伦理学容量与农业文明发展的史学启示

Historical Enlightenment of Ethical Capacity and the Development of Agricultural Modernization in China

伦理学容量意指社会伦理观对各类社会组分的系统性包容,藉以保持社会稳定。社会在系统耦合中发生系统进化,释放生产潜力,推动社会进步。系统耦合与系统相悖并发。前者释放生产潜力,为社会进步的正值,后者反之,为系统进步的负值。中国农业社会为城乡二元结构,其系统耦合所生产正值,即社会效益,绝大部分为社会强势的城市占有,是为社会发展的受益方;而系统相悖发生的负值,则由社会弱势方农村全部承担,所获社会发展效益甚少,或根本不得效益,是为社会发展的少受益方,或受害方。因而城市与乡村形成利益对立的双方。以往对社会进化弱势群体关注不足,或阻碍社会发展,或发展为社会乱源。在皇权社会的农耕文明,勉强保持了伦理学容量的脆弱稳定。但在后工业化的今天,社会系统多元化迅速发展,多重系统耦合与系统相悖并存,其社会矛盾远非原来的农耕文明伦理容量所能包容。中国农民从西周以来所背负的不公正待遇,引发系列社会问题,严重阻碍社会发展。当前全球一体化的大潮下,社会发展势不可挡,实现农业现代化势所必然,与之相适应的伦理学容量势必巨大扩容,新的农业伦理学已经曙光初现。

Ethical capacity means the systematic inclusion of various social components by social ethics, in order to maintain social stability. Society has made systematic evolution in systems coupling, so to release production potential and promote social progress. Systems coupling always goes side by side with systems conflict. The former is positive to social progress for its release of production potential, while the latter has negative effects on system progress. In the dual structure of the urban-rural of China＇s agricultural society, the great deal of most social benefits generated by positive effects of systems coupling have been taken by socially dominated urban areas, which became the main beneficiary of social development; while the negative effects caused by systems conflict fall entirely on the weak rural side, which benefit less or even nothing from social development and become a less beneficial party or a victim. The urban and the rural thereby appear op- posite each other with conflicting interests. In the past, the less attention paid to vulnerable groups has hin- dered social development, or resulted in social turmoil. The culture of farming civilization of the imperial period barely maintained the fragile stability of the ethical capacity. However, in current post-industrialization era the traditional ethical capacity cannot bear the contradictions caused by rapid development of social diversification and coexist of multiple systems coupling and systems conflict. Chinese farmers have suffered from unfair treat- ment since the Western Zhou Dynasty, which triggering a series of social problems so hindering social develop- ment. With globalization spreading, social progress is unstoppable and the same is true with agricultural mod- ernization. Accordingly, a corresponding ethical capacity is bound to be expanded and a new agricultural ethics is about to take its shape.