托克维尔论民主时代的公民德性

Tocqueville on Civic Virtue in Democratic Times

在公民德性问题上,托克维尔与之前的思想家颇为不同,他不再看重德性之美,而是因应民主时代的人们对于利益的诉求,强调德性的功用。在托克维尔那里,"正确理解的利益"原则是理解公民德性的起点,这一原则有助于克服个人主义的时代弊病。但是,对"正确理解的利益"原则的践行本身并不就是公民德性,而只是达致公民德性的途径。因为公民德性依然是一种情感,在托克维尔看来,这种情感由对"正确理解的利益"原则的践行经过长久坚持转化而来,是一种习惯性的、本能式的热爱。在此之中,我们可以看到理性与情感、对个人利益的肯认与对超越性的期待之间复杂的纠缠。

The issue of civic virtue is important because it can offer us a better perspective to investigate the complexity of Tocqueville’s political thought. On the one hand, Tocqueville is different from his predecessors regarding the meaning of civic virtue. Aiming at catering for democratic people’s pursuit of interest, he does not stress the beauty of civic virtue any more, but emphasizes its utility. The principle of interest rightly understood is viewed as the start point of understanding civic virtue. On the other hand, the principle of interest rightly understood can help to mitigate the negative influence of individualism, and civic virtue in Tocqueville’s view is still a sort of affection as before, but it is the consequence of the adherence of enlightened self-interest. Through the issue of civic virtue, we can see that while Tocqueville affirms individual interest, he still expects for transcendence in democratic times.