马克思主义研究网Marxism Research Network

Unofficial English translation by DeepSeek, a Chinese LLM · source marxism.cass.cn

Eroding Capitalism

段忠桥:侵蚀资本主义

· · Marxism Abroad · Duan Zhongqiao, School of Marxism, Shandong Normal University; Research Center for Political Philosophy, School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China · Foreign Theoretical Trends, 2022, no. 2 · 21 min read

Erik Olin Wright, a professor at the University of Wisconsin in the United States who passed away in January 2019, was a world-renowned sociologist and a major representative of analytical Marxism. During the period when the socialist states of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union successively collapsed in the 1980s and neoliberalism ran rampant in Western capitalist countries, Wright devoted himself to studying how to oppose capitalism and achieve socialism in advanced capitalist countries, putting forward many new and thought-provoking insights. This article will focus on expounding a new strategy for opposing capitalism—eroding capitalism—that he proposed in his book *How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century*, completed shortly before his death.

2019年1月去世的美国威斯康星大学教授埃里克·欧林·赖特(Erik Olin Wright)是世界著名的社会学家、分析的马克思主义的重要代表人物之一。在20世纪80年代苏东社会主义国家相继解体和新自由主义在西方资本主义国家大肆泛滥之际,赖特投身研究在发达资本主义国家如何反对资本主义和实现社会主义,提出了许多振聋发聩的新见解。本文将集中阐释他在逝世前不久完成的《如何成为21世纪的反资本主义者》一书中提出的一个反对资本主义的新战略——侵蚀资本主义。

I. Why Oppose Capitalism?

一、为什么要反对资本主义?

Before discussing the new strategy for opposing capitalism in the 21st century, Wright first posed a question for people to consider: Why oppose capitalism?

在论述21世纪反对资本主义的新战略之前,赖特首先提出了一个问题让人们思考:为什么要反对资本主义?

Wright pointed out that, historically, people have opposed capitalism based on two motives: first, class interests; second, moral values. In his words: "You can oppose capitalism not only because it harms your material interests, but also because it offends certain moral values that are important to you." If capitalist society were composed solely of the two opposing classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, then positioning the reasons for opposing capitalism solely from the perspective of class interests would be sufficient—this is also the basic view of classical Marxism. However, Wright argued that the reasons for opposing capitalism in the 21st century go beyond this. First, in contemporary capitalist societies, there are still many intermediate classes or strata between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. For example, highly educated professional and technical personnel, managers, and self-employed individuals have interests that are not clearly aligned with either capitalists or workers. Therefore, their willingness to oppose capitalism depends to a large extent on the moral values they hold. Since the support of these people is crucial to any strategy for opposing capitalism, it is vital to build alliances around values, not just class interests. Second, the motives of most people for opposing capitalism are at least partly moral considerations, not merely practical economic interests. People often act against their own class interests, not because they are unaware of those interests, but because other values are more important to them. For example, Marx's close comrade Engels was the son of a wealthy capitalist, yet he wholeheartedly supported political movements opposing capitalism. Finally, clear values are indispensable for thinking about alternatives to capitalism, because we need to judge not only the ills of capitalism from a moral standpoint, but also the desirability of its alternatives.

