查尔斯·泰勒的现代市民社会模式评析

On Charles Taylor's mode of modern civil society

政治哲学家查尔斯·泰勒认为,流行于现代西方社会的市民社会概念具有深远的历史根源,这些根源为近代以来的反专制主义学说以两种不同的路径(源自于洛克的L-流和孟德斯鸠的M-流)所继承和发展,并且为现代市民社会概念提供了两条不同的理论进路。在泰勒看来,鉴于两种进路都有可能演化为市民社会的消失、自由的丧失与专制政治的复现,因而应将二者融为一体,在融汇中克服各自缺陷,以建构能够真正保障自由的现代市民社会,即个人自由与政治自由、消极自由与积极自由相结合的市民社会。

Political philosopher Charles Taylor holds that the notion of civil society which is popular in modern western society has deep roots in the past.These roots are succeeded and developed by two schools of anti-absolutism,namely the L school derived from John Locke and the M school originating from Montesquieu.The L and M schools provide two different routes to theoretical evolution for modern notion of civil society.In the eyes of Taylor,because the two routes may make civil society vanish,freedom deprived and despotism recur,they should be inosculated as a whole to overcome their shortcomings so as to set up a civil society that will truly safeguard freedom.Such a civil society will combine individual liberty with political liberty,and negative liberty with positive liberty.