很多“必读书目”都取决于你的背景和兴趣。比如《GEB》，我会把它列为任何有计算机科学背景的人的必读书；对任何棒球迷来说是《The Glory of their Times》；对任何关注美国政治的人来说则是《论美国的民主》（Democracy in America）。
A lot of "must reads" depend on your background and interest. GEB for example I would classify as a must for anyone with a computer science background, The Glory of their Times for any baseball fan, Democracy in America for anyone into American politics.
…I'm thinking of Sparta though, which was by many accounts pretty culturally uniform and egalitarian/meritocratic, at least for citizens. * * * I think the best analysis I know is still Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. I also recommend The Federalist Papers, particularly Nos. 10 and 51, for a pragmatic solution to these kinds of problems, based on the decades of first-hand experience some smart blokes like Madison…
…citizens and responsive at a local level to local differences, etc. * * * The why is in my opinion best described in Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy, Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws, Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, and Madison/Hamilton/Jefferson’s Federalist Papers (and you might look at Locke, Rousseau, Hobbes, etc. too if you’re feeling extra ambitious). The complexities are somewhat longer and more involved…
…thing; concentration of extreme percentages of total wealth into a tiny fraction of the populace is a bad thing. A good explanation of the difference this makes shows up in chapter 3 of de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America", where he discusses the impact of different inheritance laws on American and European society. The traditional European system of primogeniture created and favored hereditary aristocracy; the American…
…appreciate your civility, and contributions to HN over the years, but also recognize the unAmerican nature of your ideas. What concerns me is that your ideas are infecting our young people. I recommend Democracy in America written by Tocqueville in ~1840. It's available for free on the internet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_in_America
很多“必读书目”都取决于你的背景和兴趣。比如《GEB》，我会把它列为任何有计算机科学背景的人的必读书；对任何棒球迷来说是《The Glory of their Times》；对任何关注美国政治的人来说则是《论美国的民主》（Democracy in America）。
A lot of "must reads" depend on your background and interest. GEB for example I would classify as a must for anyone with a computer science background, The Glory of their Times for any baseball fan, Democracy in America for anyone into American politics.
历经 170 年之后，至今写得最好、最详尽的论述，依然是托克维尔的《论美国的民主》。
The best extended treatment, still, 170 years later, is Tocqueville’s Democracy in America.
……不过我想到的是斯巴达，根据很多记载，斯巴达在文化上相当同质化，而且崇尚平等/精英制度，至少对公民是这样。* * * 我认为我所知道最好的剖析依然是托克维尔的《论美国的民主》。对于这类问题的务实解法，我还推荐《联邦党人文集》，特别是第 10 篇和第 51 篇，这可是麦迪逊等一批聪明绝顶的家伙基于几十年一手经验总结出来的……
…I'm thinking of Sparta though, which was by many accounts pretty culturally uniform and egalitarian/meritocratic, at least for citizens. * * * I think the best analysis I know is still Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. I also recommend The Federalist Papers, particularly Nos. 10 and 51, for a pragmatic solution to these kinds of problems, based on the decades of first-hand experience some smart blokes like Madison…
……公民，并且在地方层面对地域差异保持响应等等。* * * 在我看来，对“为什么会这样”解释得最透彻的，莫过于马基雅维利的《李维史论》、孟德斯鸠的《论法的精神》、托克维尔的《论美国的民主》，以及麦迪逊/汉密尔顿/杰斐逊的《联邦党人文集》（如果你野心够大，也可以看看洛克、卢梭、霍布斯等人的书）。至于具体有多复杂，那内容就更长更繁琐了……
…citizens and responsive at a local level to local differences, etc. * * * The why is in my opinion best described in Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy, Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws, Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, and Madison/Hamilton/Jefferson’s Federalist Papers (and you might look at Locke, Rousseau, Hobbes, etc. too if you’re feeling extra ambitious). The complexities are somewhat longer and more involved…
……是好事；但社会总财富的极高比例集中在极少数人手里就是坏事了。关于这种差异带来的影响，托克维尔在《论美国的民主》第三章中给出了极好的解释，他在那里探讨了不同的继承法对美国和欧洲社会的影响。欧洲传统的长子继承制催生并偏袒了世袭贵族；而美国的……
…thing; concentration of extreme percentages of total wealth into a tiny fraction of the populace is a bad thing. A good explanation of the difference this makes shows up in chapter 3 of de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America", where he discusses the impact of different inheritance laws on American and European society. The traditional European system of primogeniture created and favored hereditary aristocracy; the American…
……感谢你的彬彬有礼以及多年来对 HN 的贡献，但也必须指出你的观点很不契合美国精神。让我担忧的是，你的这些观点正在侵蚀我们的年轻人。我推荐读读托克维尔大约在 1840 年写的《论美国的民主》。网上有免费版本可以看。https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_in_America
…appreciate your civility, and contributions to HN over the years, but also recognize the unAmerican nature of your ideas. What concerns me is that your ideas are infecting our young people. I recommend Democracy in America written by Tocqueville in ~1840. It's available for free on the internet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_in_America