财富、支配与国家：亚当·斯密论奴隶制的废除与现代自由的基础

摘要/Abstract

摘要： 尽管近年来学界对亚当·斯密所谓商业实现人类自由与文明社会的判断多有关注，但未能充分解释其笔下包括商业社会在内的人类社会广泛存在的社会压迫，低估了奴隶制的韧性与西欧现代自由的偶然性。本文指出，斯密认为商业无法实现人性中暴烈激情的普遍转向，而是通过改变财富与政治权力的分配来实现人类自由的革新。在古代政治中，商业强化了既有的蓄奴经济与支配结构，但在欧洲封建时代破碎的政治版图中，商业与奢侈恰好促成了封建领主的破产，进而导致少部分地区封建制的瓦解、绝对主义的诞生与奴隶制的废除。同样重要的是，欧洲内陆广大的封建地产缓和了地主的财政危机，商业在此无力撬动财富与权力的天平，反而再次强化了社会压迫。对斯密来说，只有深入了解商业社会在政治权威变迁中的角色与作用，观察商业对政治权力分配方式的历史影响，才能充分理解法治、正义与自由的可能性。

关键词: 亚当·斯密, 奴隶制, 支配, 商业, 现代国家

Abstract: This article deals with Smith’s historical account of slavery. Although much scholarly attention has been paid in recent years to Smith’s judgement on the salutary effects of commerce on liberty and civilization, it has failed to address Smith’s account of the prevalence of social dependence in human societies， including the commercial society，while underestimating the intransigence of slavery and the contingent nature of modern European liberty. In Smith’s view，commerce could advance individual liberty and equality through the “descent of fortune”. By mitigating wealth gap and the monopoly of the means of subsistence， commerce could create important opportunities for the improvement of the living conditions of the lower ranks. Nevertheless， for Smith， social oppression has always been rooted in the human desire to dominate since the birth of government and has further evolved with the balance of property and power. By reconstructing Smith’s analysis of slavery， this paper shows that Smith believed that commerce alone could not achieve the universal revolution of violent passions in human nature and liberty could only be achieved by changing the distribution of wealth and political power. In ancient politics，commerce reinforced pre-existing slaveholding economy and social domination. However， in the fragmented political landscape of feudal Europe，commerce and luxury unintentionally contributed to the bankruptcy of feudal lords， which in turn led to the collapse of feudalism， the birth of absolutism and the abolition of slavery in a few regions. Equally important， however， is the fact that the vast rich feudal estates in other parts of Europe eased the financial crisis of the landowners， where commerce was unable to shake the balance of wealth and power， but instead reinforced social oppression once again. For Smith， only by delving into the role of commercial society in the change of political authority and observing the historical influence of commerce on the distribution of political power can we fully understand the prospect of the rule of law， justice， and freedom.

Key words: Adam Smith, Slavery, domination, commerce, modern state

朱华辉. 财富、支配与国家：亚当·斯密论奴隶制的废除与现代自由的基础[J]. 社会杂志, 2022, 42(5): 124-151.

ZHU Huahui. Wealth，Domination， and the State：Adam Smith on the Abolition of Slavery and the Foundations of Modern Liberty[J]. Chinese Journal of Sociology, 2022, 42(5): 124-151.

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