论杜威的民主共同体理念及其当代价值

On Dewey's Philosophy and Contemporary Value of the Democratic Community

当代西方政治哲学中新自由主义与社群主义之争使个人权利与共同体之善的关系再度成为世人关注的焦点。杜威提出并论证了民主共同体概念,认为民主共同体是人类共同体的理想形式,是一个不断生成的过程,在这样的一个共同体中,得到共享的经验是人类最大的利益。民主共同体为个人的生活提供了群体归属感和自我认同感,共同体的存在又依赖于个人的参与。民主主义教育为民主共同体的持续存在提供了重要保证。可以说,杜威的民主共同体思想对解决个人与共同体的矛盾关系提供了一种新的理论视角,对当今我国公民政治参与具有一定的启示意义。

The dispute between liberalism and communitarianism makes the relation of the individual right and the good of community the focus concerning the contemporary western political philosophy.Dewey proposes the concept of democratic community.According to Dewey's theory,the democratic community is an ideal form of human community and a process of developing in which human beings benefit a lot from the shared experience.The democratic community provides individuals with groups belonging and ego identification.The existence of community depends on individual participation.The democratic education provides the important guarantee to the continuous existence of democratic community.Dewey's thought of democratic community provides a new theoretical perspective of dealing with the contradictory relationship between the individual and the community.It also produces certain significance for us to understand the civic participation of politics in today's China.