略论“正常社会”——基于涂尔干和马克思的观点

A Brief Discussion on“Normal Society”—Based on the Views of Durkheim and Marx

结合马克思和涂尔干的相关论述,一个正常的社会必须同时兼具两个条件,它既必须是常态的社会,又必须是具有正当性的社会。常态性意味着,从历时的角度看,这种社会状态具有恒常性;从共时的角度看,这种状态具有普遍性。常态性使生活在这种社会中的人们能够对未来、对他人的行为形成基本稳定的预期,并按照这种预期从容安排自己的生活;相应地,生活在这种社会中的人们不太会处于无穷的焦虑之中。正当性则不仅意味着那种社会常态是由某种作为社会共识的道德来维系的,更意味着这种常态之是否合乎正义,是否值得或应该继续维护,必须接受一种超越于这个特定社会的、更高的道德价值的审视与评判;按照马克思的观点,这种更高的、超越性的道德价值,就是促进人的自由而全面的发展。一个社会,只要经得起这样一种道德价值的检验和拷问,它就是一个具有正当性的社会;生活在这样一种具有正当性的社会中的人们,一般不太会怨气冲天,也不太会产生深切的无意义感而无聊、厌烦甚至躺平。

Based on the relevant discussions of Marx and Durkheim,a normal society must meet two conditions:it must be both a regular society and a legitimate society.Regularity means that,from a diachronic perspective,this societal state has permanence;from a synchronic perspective,it has universality.Regularity allows individuals living in such a society to form stable expectations about the future and the behavior of others,enabling them to arrange their lives calmly in accordance with these expectations.Correspondingly,individuals in such a society are less likely to be consumed by endless anxiety.Legitimacy,on the other hand,not only means that the social norm is maintained by a moral consensus but also that this norm must be evaluated for its justice and worthiness of preservation,based on a higher moral value that transcends the specific society.According to Marx,this higher,transcendent moral value is the promotion of the free and comprehensive development of individuals.A society that can withstand the scrutiny and interrogation of such a moral value is considered a legitimate society.People living in such a legitimate society are generally less likely to harbor intense grievances or experience profound feelings of meaninglessness,boredom,or apathy,which could lead to a sense of futility or withdrawal from life.