孟德斯鸠社会历史观述要

A Brief Commentary on Montesqieu's Idea of Social History

孟德斯鸠在《论法的精神》中表述了他的社会历史观。他的基本原则或立场是坚持和维护人的自由、平等和个体独立性。他对自由的强调是相对于上帝而言的。他指出,人是不断违背上帝所制定的规律而生活,并且更改着自己所制定的规律。他对人的平等的强调特别表现在奴隶制问题上。他是一个彻底的废奴主义者。他在强调个体的独立地位时,坚决反对将公共利益同个人私益对立起来,反对将前者置于后者之上。他指出,当两者发生冲突时,应该用民法来处理,这时政府和公民个体的地位是对等的。此外,关于人的自然状态的思想也是其社会历史观的一个基本内容。

In his On the Spirit of Law,Montesqieu expounded his concept of social history.His basic principle or stand was to maintain human freedom,equality and individual independence.His emphasis on freedom was relative to God.He pointed out that a man lives while continually violating rules made by God,and altering those made by himself.His emphasis on equality was best represented in his arguments on slavery.He was a pure abolitionist.When he emphasized individuality,he was firmly against the opposition between c...