在政治自由中积极捍卫个人自由——贡斯当的自由观辨析

Defending Personal Freedom in the Achievement of Political Freedom——An Analysis of Benjamin Constant's Concept of Freedom

在欧洲大陆,贡斯当最早对卢梭的理论作出系统批判,通过对法国大革命的总结而积极地推行自由主义政治原则。他首次明确区分了个人自由和政治自由,并强调个人自由是真正的自由,政治自由是个人自由的保障,因而不能因政治自由而牺牲个人自由。

Benjamin Constant was the first person who systematically animadverted on Rousseau＇ s theory in Europe. He actively pushed the principle of political liberalism through summarizing French Revolution. He first dearly differentiated the personal free- dom and political freedom. Moreover, he emphasized the individual freedom was real freedom and political freedom was the protec- tion of individual freedom. Thus it was incorrect that personal liberty could be sacrificed in order to acquire political freedom.