“专制主义”概念的“现代性转型”

An Inquiry into the Modern Transformation of the Concept of“Despotism”from the Perspective of Montesquieu and Tocqueville

近年来,对"专制主义"(despotism)这一政治、历史概念的讨论成为学术界的一个热点,但目前的探讨主要集中在"东方专制主义"的概念分析以及对西方中心论的批评之上,"专制主义"概念本身在西方思想源流中的转变、特别是它在近代的关键转型却甚少被论及。本文即以孟德斯鸠和托克维尔为重点,试图描述和分析这一转型。在这一近代转型中,专制主义不仅超越了东西方之分,而且获得了普遍的政治分析上的意义,成为理解和观察现代政治的关键概念工具之一。

Recently,'despotism'has become the center of an important debate in China's intellectual world. However, the current discussion has been largely focused on the definition of'oriental despotism'and the criticism of western centralism. The vicissitude of the concept of despotism,particularly its early modern transformation,has been to a great extent overlooked. This article tries to use Montesquieu and Tocqueville's thought to analyze this transformation. It argues that, thanks to this transformation,despotism has not only transcended the distinction between East and West,but also acquires meaning for common political analysis.