变法思想家的“制度认知落差”:康有为与韦伯论德国宪制

The“Institutional Cognition Gap”of Reform Thinkers:Kang Youwei and Max Weber on German Constitution

在19世纪末20世纪初,康有为与马克斯·韦伯两位变法思想家对德意志第二帝国宪制的评价出现了戏剧性的“制度认知落差”:康有为被德国的建设成就所震撼,认定德国的君宪模式已超越英国的君宪模式与法、美的共和宪制,可以为“升平世”区域强国整合周边小国、推进区域一体化提供优越的制度框架;而马克斯·韦伯却为德国联邦体制中普鲁士与南德各邦力量的失衡而忧心忡忡,对德皇威廉二世的政治能力深感沮丧,从而试图模仿英式君宪模式,弱化君权,期待在议会与政党中产生能够领导德国崛起的政治领袖。两位变法思想家的“制度认知落差”并不仅仅是“局外”与“局内”的不同位置造成的,更关键的是认知框架上的巨大差异。而突破机械的线性史观,将秩序视为建立在社会矛盾与社会运动基础之上并不断经历着更新与再造的动态分析视角,有助于克服在后发国家盛行的“慕强”认知模式,从而对制度的效能形成更为客观的认知。

At the late 19th century and the early 20th century,a dramatic“institutional cognition gap”emerged between Kang Youwei and Max Weber,two reform thinkers,in their evaluation of the constitutional system of the Second German Reich.Kang was so impressed by Germany’s rising that he determined its dual constitutional monarchy had surpassed the British model of constitutional monarchy and the republican constitution of the United States.Kang believed that at the Age of the Rising Peace,the German constitutional model could provide a superior institutional framework for regional hegemons to integrate small neighboring countries to form a greater political entity.Worried about the imbalance of power between Prussia and German states in the South,and deeply frustrated with the political ability of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II,Max Weber proposed to turn to the British model of constitutional monarchy,attempting to weaken the monarchical power,and expecting the party politics in the parliament could produce charismatic political leaders.The“institutional Cognition gap”between the two“reform thinkers”is not only caused by the different positions of“outsider”and“insider”,but more importantly,by the huge difference in their cognitive framework.A dynamic analytical perspective,which breaks through the mechanical linear view of history and regards social and political order as a process of reproduction based upon social contradictions and social movements will help overcome the mentality of“political hyper-gamy”that prevails in many developing countries,so as to bring more sound judgment in the comparison of different systems.