政治改革與商業社會：麥金塔對法國大革命的反柏克式回應

Political Reform and Commercial Society: Mackintosh's Anti-Burkean Response to the French Revolution

詹姆士．麥金塔（James Mackintosh, 1765－1832）在1790年代對法國大革命激昂的辯護，使他與諸多蘇格蘭啟蒙思想家有所區別。他的《為法國辯護》（Vindiciae Gallicae）旨在反駁艾德蒙．柏克（Edmund Burke, 1729－1797）的兩項政治觀點：對法國政治的批評，與對英國自由傳統的稱頌。麥金塔將其論證建立於早先蘇格蘭思想家對商業社會的觀點上，同時採納洛克對政治同意此一概念之見。麥金塔訴諸自然權利論以提倡政府的現代化，主張政府應以改革為目標，並展現其效益。本文檢驗麥金塔政治思想的兩個層面，即他對政治改革的倡議，以及他對統治正當性的理解。前者至關他駁斥柏克的反法立場，後者則在促進現代自由的發展上不可或缺。筆者主張，麥金塔處理這些主題的手法，顯示其政治思想中現代政府理論的確立。

James Mackintosh distinguishes himself from the Scottish Enlightenment thinkers for his eloquent apology for the French Revolution in the 1790s. His Vindiciae Gallicae refutes Edmund Burke's criticism of the French politics and his praise of the English liberal tradition. Mackintosh establishes his own argument based on his Scottish predecessors' views on commercial society while adopting the Lockean view of political consent. Scrutinising Mackintosh's advocacy of political reform and his understanding of political legitimacy, this essay argues that Mackintosh's take on these themes is a manifestation of establishing a modern theory of government in his political thought.