商人集团、私有财产与北美独立战争

Merchant Groups, Private Property, and the American Revolution

海外贸易推动了北美殖民地商业的繁荣和商人力量的迅速崛起。北美商人集团逐渐控制了殖民地的政治权力,并对与母国英帝国之间现有的贸易收入分配格局心存不满。同紧密的贸易关系相比,北美商人集团与母国的政治联系十分松散,且母国对于殖民地商人需求较大的、包括保护产权在内的公共产品提供不力。在这种政治、经济关系条件下,北美商人集团不仅对建立独立民族国家以确保自身财产利益制度化具有强烈的动机,而且拥有推动战争的集体行动能力。最终,其成员在独立战争后的产权制度界定和财富重组中牟取了最大份额的利益。作者运用新古典政治经济学的框架,分析了北美商人集团的私有财产利益诉求与北美独立战争之间的内在关联,认为独立战争是一场以北美商人集团之私有财产权利为核心的利益争夺。

This essay applies the theories of neoclassic political economics to analyze the connection between the American Revolution and the demands of the American continental merchants groups to protect their property rights. Overseas trade promoted economic prosperity for the continent and the rise of the merchants groups that resented the British-dominated distribution system that had seized political power on the eve of the Revolution. In spite of the close trade linkages between the British suzerain and the continent, their political connections were quite loose and the suzerain failed to provide public goods to meet the demands of the continental merchants, including property rights protection. In this economic and political situation, the continental merchant groups, with the capability of collective action which is necessary for war, were mobilized by the motive of creating an independent country to protect their property rights and interests. Last but not least, the groups also maximized interest and dominated privilege in the postwar property rights systemic restructuring and wealth redistribution. In conclusion, based on the above analysis, the American Revolution should be defined as a struggle over interests for private property rights by continental merchant groups.