赖特指出,从历史上看,人们反对资本主义通常是基于两种动机:一是阶级利益;二是道德价值观。用他的话来讲就是:“你可以反对资本主义,不但因为它损害了你的物质利益,也因为它冒犯了某些对你很重要的道德价值观。”如果资本主义社会只是由相互对立的资产阶级和无产阶级这两大阶级构成,那么,仅从阶级利益的角度定位反对资本主义的原因就足够了,这也是经典马克思主义的基本观点。然而,赖特认为,在21世纪反对资本主义的原因不止于此。首先,在当代资本主义社会中还存在不少处于资产阶级与无产阶级之间的中间阶级或阶层。例如,受过高等教育的专业技术人员、管理人员以及个体经营者,他们的利益并不明显地与资本家一致或与工人一致,因此,他们反对资本主义的意愿在很大程度上取决于其信奉的道德价值观。由于这些人的支持对反对资本主义的战略非常重要,因此,在一定程度上围绕价值观而不仅仅是阶级利益建立联盟是至关重要的。其次,大多数人反对资本主义的动机至少部分是出于道德方面的考虑,而不仅仅是实际的经济利益。人们的行为常常违背自己的阶级利益,这并不是因为他们不了解这些利益,而是因为对于他们而言,其他一些价值更加重要。例如,马克思的亲密战友恩格斯是一个富有的资本家的儿子,但他全力以赴地支持反对资本主义的政治运动。最后,明确的价值观对于思考替代资本主义的方案是必不可少的,因为我们不仅需要从道德上评判资本主义的弊病所在,还需要从道德上评判其替代方案的可取之处。

Building on the premise that opposing capitalism cannot be based solely on class interests, Wright further argued that, in the contemporary era, people oppose capitalism largely based on the assertion that "capitalism, as a way of organizing the economy, impedes the fullest possible realization of values such as equality/fairness, democracy/freedom, and community/solidarity."

以反对资本主义不能仅仅从阶级利益出发为基础,赖特进而提出,在当代,人们反对资本主义在很大程度上是基于这样一种论断,即“资本主义作为组织经济制度的一种方式,阻碍了平等/公平、民主/自由和共同体/团结等价值观的尽可能充分实现”。

Consider equality/fairness first. Most people in contemporary capitalist societies hold some ideal of equality, although there is considerable disagreement over the meaning of equality itself. Wright argued that equality as a value refers to: "In a just society, everyone has roughly equal access to the material and social means necessary for a flourishing life." The "flourishing" life referred to here means "the development of people's capacities and talents so that they can pursue their own life goals, thereby in some sense realizing their potential and purposes." However, capitalism inherently generates vast inequalities in the material conditions needed to obtain such a life, leaving some people completely deprived of the material conditions for a "flourishing" life. Even in advanced capitalist countries like the United States, millions of people live economically precarious lives, suffering from hunger and poverty-related poor health, living in unsafe neighborhoods, and enduring the social stigma and discrimination associated with poverty. Capitalism also creates inequality in access to the social conditions needed for a "flourishing" life, most prominently reflected in the inability to obtain fulfilling and meaningful work. Most jobs provided by capitalist firms are monotonous and tedious, even if they offer adequate income. Of course, in any process of producing goods and services, there will always be unpleasant, uninteresting work to be done. But the problem is that capitalism creates severe inequality in the distribution of work that is a burden versus work that is interesting and satisfying.

先看平等/公平。当代资本主义社会的大多数人都抱有某种平等的理想,尽管他们在对平等本身含义的理解上存在不少分歧。赖特认为,作为一种价值观的平等指的应是:“在一个正义的社会中,人人都有大体平等的机会获取积极进取(flourishing)的生活所必需的物质和社会手段。”这里所讲的“积极进取”的生活,指的是“人的能力和才能得到发展,使他们能够追求自己的人生目标,从而在某种意义上实现自己的潜力和目的”。然而,资本主义内在地产生了获取这种生活所需的物质条件的巨大不平等,这使得一些人完全被剥夺了过上“积极进取”的生活的物质条件。即使在像美国这样的发达资本主义国家中,也有数以百万计的人过着经济不稳定的生活,他们陷入饥饿以及由贫困所导致的健康不佳状态,居住在不安全的社区,并受到与贫困相关的社会侮辱和歧视。资本主义还造成了获取“积极进取”的生活所需的社会条件的不平等,这突出地体现为无法获取充实而有意义的工作。资本主义公司提供的工作大多是单调乏味的,即使它们能提供足够的收入。当然,在任何生产商品和服务的过程中,总会有令人不快的、无趣的工作要做。但问题在于,资本主义在对作为负担的工作与有趣且令人满足的工作的分配上,存在着严重的不平等。

