联合会、民众与1792—1793年英国的反改革运动

The Association, Common People and the British Anti-Reform Movement during 1792—1793

当法国大革命冲击欧洲大陆、英国国内的议会改革运动对“旧制度”提出挑战时,英国的政治保守派亟须整合保守的力量对抗改革派。1792年11月底成立的“保存自由与财产、反对共和派与平等派联合会”,以阻遏议会改革运动为目标,充当政府的工具,组织有形力量打击改革派,形成反改革运动之势。在这一过程中,政府暗中指导,反改革联合会精心组织、引导和控制民众,建立反改革统一战线,民众主动参与或被裹挟其中。反改革联合会及其反改革运动既反对激进主义的改革之路,也不赞成柏克式“有保留的变革”之途。它以维持现状为目标,否定变革的合理性与可能性,破坏了中下等阶层改革派的联合,阻遏了改革运动的发展势头,英国政治日趋转向保守。

With the impact of the French Revolution and British parliamentary reform movement on the“Old Corruption”,political conservatives strove to place a counterpoise to reform movement.The Association for Preserving Liberty and Property against Republicans and Levellers,founded in November 1792,set its goal of checking popular reform movement.With the support of government,the association maintained a high public profile in the business of repressing campaigns against reformers of middle and lower classes.The association combined popular conservatism with all kinds of exertions,leading the common people into the participation of anti-reform campaigns,actively or passively.By building up a united front against reform movement,the association and its anti-reform movement strongly opposed both to radicalism and Burke’s idea of conservative reform,and broke up the union between reformers of middle and lower classes.The reactionary conservatism checked the growth of popular reform movement and led Britain into a channel of political ultra-conservatism.