光明之子的乌托邦情结——尼布尔与马克思主义

The Son of Light's Utopian Complex Niebuhr and Marxism

美国新正统主义神学家莱因霍尔德·尼布尔与马克思主义渊源颇深。尼布尔所倡导的现实主义伦理学中的现实主义因素在许多方面得自于马克思。马克思的阶级斗争和意识形态理论更是成为尼布尔反思教会内外的自由主义思潮,批判社会现实的得力工具。早年的尼布尔不但是马克思主义理论的信奉者,甚至还成为社会主义运动的积极参与者。但是到了20世纪40年代,尼布尔却一反过去的态度,开始激烈批评马克思主义,认为马克思的人性理论较之理性主义、浪漫主义和自然主义来虽有殊胜之处,但同时也和它们一起分享了启蒙运动以来的进步观念,不能真正理解人性和历史中的罪恶的根源。这一缺陷在政治理论上表现为"强硬的乌托邦主义",在现实生活中则表现为社会主义运动中出现的种种问题。

The American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr who helped the American Protestant pass through the crisis in the 1930's has deep relationship with Marxism.As the founder and leader of the Realist Ethics,Niebuhr's theory benefited considerable from Marxism,especially the theory of class struggle and the theory of ideology.Actually Niebuhr was a‘Socialist Christian’ as he called himself in his early years.But gradually Niebuhr became a severe critic of Marxist theory and movement when he put his heart into the classical Christian dogma such as St. August's theory of original sin.He said Marxism do better than romanticism and naturalism in the battle against rationalism, since Marxism considered justly the function of reason and that of vitality,nevertheless,Marxism has great fault in its theory of human nature which will cause inevitably the‘hard utopiani sm’in the social-political theory.Niebuhr believed that is the root of most of the evils of Stalin's Russia.At the end of his criticism,Niebuhr also suggested that the Christian truth be used to prevent from fanaticism and self-righteousness of the working class in order to remain the realist power of Marxism. The thesis will focus on the analysis Niebuhr gave and comment upon them.