谢盛友:如果中国统治世界
(原载台湾《旺报》,原题目:中国有模式吗?)
* 2010-05-15
* 旺報
* 【(謝盛友/歐洲《European Chinese News》出版人)】
如果中国统治世界,将用什么模式,中国是什么模式,中国有模式吗?
中国人民大学客座教授、伦敦经济学院亚洲研究中心客座研究员马丁•雅克(Martin Jacques),在去年推出《当中国统治世界时》(When China Rules the World:The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World)中指出,中国除了有悠长历史和伟大发明外,她的历史发展与西方国家有显著不同;欧洲自罗马帝国灭亡后,版图分裂成许多国家,但中国则相反,她逐步统一全国。如果说,过去二百年来,欧洲式的观点操纵了世界历史,那么,今后百年将轮到中国了。她提供世界一个完全不同的概念,她强调统一多于分裂;强调“文明国家”多于“民族国家”;“朝贡体制”好过“现代化体制”;对于“种族”,中国的见解具其特色。
雅克反对西方的普遍主义(universalism)。他指出,欧美一些国家成功地实现了现代化,他们一厢情愿地以为,中国无论是自然进展或必然发展,最终会遵从西方的范例。雅克认为,中国不会沿袭西方的现代化规划,屈从西方标准。他说,“中国的传统思想,是求同存异。”他在书中指出,中国非主流的发展模式,正是一个成功例子。她将会接替西方国家在各个领域的主导地位,包括经济、政治和文化。 西方一直将中国的崛起当作是一种经济历程,雅克认为大错特错。他指出,文化影响和经济影响一样重要,但是,西方国家却不愿意提起中国文化的重要性;因为他们相信,中国最终和西方同化,实施西方的政体、采用西方的法律条文,成为西式社会。 雅克认为,中国地大物博,人口众多,对自己的文化中心地位充满自信;她会为“现代化”国家重新下定义。如果说,英国曾是海上霸主、美国是经济霸主,那么,中国将成为文化霸主。
英国资深媒体人,《观察家报》专栏作家赫顿(Will Hutton)曾与英国同行马丁•雅克(Martin Jacques)就中国崛起及“中国模式”话题展开书面辩论。他认为中国必须建立民主机制才能进入下一个发展阶段。他认为资本主义和民主机制之间的联动纽带是现代化的保证,而中国虽具备资本主义经济的组织架构,但往往有名无实。
赫顿认为,民主机制不仅仅是指选举,还包括支撑、辅助选举制度的机制和条件,比如法治、新闻自由、公正的警察、监管等执法系统、预警机制、可信可靠的统计数据。单单最后一项,具有不受操控或者无法被操控的统计数据,如果要成为现实,对中国来说就是迈进一大步。所以,毫无疑问,中国首先需要这些民主机制,然后,它的最终需要建立百姓对当政者问责的制度。 “中国版”的民主进程当然是非常中国化的,跟世界其他任何地方的都不同。这个进程是中国人开创和推动的。北京在其中扮演了至关重要的角色,不管是支持、推动民主还是维护极权阻挠民主进程;而且它无论如何都将包含儒家和法家传统元素。就像美国或者韩国的民主化过程都独具本国特色,道理一样。
但是,必须看到不同国家版本的民主进程有共同之处,那就是大家都采用的一些程序。这点很重要。这些程序要求政府廉洁、诚信、道德操守高尚,要求有问责机制、透明机制。当一个社会结构和肌理变得很复杂,就必须有这些机制和程序才能正常运作。你不可能对13亿人采取微观控制,如果硬要微观控制,经济就很难增长。
中国需要向多党制方向发展,但那是个最终状态。欧洲也是到了文艺复兴以后才出现民主。这是个过程。以英国为例,我们在17 世纪有了法治,到18世纪初我们建立了宪法保障的权力制衡机制,但那是由贵族掌控的。1760年代我们有了新闻自由,120年以后每个男性公民都拥有选举权。1920年代妇女才获得选举权。所以,民主化是一个过程。
赫顿不认为中国一步就能跨入民主。但是,通往民主的道路上还是有一些站点,比如司法独立和法治,权力的制衡机制,新闻自由,这些都是搭建民主大厦所需的组件。你不能指望中国二、三十年后一个冲刺就实现民主了,民主所需的机制和要素是几十年几十年慢慢积累起来的。邓小平说中国实现民主需要50年,赫顿认为可能要150年。但绝对会有那一天。
