西塞罗的国家观

Cicero's View on State

西塞罗的国家观包括五个方面的内容:把国家看作公民的联合体,试图从"城邦"中抽离出"国家"这一概念,用res publica代替城邦指称普遍意义上的国家,在一定程度上突破了城邦观念的束缚;用历史演进的眼光看待国家起源,把国家看作具有独立伦理价值的精神实体,通过对私有财产的强调,为国家观注入了非伦理因素;继承了古希腊思想家的政体学说,把国家划为三类七种,始终坚持共和政体是最优越的政体;基本上把国家看作高于个人的联合体,但通过对国家的定义和对公民私有财产权的强调,为他的国家观蒙上了个人主义色彩;接受了自然法学说,力主法治,构建了一个庞大的法律体系,以维护共和制,但后期的"元首制"(princeps)构想反映了他的人治倾向。

Cicero＇ s view on state can be divided into five aspects ： first, he deemed state as a community of citizens, and tried to abstract the conception of ＂state＂ fi＇om the ＂city-state＂. Also, he used the word ＂res publica＂ to replace the ＂polis＂ to denote ＂state＂ in its general sense, therefore, to a certain extent; he broke the concept of ＂city-state＂. Second, he treated the origin of state from an evolutionary perspective and regarded state as a spirit entity, having its own independent ethics values. But by emphasizing private property, he gave the state a kind of unethical element. Third, he inherited ancient Greek scholars＇ theory of government forms, according to which he divided the state into seven kinds and insisted that among them republic is the most advantageous form of government. Fourth, he basically considered the state as a community, which was higher than individuals. But he also stressed individualism by emphasizing the definition of country and private ownership of citizens so that his view on state seemed to be mysterious. Fifth, he accepted the natural fight philosophy, advocated the rule of law, and made a huge legal system to defend Roman Republic. But on his later days, the idea of the ＂head of a state system＂ （＂princeps＂） reflected his rule of man inclination.