美国民主的“形式”问题——亨利·詹姆斯的《美国游记》

American Democracy and the Problem of Form: Henry James's The American Scene

本文通过解读亨利.詹姆斯晚年的《美国游记》分析和讨论詹姆斯对于美国民主制度的批评。詹姆斯认为19世纪末美国的民主制度存在着一个社会、文化和伦理“形式”匮乏的问题。由于资本主义的扩张、移民的涌入和美国本身缺乏历史与文化的积淀,美国民主奉为圭臬的个人主义理念实际上成为一个日益空洞的概念。但是《美国游记》并非是对美国民主制度单向度的批判,詹姆斯的文化和伦理立场也不是简单的反民主的保守主义思想。詹姆斯一方面批评了美国民主在社会层面上的失败,另一方面也试图揭示出民主制度未来的前景和希望。詹姆斯清楚地认识到美国的民主社会必须要有一个文化和伦理的自觉,必须要意识到美国的民主制度与欧洲传统社会的不同,并在此基础上创造出能表达其自身精神的社会、文化与伦理生活形式。

This essay discusses and analyzes Henry James＇s critique of American democracy reading through a of his travelogue The American Scene. James believes that American democracy in the late 19th century faced the problem of failing to produce its own social, cuhural and ethical forms. With the expansion of capitalism, large-scale immigration and the original lack of historical and cultural sedimentation, the ideal of individualism, which is the foundation of American democracy, became an increasingly empty concept. However, The American Scene is not a one-dimensional diatribe against America＇s democratic system, and neither can James＇s critique be characterized by a strain of anti-democratic or conservative thought. James criticizes the social failure of American democracy, while simultaneously speculating on the future possibilities of America＇s democratic society. James urges his countrymen to arrive at a self-conscious understanding of American democracy and its fundamental differences from the European tradition, based upon which they can start creating their own representative forms of social, cultural and ethical life.