian democracy,

事實上，選舉在雅典民主裡的作用不大

with most offices filled by random lottery from a pool of citizen volunteers.

大部分的職務是從一群有意願的市民中隨機挑選出來擔任

Unlike the representative democracies common today,

不像今日常見的代議式民主制

where voters elect leaders to make laws and decisions on their behalf,

選民選出領導者，代表他們來制定法律及做決策

5th Century BC Athens was a direct democracy

西元前五世紀的雅典則是使用直接民主制

that encouraged wide participation

鼓勵大家廣泛的參與政治

through the principle of ho boulomenos, or anyone who wishes.

透過「ho boulomenos」原則，意味著誰想要就可以參與

This meant that any of its approximately 30,000 eligible citizens

這表示大約3萬名合格的市民

could attend the ecclesia,

都可以參加「市民議會」

a general assembly meeting several times a month.

市民議會是每月聚集數次的全體集會

In principle, any of the 6,000 or so who showed up at each session

原則上，參與每次集會大約6千人中的任何人

had the right to address their fellow citizens,

都有權力向他們對市民同儕演說

propose a law,

提出法案

or bring a public lawsuit.

或是替大眾審判

Of course, a crowd of 6,000 people trying to speak at the same time

當然，6千人的群眾同時說話

would not have made for effective government.

不會成為一個有效的政府

So the Athenian system also relied on a 500 member governing council

所以雅典民主也仰賴由500名成員組成的治理議會

called the Boule,

稱為「Boule」

to set the agenda and evaluate proposals,

來設立議程及評估提案

in addition to hundreds of jurors and magistrates to handle legal matters.

以及數百位的陪審員和地方法官來處理法律事務

Rather than being elected or appointed,

比起被選拔出來或受指派的

the people in these positions were chosen by lot.

這些職位的人們是用抽籤來決定的

This process of randomized selection is know as sortition.

這個隨機選擇的過程就是熟知的抽籤

The only positions filled by elections

唯一經過選舉填補職位的

were those recognized as requiring expertise,

是那些被認為需要專業知識的職位

such as generals.

例如將軍

But these were considered aristocratic, meaning rule by the best,

但這些制度被認為是貴族化，意味著由菁英統治

as opposed to democracies, rule by the many.

與多數人統治的民主制度相違背

How did this system come to be?

這個系統是如何成形的呢？

Well, democracy arose in Athens after long periods of social and political tension

民主制度在長期社會及政治上的緊張關係後崛起

marked by conflict among nobles.

特別是貴族之間的衝突

Powers once restricted to elites,

權力原本只限於菁英

such as speaking in the assembly and having their votes counted,

例如在集會中發言，以及投票能算數

were expanded to ordinary citizens.

後來權力擴展到一般市民身上

And the ability of ordinary citizens to perform these tasks

而一般的市民能執行這些事務

adequately became a central feature of the democratic ideology of Athens.

適切地成為雅典理想民主的中心特色

Rather than a privilege,

與其說是個特權

civic participation was the duty of all citizens,

市民參與是所有市民的責任

with sortition and strict term limits preventing governing classes

抽籤和嚴格的任期限制阻絕了統治階級

or political parties from forming.

以及政治派別的形成

By 21st century standards,

依照21世紀的標準

Athenian rule by the many excluded an awful lot of people.

雅典的多數統治排除了極多的人們在外

Women, slaves and foreigners were denied full citizenship,

女人、奴隸以及外國人都拒絕擁有完整的公民權

and when we filter out those too young to serve,

當我們剔除掉太過年輕而無法任職者

the pool of eligible Athenians drops to only 10-20% of the overall population.

合格的雅典選民降至只有全國人口數的10至20%

Some ancient philosophers, including Plato,

有些古哲學家，包括柏拉圖

disparaged this form of democracy as being anarchic and run by fools.

貶低這種形式的民主為無政府的，而且由愚者所運行

But today the word has such positive associations,

但在今日「民主」這詞有著正面的關聯

that vastly different regimes claim to embody it.

許多不同的政權都主張要實現它

At the same time, some share Plato's skepticism about the wisdom of crowds.

在這同時，有些人對柏拉圖有關於群眾智慧的懷疑態度有相同的想法

Many modern democracies reconcile this conflict

許多現代民主制度調解這種爭端

by having citizens elect those they consider qualified

藉由讓市民選出他們認為有資格

to legislate on their behalf.

來代表他們制定法律的人

But this poses its own problems,

但這也產生了問題

including the influence of wealth,

包括財富的影響力

and the emergence of professional politicians

以及專職政客的出現

with different interests than their constituents.

他們與選民的利益不同

Could reviving election by lottery lead to more effective government

透過更多元和更具代表性的立法機關

through a more diverse and representative group of legislatures?

就能讓復興的抽籤選舉造就更有效的政府嗎？

Or does modern political office, like Athenian military command,

還是現代政治官員，也如同雅典軍隊指揮官一樣

require specialized knowledge and skills?

需要更專業的知識和技巧？

You probably shouldn't hold your breath

你大概不能抱太大的希望

to win a spot in your country's government.

在你的國家政府贏得一個職位

But depending on where you live,

但依據你所住的地方

you may still be selected to participate in a jury,

你也許仍會被選出來參與審判

a citizens' assembly,

市民集會

or a deliberative poll,

或者是商議式民調

all examples of how the democratic principle behind sortition

所有民主原則如何支持抽籤的例子

still survives today.

仍在今日繼續存留著