中国代表了人类的五分之一,它的经济世界排名第三,它是世界头号出口国,外汇储备2万亿美元,还有一支2百万人的军队。所以,它是个强国,这毫无疑问。但是,它的货币不能自由兑换,它离科技创新前沿相距甚远,也没有值得一提的跨国企业,跨国银行。从很多方面来说,它是个在一块大陆上的29个贫困经济和4个自治区的组合。从这个角度看,中国不应该被视为威胁。中国既大又小,既发达又贫穷。这就是中国模棱两可和矛盾之处。这种模棱两可在你我有生之年都不会消失。
在中国持不同政见仍将需要勇气,而且不会是愉快的经历。北京仍然采用高压手段对待反对者,比如不经控罪和法庭审理就把人关进监狱,即便开庭审理,举证过程往往受到操纵。但是,西方的历史表明,所有值得珍惜的东西都是付出血和泪的代价的,比如选举权,宗教信仰自由,等等。所以,赫顿认为中国的持不同政见者都是一些非常勇敢的人,他们为正义事业而战。但赫顿不会对他们发誓说情况将很快发生好转。赫顿也不认为这样的人会越来越少。赫顿觉得在中国出现重大变化前,持不同政见者会越来越多。
英国政治哲学家格雷(John Gray)在《新政治家》杂志发表文章,同意雅克的论点:“对于任何发展中的国家都不能摆脱西方模式的说法,令我们难以认清当前世界重组的局势。”格雷说,当中国逐渐强大,她会愈加肯定其古代文明延续下来的价值观;她会在历史中寻觅智慧,以创造出一种现代化的新模式。
国内一位传播学者给我写信,说《圣经》究竟是什么?基督徒将其视为宗教经典,无神论者则视其为“精神鸦片”。耶和华和耶稣建立威信、宣扬教义的过程与当今政客的政治营销何其相似。《圣经》淋漓尽致地描绘了上帝打击异教徒、“收买”追随者的各种手段。所以,从实用主义角度说,《圣经》及其故事是当今各类野心家的“葵花宝典”,堪与《史记》《资治通鉴》等媲美。
我给他回复说,作为传播学者,我多少认同你的观点,但是,《圣经》使人认识自己的罪,在这方面,作为基督徒,我跟你的认识完全不一样。西方政府并不否认,它们就是用基督思想来治理国家,奥巴马就职手按《圣经》宣誓,德国基督教民主联盟的阿登纳73岁任总理,他们靠的就是基督和民主思想。
中国的经济快速发展,哪怕是金融危机,也取得增长8.7%的好成绩。中国学者认为,这就是“中国模式”在显示威力。到底有没有“中国模式”?“中国模式”的内涵是什么?
我承认,中国的经济是高速发展,我相信,如果不再犯违反常识的大错误,中国还会有二三十年的比较快速的发展时期。但是,背后支撑“中国模式”的价值和力量是什么?中国人到到底用什么治理国家?用孔子,那么国家主席就职时宣誓为什么不手按《论语》?用道教,为什么不手按《道德经》?用马克思主义,为什么不手按《共产主义宣言》?
六十年人民共和国,前三十年学苏联,搞计划经济。后三十年也是跌跌碰碰,“摸石头过河”。说到底,中国现在的经济发展,得益于全球经济板块的移动,若“中国模式”没有一个背后支撑架,就不可能成为模式。
西方国家现在是在走下坡路,但是它们以有神论为基础,建构一个兼容并包的自由制度,焕发创造活力,因为创造的源头在自由的制度。至于如何运用和运用哪些资源,只要有自由的制度作保障,让学者、艺术家、科学家、思想家自己去选择。所以,西方现在走下坡路,也是在一个稳定的模式下、在一个稳定的框架下慢慢地下坡。
中国的传统文化的确博大精深,但是,中国人能不能从孔子老子自身的力量中培植出自由民主的制度,并孕育出独立的知识分子?若不能,“中国模式”是没有思想支柱的,还是在那里“摸石头过河”。
(原载台湾《旺报》)
附录:
人物简介:威尔•赫顿(Will Hutton)是英国资深媒体人,2000年出任工党智囊机构The Work Foundation 首席执行官,2008年升任该基金会副主席。赫敦的职业经历包括股票经纪人和投资分析员,后转入媒体,曾在BBC电视和电台当记者、制作人,后出任《观察家报》总编,现仍为该报撰写每周专栏。他曾出版数部财经类畅销书,2007年出版《不祥之兆:21世纪的中国和西方》(The Writing on the Wall: China and the West in the 21st Century)。
Biography of Martin Jacques
Martin Jacques is the author of When China Rules the World: the Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World.
