心态与共同体:试析巴特菲尔德的农村改革思想

Mentality and Community:An Essay Towards Butterfield s Rural Reform Theory

作为美国早期农村社会学和19世纪末“乡村生活运动”的核心人物之一,巴特菲尔德的农村改革思想不仅在当时的美国社会具有一定影响,而且深刻地影响了师从其攻读博士学位的杨开道。巴特菲尔德将改造农民封闭的“个体主义”心态作为解决乡村问题的关键,并且通过对美国乡村社会的精神领袖传统进行改造,围绕乡村领袖、定期集会等机制尝试将乡村社会重新组织为进步的“合作共同体”。巴特菲尔德的农村改革思想不仅为农村社会学的学科史研究提供了素材,还为理解杨开道的乡村社会思想和中国农村社会学的早期问题意识提供了线索。

As one of the central figures of early American rural sociology and the Country Life Movement in the late nineteenth century,Butterfield s ideas for rural reform not only had a certain influence on American society at that time but also profoundly influenced Cato Young,who studied under him for his doctorate.Butterfield regarded the transformation of the closed,individualistic mentality of farmers as a key element in solving rural problems.He tried to reorganize rural society into a progressive“cooperative community”through the transformation of the tradition of spiritual leaders in American rural society and mechanisms such as rural leaders and regular gatherings.Understanding of Butterfield s ideas for rural reform not only provides material for the study of the disciplinary history of rural sociology but also provides insights to understanding Cato Young s rural sociology theory and the early focus of Chinese rural sociology.