自由帝国主义的监管人秩序观:以伯克和霍布森的亚非认识为例

The Trusteeship of Liberal Imperialism:Views on Asia and Africa from Edmund Burke and J.A.Hobson

艾德蒙·伯克与约翰·霍布森在英国自由主义思想传统中占据重要地位。两者在对劳工与殖民地问题的讨论中,表达了自由主义传统中以“反帝国主义”面貌示人的帝国主义秩序观。这种秩序观反对帝国对海外领土进行直接统治,更强调“先进”文明对“落后”文明的监管,并通过商业活动“促进”后者的“发展”。这种自由帝国主义秩序观与种族主义密切关联。此外,在19世纪中后期,帝国主义的种族不平等观也衍生出了使阶级不平等合理化的内容。同时,种族观也从一种精英阶层的帝国理由,转向逐渐与帝国中心的白人工人阶级发生联系。这一进程与自由帝国主义者推动的“自由劳工”全球流动密切相关。

As main figures in British liberal tradition,Edmund Burke and John A.Hobson shared interests in labour and colonial issues.Their discussions helped to shape the anti-imperialist narratives in British liberalism.However,this paper argues that the liberal anti-imperialist narrative is fundamentally a new development of an imperialist world order.It replaces direct colonial rule with economic dominance and political trusteeship.The idea that“backward”nations should be placed under the trusteeship of an“advanced”civilisation is deeply rooted in the racist world view.By the mid-19^(th) century,racism as an elitist raison d'etre for the British Empire had found its way into the understanding of the social inequality in the English society.Working class politics also took in the highly hierarchical language of racism in responding to the global movement of“free labour”promoted by the liberal imperialists.