Consider democracy/freedom next. Wright said he discusses democracy and freedom as values together because both beliefs reflect a core basic value, a value that can be called "self-determination": "In a fully democratic society, everyone has broadly equal access to the means necessary for meaningful participation in decisions that affect their lives." Capitalism impedes the full realization of this value. First, in capitalist societies, the division between the public sphere and the private sphere excludes large numbers of people from democratic control over key decisions. For example, the right to decide when and where to invest and disinvest is a fundamental right accompanying private ownership of capital, yet capitalism excludes such decisions from democratic control, which clearly violates core democratic values. Second, private control over major investment decisions constantly pressures government authorities to formulate rules favorable to capitalist interests, giving the interests of one class of citizens priority over others, thereby violating democratic values. Third, the wealthy have easier access to political power. In all capitalist democracies, the wealthy can gain political power through donating to political campaigns, funding lobbying activities, and outright bribery and other forms of corruption, which clearly violates the democratic principle that all citizens should have equal opportunity to participate in controlling political power. Fourth, capitalist firms are permitted to operate as authoritarian organizations in the workplace. A fundamental power of private ownership of an enterprise is the owner's right to tell employees what to do. Of course, employers can grant workers considerable autonomy in the workplace, but they still hold the fundamental power to decide when to allow such autonomy, which violates the principle of self-determination that underlies democracy and freedom. Fifth, inequality in wealth and income under capitalism also creates inequality in freedom. Whatever meaning people give to freedom, it involves the capacity to say "no." A wealthy person can freely decide not to work for a wage; a poor person lacking independent means of subsistence cannot so easily refuse employment. Furthermore, as a value, freedom is also the capacity to take positive action toward one's own life plans; in this sense, capitalism deprives many people of genuine freedom.

再看民主/自由。赖特说,他把作为价值观的民主和自由放在一起来谈,是因为这两种信念都反映了一种核心的基本价值观,一种可被称为“自决”的价值观:“在一个完全民主的社会中,人人都有广泛平等的机会获得有意义地参与决定影响他们生活的事情的必要手段。”资本主义阻碍了这一价值观的充分实现。第一,在资本主义社会中,公共领域与私人领域的划分使大量民众无法参与民主控制的关键决策。例如,决定在何时何地进行投资和取消投资的权利是伴随着资本私有制而来的最基本的权利,而资本主义却将这类决策排除在民主控制之外,这显然违背了核心的民主价值观。第二,私人对重大投资的控制不断给政府当局造成压力,迫使其制定有利于资本家利益的规则,这使得某一类公民的利益高于其他人,从而违背了民主价值观。第三,富人更容易获得政治权力。在所有资本主义民主国家,富人都可以通过捐助政治运动、资助游说活动以及赤裸裸的贿赂和其他形式的腐败而获得政治权力,这显然违背了所有公民都应有平等机会参与控制政治权力的民主原则。第四,允许资本主义公司作为工作场所的独裁组织。企业私有制的一个基本权力是所有者有权告诉员工去做什么。当然,雇主也可以在工作场所给予工人相当大的自主权,但他仍握有决定何时允许这种自主权的基本权力,这违背了作为民主和自由基础的自决原则。第五,资本主义的财富和收入的不平等还造成了自由的不平等。不管人们所说的自由的含义是什么,它都是说“不”的能力。一个富人可以自由地决定不为工资而工作,一个缺乏独立谋生手段的穷人则不能如此轻易地拒绝就业。此外,作为一种价值观,自由还是一种对自己的人生计划采取积极行动的能力,从这个意义上讲,资本主义剥夺了许多人的真正自由。

