in many ways a kind of immersion into what we might call today

在很多方面渗透于我们今天所说的
comparative politics; that is to say it opens up to us the

比较政治中意即为我们开启
variety of regimes, each with its own distinctive set of

多种政治种类每种都有其独特的主张
claims or principles, each vying and potentially in

和理念彼此在竞争并和其他政体
conflict with all the others, okay?

形成潜在冲突不是吗
Underlying this cacophony of regimes is the question always,

隐藏在这些政体杂音下的一个问题永远是
which of these regimes is best?

这其中哪种政体是最好的
What has or ought to have a claim on our loyalty and rational consent?

哪种能够或应虏获我们的忠诚及理性认可
Political philosophy is always guided

政治哲学永远受
by the question of the best regime.

最佳政体这一问题所指引
But what is the best regime?

然而什么是最佳政体
Even to raise such a question seems to pose insuperable obstacles.

光提出这样的问题就造成不可克服的障碍