He is a visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics, IDEAS, a centre for the study of international affairs, diplomacy and grand strategy, and a visiting research fellow at the LSE’s Asia Research Centre. He is a columnist for the Guardian and the New Statesman.
His interest in East Asia began in 1993 with a holiday in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. After that, he found every reason or excuse he could find to spend time in the region, be it personal, for newspaper articles or television programmes. The most important of these was meeting his wife-to-be, Harinder Veriah, in Malaysia in 1993 who then came to live with him in England the following year. His research on the book started in earnest when he went to live in Hong Kong with his wife and nine-week old son Ravi in 1998. During the following year he travelled extensively in China, Japan and Taiwan but his work on the book was interrupted by the tragic death of his wife on January 2, 2000 at the age of 33. He stayed on living in Hong Kong with his son until March 2001, fighting for an inquest into his wife’s death and then helping to initiate a campaign for the introduction of anti-racist legislation which was finally successful in 2008.
He eventually resumed work on the book in 2005. He was a visiting professor at the International Centre for Chinese Studies at Aichi University in Nagoya and later a visiting professor at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. In 2005-6 he was a visiting professor at Renmin University, Beijing and in 2006 a visiting senior research fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. He completed the final manuscript for the book in December 2008.
Born in Coventry in 1945, he took a first class honours degree at Manchester University followed by a masters degree. He then went to Cambridge University, where he was a member of King’s College, and took a PhD. He subsequently held a lectureship in the Department of Economic and Social History at Bristol University.
In 1977, he became editor of Marxism Today, a post he held for fourteen years, transforming what was an obscure and dull journal into the most influential political publication in Britain, read and respected on the right and left alike, and the home of the best contemporary political analysis; it was the foremost analyst of Thatcherism, coining the term, identified the decline of the left before others, and introduced the idea of ‘new times’, based on post-Fordism and globalisation.
In 1991, he closed Marxism Today and in 1994 became the deputy editor of the Independent newspaper, a post he held until 1996. In 1993 he co-founded the think-tank Demos, the idea for which first occurred to him during the latter phase of Marxism Today, and which was to become influential during the 1990s.
An award-winning journalist, in 1988 he became a columnist and essayist for the Sunday Times, a relationship which continued until 1994. In 1999-1, he was also a columnist for The Times and in 1996-8 for the Observer and since 2002 for the Guardian and more recently the New Statesman. In addition he has written extensively for many newspapers and magazines in the UK and elsewhere including: Financial Times, The Economist, Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Daily Mail, Daily Express, The European, THES, TLS, Management Today, Esquire, World Link (journal of World Economic Forum), International Herald Tribune, New York Times, New Republic, Volkskrant, Profil, La Stampa, Corriere della Sera, L’Unita, Il Mondo, Politiken, Ta Nea, Volkszeitung, Liberation, Le Monde Diplomatique, Folha Des Paulo and South China Morning Post.
His most influential essays include the End of Politics, the Rise of East Asia, Meaning of Middle Class Insecurity, the Age of Sport, and the Global Hierarchy of Race.martin and ravi
He has made many television programmes for the BBC including writing and presenting Italy on Trial (1993), The Incredible Shrinking Politicians (1993), a two-part series on The End of the Western World (1996) and Proud to be Chinese (1998).
He co-edited and co-authored the Forward March of Labour Halted? (1981), Politics of Thatcherism (1983), New Times (1989), Wrong (1998) and has contributed essays to many other books.
He is chairman of the Harinder Veriah Trust which was established in memory of his wife and gives financial support to under-privileged children at Harinder’s old school Assunta Primary in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, in order to assist them in their education.
He lives in London with his son, Ravi.
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