Finally, let us look at community/solidarity. Wright points out: “Community/solidarity expresses the principle that people should cooperate with one another, not only on the basis of what they personally gain, but also because they genuinely care about the well-being of others and feel a moral obligation to act in this way.” When this cooperation occurs in the daily life of people helping each other, we use the term “community”; when this cooperation occurs in collective action to achieve common goals, we use the term “solidarity.” Capitalism fosters motives that corrode the values of community/solidarity. The driving force of capitalist investment and production is economic egoism. Adam Smith, in his classic work *The Wealth of Nations*, pointed out: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” The philosopher G. A. Cohen argued that the “direct motive of productive activity in a capitalist market society is typically … a mixture of greed and fear.” In greed, others are seen as potential sources of wealth; in fear, others are seen as threats. Capitalism also generates a series of cultural factors that corrode the values of community/solidarity, particularly competitive individualism and privatized consumerism. The core of competitive individualism is the desire to achieve success through competition, even at the expense of others. Privatized consumerism leads people to believe that satisfaction with life depends largely on ever-increasing personal consumption. This focus on personal consumption exacerbates the relative indifference to the well-being of others associated with competitive individualism.

最后看看共同体/团结。赖特指出:“共同体/团结表达了这样一个原则,即人们应该相互合作,这不仅基于他们个人得到了什么,还基于他们真正致力于他人的福祉和一种认为这样做是正确的道德责任感。”当这种合作发生在人们相互帮助的日常生活中时,我们使用“共同体”这个词;当这种合作发生在实现共同目标的集体行动中时,我们使用“团结”这个词。资本主义助长了腐蚀共同体/团结价值观的动机。资本主义投资和生产的驱动力是经济利己主义。亚当·斯密在他的经典著作《国富论》中指出:“我们期望的晚餐并非来自屠夫、酿酒师和面包师的恩惠,而是来自他们对自身利益的关切。”哲学家G.A.科恩(Gerald Allan Cohen)认为,资本主义“市场社会中生产活动的直接动机通常是……某种贪婪和恐惧的混合”。在贪婪中,其他人被视为可能的财富来源;在恐惧中,其他人被视为威胁。资本主义还产生了一系列腐蚀共同体/团结价值观的文化因素,特别是其中的竞争性个人主义和私有化消费主义。竞争性个人主义的核心是渴望通过竞争获得成功,即使以牺牲他人为代价。私有化消费主义使人们相信,对生活的满意度在很大程度上取决于不断增长的个人消费。这种对个人消费的关注加剧了与竞争性个人主义相关的对其他人福祉的相对漠视。

In Wright’s view, capitalism fundamentally obstructs the full realization of the values of equality/fairness, democracy/freedom, and community/solidarity. It generates and perpetuates unjust forms of economic inequality; it narrows the scope of democracy, limits the freedom of the majority, and enhances the freedom of the minority; it cultivates cultural ideas that support individual competitive success over collective welfare. It is this critique of capitalism based on these values that constitutes a major motivation for people to oppose capitalism.

在赖特看来,资本主义从根本上阻碍了平等/公平、民主/自由和共同体/团结这些价值观的充分实现。它产生并延续了不正义的经济不平等形式;它缩小了民主范围,限制了多数人的自由,增强了少数人的自由;它培育了支持个人竞争性成功胜过集体福利的文化理念。正是对资本主义的这些价值观的批评,构成了人们反对资本主义的一个主要动机。

II. Five Strategies for Opposing Capitalism in the 20th Century

二、20世纪反对资本主义的五种战略

After indicating why capitalism should be opposed, Wright reviews five strategies for opposing capitalism in the 20th century: smashing capitalism, dismantling capitalism, taming capitalism, resisting capitalism, and escaping capitalism. He points out that although these strategic logics interweave in practice, each constitutes a distinct way of dealing with the harms of capitalism.

