商业时代的自由政治——论亚当·斯密的政治理论

The Liberal Politics of Business Times——On the Political Theories of Adam Smith

政治经济学是苏格兰启蒙运动政治学之最富特色的理论,斯密对于政治经济学的创立居功至伟,他以经济自由扩展了洛克的政治自由的主题。斯密一改霍布斯、洛克的契约论传统,转而以历史演化论的观点,将财产权归为政府起源的原因,并提出了权威产生的"权能原则"和"实利原则"。斯密的政府理论崇尚经济自由原则,将政府职能归为公共秩序、安全、基础设施建设和公共服务,主张以"看不见的手"自发调节自由市场,反对政府运用行政手段干预经济过程。斯密从政体史的视域考察自由的兴衰,阐释了以共和政治、奴隶制为基础的古代政治自由和以法治为基础的现代个人自由。斯密认为,自由的保障来自封建制度中议会、法律等独立的多元权力对王权的限制,这种多元权力的分立制衡,正是英国宪制的精髓所在。斯密的政治理论,对古典自由主义政治学产生了深远的影响。

Political economics is the most distinctive theory of the Scottish enlightenment politics, which was founded by Smith. He extended the theme of Locke＇ s political freedom to economic freedom and changed the contract theory tradition of Hobbes and Locke into the view of historical evolution, which took property as the reason of the state, and advanced ＂the efficiency principles＂ and ＂the utilitarian principles＂. Smith＇s theory of government advocated the principles of economic freedom, which took Government functions as public order, security, infrastructure development and public service, and claimed free market self-regulation through the ＂invisible hand＂, against government using administrative means to intervene in the economic process. From the sight of the polity history of the rise and fall of Republican politics, Smith explained the difference between the ancient political freedom, which based on republican political and slavery, and the modern personal freedom, which based on law. According to Smith, the guarantee of freedom came from the restrictions on kingship through the independent multiple powers of feudal system, such as parliament and law, and the checks and balances system of multiple powers was the essence of the British constitutional. The political theory of Smith＇s has had a profound impact on the classical liberalism in political science.