权力,也许是人类历史上仅次于性爱的起源最早的社会现象。哲学家罗素曾指出,在人类的“无限的欲望中,居首位的是权力欲和荣誉欲”。社会生活中有多种权力,但以政府拥有的公共权力(publicpower)为核心。在现代政治生活中,公共权力的衰弱,常带来社会失范和无政府状态;而公共权力的过于扩张,又将对私人权利构成威胁。因此,如何处理权力这一烫手的山芋,便成为各国公法尤其是宪法的一大主题。目前,各国宪法关于公共权力的规定,概括起来有三个方面:授予权力以解决其合法性,分配权力以形成制衡,调控权力以发挥其功用。 Power may be the earliest social phenomenon in the history of mankind, second only to the origin of sex. Philosopher Russell once pointed out that among the “infinite desires of mankind, the highest priority is power and honor.” There are many kinds of power in social life, but it is centered on government-owned public power. In modern political life, the weakness of public power often leads to social anomie and anarchy. Excessive expansion of public power, in turn, poses a threat to private rights. Therefore, how to deal with the hot potato of power has become a major theme of public law in various countries, especially the constitution. At present, the constitutional provisions on public power in various countries are summed up in three aspects: the granting of power to solve its legitimacy, the distribution of power to form checks and balances, and controlling power to fulfill its function.