论韩非的“理性官僚制”——兼与韦伯理论的比较

On“Rational Bureaucracy”Promoted by Han Fei——Concurrently a Contrast to That by Max Weber

在秦帝国统一的前夜,韩非基于官僚体制日臻完善的社会情势,为实现官僚体制的有效运作提供了一套系统方案,蕴含着其实现清明吏治的卓绝努力。这一理论尝试比20世纪初马克斯·韦伯创立的“理性官僚制”领先两千多年。尽管韦伯的理论产生的历史背景与韩非有所不同,但其核心要旨在韩非思想中都已得到充分阐述。相比之下,韦伯的理论更多是在哲学层面提出的一些基本原则,而韩非的理论不仅有哲学原则的指导,更包含一整套科学而又可操作的吏治之道。虽然官僚制在历史实践中日趋走向僵化,但蕴含在官僚制理性基础之中的法治观念以及等级化、专业化等原则,在组织发展的任何阶段都是不可或缺的,因此,韩非的吏治之道依然值得大力借鉴。

Right before Qin Empire unified the country,Han Fei,considering that bureaucracy was being developed and improved,proposed a systematic scheme for the operation of bureaucracy as an effort made to achieve effective administration of local officials.This theoretical attempt is more than two thousand years ahead of“rational bureaucracy”created by Max Weber at the beginning of the 20th century.Despite the fact that they were invented in different historical backgrounds,Han Fei’s theory elaborated almost all core tenets of those of Weber’s.What’s more,while Weber’s theory was more of a philosophical approach with some basic principles,Han Fei’s theory contains not only philosophical principles,but also a complete set of scientific and feasible approaches to bureaucratic administration.It is true that bureaucracy is becoming more and more ossified in its practice throughout history,the philosophy of administrating officials through legislation and the principles of hierarchization and specialization embedded in the rational basis of bureaucracy are indispensable at any stage of organizational development.The scheme promoted by Han Fei,therefore,still holds significant implications.