当代中国社会道德变革的轨迹

Trajectories of Moral Transformation in Contemporary Chinese Society

改革开放40年来,中国社会道德变迁的轨迹可以从3个方面进行归纳:首先是价值观方面的变化,从过去强调责任和自我牺牲的集体主义伦理,向一种强调权利和自我发展的个体主义伦理转变;其次是道德判断的标准发生了多样化的变革;第三是公德变得越来越重要。40年来道德变迁轨迹的标尺包含4个刻度,由低向高排序分别是:底线道德,个体主体性和尊严,同理心和社会信任以及社会公德。用这个标尺去衡量,中国自20世纪80年代以来所经历的是一场深刻复杂的道德转型,而不是道德危机。这一轨迹和标尺也为构建良善社会提供了方向和机遇。

Moral changes in Chinese society over the past four decades can be generalized as a three-fold transformation process. The first is the shift of ethical values from a collectivist ethics of responsibility and self-sacrifice to an individualistic ethics of rights and self-development; the second is the diversification of moral judgement and moral landscape; and the third is marked by the increasing importance of public morality. The yardstick of examining moral changes contains four important benchmarks, which are, in ascending order, bottom-line morality, individual subjectivity and dignity, empathy and social trust, and public moralities. Measured by this criterion, what has happened in China since the 1980s constitutes a deep and complex moral transformation (instead of moral crisis) which posts both challenges and opportunities for the building of a good society.