从“革命之子”到“云游仙人”——美国早期自由主义政治观的兴衰

THE RISE AND DECLINE OF EARLY AMERICAN LIBERALISM

早期自由主义是从美国建国到内战以后的一段时期内,在美国居主导地位的一种思潮。托马斯·潘恩和亨利·梭罗是众多自由主义思想家中二位杰出的人物,同时也是这一思潮在美国历史上兴盛和转折时期的代表人物。本文力图通过剖析二人的政治思想,探讨内战之前美国政治观念的演进及其对后来的影响,特别是其中关于国家与社会的思想。

Early liberalism was a dominant trend of thought in the United States which prevailed from the founding of the country till after the Civil War. Thomas Paine and H.D. Thoreau were outstanding thinkers among the numerous liberalists, and represented the thought in time of prosperity and transition in American history. The decline of early liberalism did not mean the end of the thought, but rather a periodic change adapted to the evolution of times. The shift from early liberalism to moderm liberalism was a vulgarizing process from revolution to reform.