马基雅维利视域下的美国共和宪政精神

Republican Constitutionalism of the United States under the Vision of Machiavelli

尼科洛·马基雅维利是共和主义从古典到现代发展的关键人物。他提出的一系列重要的共和主义观点和思想,例如宪政的价值和可行性,自由对于共和国的重要性,执政者对国家权力的运用、公民品德的培养等等,都成为美国立国的思想基础。美国共和宪政的灵魂是自由精神,其伟大之处在于他不仅保护私人利益和个人自由,同时也在一定程度上试图促进积极的、具有公共精神的公民权和领导权,以便在政治自由和个人自由之间保持相对平衡;美国共和政体的构成要素是人性与美德,通过制度偏好,即三权分立和联邦制来控制公民美德的衰败,在激发公民美德生长的同时,从而更好地维持共和政体的稳定;美国联邦党人的共和思想有限地保留了古典共和概念中的积极公民和民主,但用代议民主取代直接民主,并将共和有效地纳入宪政框架。

Niccolo Machiavelli is the key figure in the development of republicanism from classics to modern world. He putsforward a series of important republicanism ideas and thoughts, such as the value and feasibility of constitutionalism, theimportance of freedom to the republic, the use of the state power by the rulers, the cultivation of the citizen’s morality etc.,which have become the basis of the foundation of the United States. The soul of the republican constitutionalism of the UnitedStates is freedom. It not only protects the private interests and individual freedom, but also to a certain extent tries to promotecitizenship and leadership with positive and public spirit to keep the relative balance between political freedom and personalfreedom. Humanity and virtue are the two key elements of the constitution of the United States. Through system preferences,namely, separation of powers and federalism, it controls the declination of civic virtue, as well as stimulates the growth of thecivic virtue to better maintain the stability of the republic. The federalists’ republican thoughts retain to some extent the activecitizenship and democracy of the classical republican concept. But it replaces the direct democracy with representativedemocracy. Meanwhile, it incorporates effectively the republican system into the constitutional framework.