德國現代史（1880－1920）中韋伯政治觀之探索

Max Weber and the German Politics between 1880 and 1920: A Preliminary Analysis of Weber's Political Thought

本文以德國現代史（1880－1920）四十年間政經社文的變遷為經，和以韋伯生命史由青年至壯年及逝世的近半個世紀之經歷為緯，析述他對學術和從政的心路歷程，從而編織一幅時代與個人互動的圖像，進一步探索韋伯政治思想的演展。出身於布爾喬亞官宦之家的韋伯自幼耳濡目染其父同高官達人的評時論政，萌生對政局和時事的興趣。大學時代受自由主義者的姨丈之啟發逐漸形成國族主義兼自由主義的開放的心態，亦即國族主義和自由主義的融合。其後講學、評時、論政主要討論新教倫理促成資本主義的興起；社會主義最終造成幹部專政，形成官僚科層制當權和百姓失掉自由。歐戰激發韋伯參政的熱忱。戰敗後以獨立人士身分參與和會和『威瑪憲法』的起草，希冀建立政治新秩序，其理想為公民藉複決和公投選出英明領袖統治的民主體制。要之，韋伯的政治思想散落在其著作、演講、談話、通訊之中，未形成一個統一的體系，本文只是想法勾勒其大要而已。

This article starts with the delineation of the political development of Germany between1880 and 1920 as the intellectual context of Max Weber's political thought and activity. Some prominent issues in Weber's political thought were modern capitalism, socialism and democracy. Capitalism constituted the central theme of Weber's work. Among the different types of capitalism, he was especially interested in modern rational capitalism and in its origin. Unlike Marx, Weber did not emphasize that capitalism had an inherent tendency to break down and leads to crashes. Weber felt that socialism would entail a universal bureaucratization and a stifling of freedom. He vehemently opposed it whenever he could. He said that in a capitalist economy the state and the private economy balanced each other, but under socialism there would only be one vast power elite that decided everything. In his writings on politics Weber discussed such issues as direct democracy, the role and selection of leaders in a democracy, the relationship of capitalism and democracy. He even fancied the possibility of a plebiscitary leadership in a democracy, owing to his own interest in having a political system in which a plebiscitary leader plays a key role.