Two global ranking lists came out recently. One is the 2015 democracy index rankings composed by a think tank of the Economist Group, the other is the 2016 Best Countries rankings published by the US News & World Report, in collaboration with BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
最近两个榜单几乎同时出炉，第一个是2015世界“民主”指数排名，由英国经济学人智库发布。第二个是2016“最好国家”排名，由华盛顿的《美国新闻与世界报道》杂志、BAV战略咨询公司和宾夕法尼亚沃顿商学院(微博)联合发布。
On the democracy rankings, China stands at the 136th. On the Best Countries list, China takes the 17th place, leaving even Russia, Ireland and South Korea behind.
在民主指数榜单中，中国被排在136名。在“最好国家”排名中，中国高居第17名，俄罗斯和爱尔兰、韩国等都在中国之后。
The first rankings are completely based on Western democratic standards, which makes even Iraq and some of the world’s poorest countries rank above China.
第一个榜单排名完全基于西方民主制度的标准，这使得连伊拉克这样的国家和多个世界最穷国家都排在了中国前面。
The Best Countries rankings are based on a survey of more than 16,000 business leaders, elites and other public figures in 36 countries and regions. The rankings are measured on factors such as tourism, business environment, quality of life, entrepreneurship and state power.
而最好国家排名则根据三家机构对全球36个国家和地区的1.6万多商界领袖、精英人士和其他公众人物调查后得出的结论。它评选的标准包括旅游吸引力、商业开放度、生活质量、企业家精神、国家实力等指标。
The big contrast of the two rankings raises a question: Is democracy the most important thing? We believe most people in the world might answer yes, or believe it is one of the most important things. But how to explain that the 17th ranking country in the Best Countries list only ranks 136th in terms of democracy?
这两种排名的悬殊提出了一个问题：民主是最重要的东西吗？相信世界上的大多数人答案大概都是“是”，或者认为它是最重要的东西之一。但是，如果民主这么重要，中国却排到136名，同时1.6万全球颇具见识的人又认为中国是“第17好”的国家，这如何解释呢？
There may be two answers. One is that democracy is not an absolute form, but a principle that leads to a nation’s better governance. So, the Western way of democracy, in which several parties compete for power and everyone can vote for their leaders, is only one option. There can be other political systems that follow democratic principles and also lead to better governance.
这里可以有两个答案。一是被普遍认为很重要的民主并不是某种绝对的形式，而是一种社会治理原则，这种原则将引领一个国家的良治。这样说来，西式以多党竞争和一人一票标识的民主制度只是选项之一，世界上还可以有通向良治的其他体现民主原则的制度模式。
The second answer may be that Western democracy is having problems in its application in different regions. In some developing countries, it does not necessarily lead to better governance.
二是西方民主制度在向全球不同地区推广过程中效果参差不齐。在一些发展中国家，它未必一定能走向良治。
For developing countries, it is not realistic for them to be the "best." It can also be risky to be too idealistic. They should strive hard to make themselves "better." Each country starts at a different point, and the successful ones are usually those that can continuously improve themselves in the long term.
对于发展中国家来说，试图做到“最好”不仅不现实，这样的理想主义还有可能是危险的。发展中国家应当做的是，努力让自己变得“更好”。不同国家的起点不一样，成功的国家应该是那些长期内持续改善的佼佼者。
Compared with achieving Western democracy, it is more difficult to become a "better country." Democracy can come about at a certain point as a result of domestic as well as foreign factors. But becoming a better country needs a strenuous long march.
相比之下，成为“好的国家”比达成西式民主更难。内部力量和外部力量都有可能导致西式民主形式的出现，而“最好国家”只能是“艰难的长征”的结果。
Chinese people should not take the "Best Countries" rankings too seriously. We are aware of the various problems the country faces. However, the rankings also indicate that if we keep walking our own path, it is still possible for us to make the country one of the successful examples of the 21st century, and win world respect.
中国人恐怕不能对上述“最好国家”榜单太认真，因为我们能切身感受到自己国家面临的种种问题。但这个排名也表明，只要中国沿着自己的发展之路，同样有可能成为21世纪最成功的国家之一，并且赢得世界的尊重。
