商业社会的人性与政治曼德维尔论社会性与商业国家

Human Nature and Politics of Commercial Society:Mandeville on Sociableness and Commercial State

晚近的思想史研究对商业社会性和商业国家的考察,揭示了政治道德哲学在18世纪相对于此前的决定性推进,但是学者们尚未注意到曼德维尔在这一变革中的重要意义。一方面,曼德维尔借助以礼貌和虚伪为核心的“社会性”概念革新了霍布斯的人性论图景,阐释了商业社会秩序背后的人性逻辑;另一方面,他始终重视政治视野,强调国家在建立和维持大型商业社会方面的重要意义。事实上,曼德维尔之所以愿意接受在道德上相当可疑的现代商业社会,很大程度上是出于他对国际环境的清醒认识。他对商业社会的政治力量和道德困境的深刻洞察,决定性地塑造了此后政治道德哲学的发展走向。只有将道德和政治维度纳入考察视野,我们才能更好地把握“商业社会”的理论意义。

Recent researches on commercial sociability and commercial states reveal the great progress made by the eighteenth century political and moral theorists compared with their predecessors in the seventeenth century,and the relevance of their thought to our contemporary society.However,scholars have not yet noticed Mandeville’s contribution in this regard.This paper demonstrates the importance of Mandeville’s theoretical contribution in two aspects.Firstly,Mandeville’s theory of“sociableness”shows how commercial prosperity and luxury in a society are based on hypocrisy and politeness,which are further supported by the deep-rooted pride in human nature.This new theory changes the Hobbesian version of human nature and provides a key to understanding the logic of commercial society.Secondly,Mandeville keenly points out the complex relationships between politics and commercial society.The state is essential in establishing and maintaining orders in a large commercial society,which in turn plays a crucial role for the survival of the state in international competition.In fact,Mandeville’s acceptance of a morally dubious commercial society grows out of his sober awareness of international circumstances.His profound insight into the political power and moral dilemmas of the commercial society has decisively shaped the trend of political and moral philosophy thereafter.Only by incorporating moral and political perspectives into our inquires can we better grasp the theoretical significance of“commercial society”.