贵族精神与现代性批判

The Noble Spirit and the Criticism of Modernity

现代社会是由贵族社会脱胎而来的平民社会,现代性是一种平民精神。平民精神具有功利性、世俗性、平凡性,并形成了大众文化。贵族社会形成了贵族精神,具有超越性、自由性、高贵性,并形成了精英文化。在现代社会,贵族精神成为批判现代性的思想资源。中国传统社会在秦以后是平民社会,形成了平民文化传统,贵族文化传统薄弱。在五四运动和人民革命中形成了新的平民文化传统,贵族文化传统被清除。当代现代性也具有片面性,大众文化极端发展,缺少精英文化的制约,造成文化生态的失衡。因此,必须吸收贵族精神,建设精英文化,开展对片面的现代性和大众文化的批判。

Modem society is a civilian society originated from noble society, and modernity means a civilian spirit. The civilian spirit is embodied in its practical, worldly and common nature on the basis of which mass culture is established. The noble spirit is formed in noble society and is embodied in its surpassing, free and noble nature on the basis of which elite culture is formed. In modem society the noble spirit has been the thinking resource of criticism of modernity. Since the Qin Dynasty the Chinese society has been a civilian society and has formed a tradition of civilian culture in which process the tradition of the noble culture has been gradually declining. The modernity introduced by the May 4th Movement of 1919 lacks the noble spirit, and in subsequent people's revolution a new tradition of civilian culture is formed in which the tradition of noble spirit is eliminated. There is one-sidedness for modernity in modern society. The unbalanced condition of culture has been caused by the extreme development of mass culture and the lack of limits for the elite culture. Therefore it is necessary to perfect the elite culture with the noble spirit, and to criticize the one-sidedness of modernity and mass culture.