通向帝国巅峰之路——大英帝国的政治逻辑

The Road towards the Summit of Empire--Political Logic of the British Empire

在世界帝国发展史上,大英帝国建立了最为完整和最为发达的全球殖民体系。无论从领土面积、人口数量、军事力量、综合国力、科技水平和国际影响哪个角度看,大英帝国都达到了历史上的帝国所能达到的巅峰状态。大英帝国崛起的因素既有科学技术、生产力水平、军事力量等硬实力,也有国民素质、统治水平和政治经济制度等软实力。“光荣革命”后确立的代议民主制度,相继引发了科技革命和工业革命,极大地解放了社会的生产力,使英国成为世界历史上最早的工业化强国,这是大英帝国走向巅峰的决定性因素。然而,民主政治的逻辑与帝国政治的逻辑本质上是正相对立的,民主政治的发展必然导致帝国政治的消亡。大英帝国的兴盛源于代议民主的产生,大英帝国的解体源自民主政治的进步。大英帝国是世界帝国史上的绝响,它给后人的重要警示是:任何追逐帝国霸业的梦想都与人类民主进步的潮流背道而驰,也必定被人类主流文明抛弃。

In the development of empires,the British Empire has established the most complete and advanced colony system in the world.From the perspective of territory,population,army force,comprehensive power,science and technology level and international influence,the British Empire has achieved the summit of empires historically.The rise of the British Empire contributes to such hard power as science and technology,productivity level,army force and 80 on,as well as such soft power as national quality,rule power and political and economic systems.Representative democracy system,established after"Glorious Revolution",brings about technology revolution and industry revolution,which frees social productive power and make the British Empire rise to the earliest industrialized power in the world.It is the decisive factor to the summit of the British Empire.However,the logic of democratic politics is opposed to that of imperial politics.The development of democratic politics is bound to lead to the breakdown of imperial politics.The rise of the British Empire is due to the emergence of representative democracy,while the breakdown of the British Empire is due to the progress of democratic politics.The British Empire is unique in the history of empires in the world whose warning to the mankind is that all the dreams of imperial sovereign go against the mainstream of democratie progress of human beings,and they are bound to be eliminated by the mainstream civilization of human beings.