“俭”的道德价值——中国传统德性分析之二

俭 ,是中国古代各种德性的基础。俭的道德价值 ,表现于修身、持家、治国三个方面。俭是一种中道 ,既不同于奢侈 ,又不能归结为吝啬。在现代市场经济中 ,俭德的存在是与市场主体的经济理性相吻合的 ,但应正确把握消费与节俭的关系 ,以此为基础来扬弃传统俭德。在可持续发展已成为全球共识的背景下 ,节俭已从主要是个人的、家庭的德性上升为一种人类整体的德性 ,从一般生活的层面上升到人类生存境遇的层面 ;节俭与否不再仅仅与生活质量的好坏有关 。

Thrift is the very basis for the various virtues in ancient China. Its moral values are embodied in the following aspects, namely self-cultivation, household management and ruling of the state. Thrift, neither like extravagance, nor like parsimony, is a doctrine of the mean. Within the contemporary market economy, the existence of the virtue of thrift tallies itself with the economic reason of the dominant market. To be thrifty, against the background that the sustainable development has become a view shared by the whole globe, has already been raised to the level of the virtue of the whole mankind from that of a personal and family virtue, to the level of the living conditions of the whole mankind from that of daily life. To be or not to be thrifty consequently not only merely concerns living quality, but also concerns the destiny of the whole mankind.