在契约与身份之间:身份政治及其出路

Between Contract and Identity: Identity Politics and Its Way Out

现代政治是契约政治。政治契约的信守者都是具有一定社会身份的人。社会身份的主流与非主流之别,对契约政治的运行会产生重大影响。身份政治兴起于传统契约政治罅隙之处。身份政治的主体不是全体公民,而是公民的特殊群体。特殊集群的身份与契约政治同质化的公民身份交叠而在。当前者遮蔽后者时,身份政治便僭越为政治的主流形式,这对现代契约政治构成一种颠覆。身份政治以群体差异性奠基,无法有效整合一国之内的公民身份,它不能成为现代政治的引导力量。身份政治僭越主流的问题必须解决,否则现代政治将陷于危机状态。这需要从结构优化和功能调适两方面重建契约政治。

Modern politics is contractual politics.The adherents of political contracts are people with certain social identities.The operation of contractual politics is strongly influenced by the difference between mainstream and non-mainstream social identities.Identity politics arises in the gap within traditional contractual politics.The subjects of identity politics are not all citizens,but particular groups of citizens.The identities of particular groups coexist with the homogenous citizenship of contractual politics.When the former obscures the latter,identity politics becomes the mainstream form of politics that subverts modern contractual politics.Identity politics,based on group differences,cannot effectively integrate the citizenships within a country,as well as becoming the guiding force of modern politics.The problem of identity politics overstepping the mainstream must be solved,otherwise modern politics will fall into crisis.This requires reconstructing contractual politics from two aspects:structural optimization and functional adjustment.