英国执政党与民生问题:从济贫法到建立福利国家

British Ruling Party and Issues of People's Livelihood: From Poor Law to Establishment of Welfare State

民生问题是政党执政和国家治理的关键所在。近代以来,英国执政党及其民生政策和理论,有长期的历史实践和经验教训,现象复杂,核心在于资本的利润追求与百姓的柴米油盐之间社会利益关系的相对平衡。从政党执政的角度切入,英国民生问题中有两大基本关系,一是政府与百姓的关系,属政治目的,是大局;二是实施措施如国家干预与市场机制的关系,属手段。从济贫法的产生到福利国家的建立,英国最终形成了国家主导型的社会保障体系,实为防止民生问题恶化失控而危及资本统治。不懂得"与民让利"的资本是不懂得生存的资本。由此,英国各大政党的执政历史,也是为了维护资本的根本权益而维持民生底线的历史。

The issue of livelihood is the key for the ruling party and state governance.Since the modern time,the British ruling parties and their livelihood policy and theory have the long-term historic practice and experiences and lessons,with complex phenomenon,yet its nuclei lies in the relative balance of social benefit relations between the profit pursuit of the capital and the daily life demand of the people.In perspective of the studies on the governance of the ruling party,according to the British practice,the livelihood issue has two basic relations.The first is the relation between the government and the people,which belongs to the political purpose,the issue of general situation.The second is the relation between measure conduct(e.g.the national interference) and market mechanism,which belongs to the means.The policy is pragmatic while the means serves the purpose.From the birth of Poor Law to the establishment of the welfare state,British eventually forms the state-oriented social security system,whose purpose is to prevent the livelihood issue from worsening to be uncontrollable and threatening the capital ruling.The capital which does not understand 'giving profits to the people' is the capital which does not know how to survive.Thus,the governing history of each British ruling party is the history maintaining the ultimate benefit of the capital and the bottom line of the people.