新进化论璞玉与功能主义瑕疵——评塞维斯的国家起源理论

The Uncarved Jadeof Neo-Evolutionism and the Flaw of Functionalism: A Discussion of Elman R. Service's State Origin Theory

20世纪 6 0年代 ,美国人类学家塞维斯提出“群队→部落→酋邦→国家”的国家起源新进化论模式。该理论的主要特点在于 :它以“酋邦”取代摩尔根的“部落联盟”作为原始社会向文明社会的过渡阶段 ,以印加等“原始国家”取代古典希腊城邦作为早期国家的典型。该理论总结了当代人类学的积极成果 ,基本上反映了人类社会从原始组织向国家演进的阶段性特征 ,近年来还得到了我国考古学成果的有力支持。不过 ,该理论也存在对社会进化原因的功能主义解释以及在国家起源问题上持“融合论”

In the 1960s, Elman R. Service, an American anthropologist, put forward the neo-evolutionary model about the origins of the state, with the classification of social types into band, tribe, chiefdom and state. The theory is characterized with the following two points. First, it replaces Morgan's tribal confederacy with chiefdom as the transitional stage from primitive to civilized society. Second, it replaces the ancient Greek city-state with the so-called primitive states like Inca as the representative of the early state. This theory summarizes the positive achievements of the contemporary anthropology and reflects the traits of the evolutionary stages of the human society from primitive organization to the state. In recent years the theory also achieved strong support from archeological findings in China. Nevertheless, there exists in the theory the functionalist explanation for the causes of social evolution. And there are other mistakes such as the fusiondoctrine in the origins of the state.