在表明为什么要反对资本主义之后,赖特回顾了20世纪反对资本主义的五种战略,即摧毁资本主义、废除资本主义、驯服资本主义、抵制资本主义和逃避资本主义。他指出,尽管这些战略逻辑在实践中相互交织,但它们各自构成了应对资本主义危害的独特方式。

1. Smashing capitalism. This is the classic strategy of revolutionary communists. Their rationale for this strategy is: the capitalist system is already rotten, and it is an illusion to think it can be reformed to allow people to lead a progressive life; the only hope is to smash it and build a new socialist system on its ruins. Regarding how to implement this strategy, Lenin, Gramsci, and others, drawing on Marx’s works, proposed a revolutionary theory for opposing capitalism. This theory holds that the inherent contradictions of capitalism inevitably lead to periodic economic crises, which create opportunities for revolutionary parties to use the conditions created by the crisis—whether through elections or armed uprising—to overthrow the existing regime, lead the broad masses to seize state power, and then use state power to suppress the resistance of the former ruling class and its allies, establishing a socialist economic system to replace it. In the 20th century, this theory infused the struggle against capitalism with hope and optimism, because it not only powerfully indicted the existing world but also proposed a plausible vision for how to achieve an alternative to capitalism. It strengthened the courage of the broad masses, making them believe that history was on their side, and that their immense dedication and sacrifice in the struggle against capitalism would ultimately be rewarded with the victory of socialism. However, Wright argues that although this struggle sometimes achieved victory, it did not necessarily create a democratic, egalitarian society to replace capitalism. “Smashing the old system and social structure is one thing; building a new system of liberation from the ruins is another.”

1.摧毁资本主义(smashing capitalism)。这是革命的共产主义者的经典战略,他们提出这一战略的理由是:资本主义制度已经腐朽,认为可以对它进行改良从而使人们过上积极进取的生活是一种错觉,唯一的希望是摧毁它,在它的废墟上建立新的社会主义制度。对于如何实现这一战略,列宁、葛兰西等人以马克思的著作为依据,提出了反对资本主义的革命理论。这一理论认为,资本主义的内在矛盾必然导致周期性经济危机的出现,这使得革命政党有可能利用危机所创造的机会,通过选举或武装起义推翻现有政权,领导广大民众夺取国家政权,然后利用国家权力压制原统治阶级及其盟友的反抗,建立替代它的社会主义经济制度。在20世纪,这一理论给反对资本主义的斗争注入了希望和乐观主义,因为它不仅有力地控诉了现存的世界,而且为如何实现替代资本主义的目标提出了合理的设想。这增强了广大民众的勇气,让他们相信历史站在他们一边,相信他们在与资本主义的斗争中作出的巨大奉献和牺牲最终会换来社会主义的胜利。然而,赖特认为,这种斗争虽然有时取得了胜利,但却未必能创造出一个民主、平等的替代资本主义的社会。“摧毁旧制度和社会结构是一回事,从废墟中建立解放的新制度是另一回事。”

2. Dismantling capitalism. From the very beginning of the movement against capitalism, there were those who agreed with the critique of capitalism and the basic goals of the revolutionaries, but simultaneously believed that “the complete destruction of capitalism, at least in mature capitalist countries, would not create conditions favorable for a democratic, egalitarian alternative.” They suggested that the transition to a democratic, egalitarian socialism could be achieved through state-directed reforms that gradually introduce socialist elements. This implies that capitalist relations and socialist relations would coexist for a considerable period within a mixed economy. Under this strategy, there would be no moment of simple rupture between one system and another. Instead, capitalism would be gradually dismantled, and an alternative socialist system would be established through the continuous action of the state. The key preconditions for realizing this strategy are: first, the existence of a stable electoral democracy; second, the existence of a socialist party with a broad mass base capable of winning elections and holding state power for a sufficiently long period to allow the new socialist economic structures to develop robustly. This strategy of dismantling capitalism received strong support from anti-capitalists in the first half of the 20th century. After World War II, with the nationalization of railways and other industries in some developed capitalist countries, the establishment of socialized healthcare systems, and the expansion of public utilities, this strategy seemed to achieve some success. However, it ultimately ended in failure. In the decades following World War II, the vitality demonstrated by capitalism and the ideological offensive of socialist ideas in many countries led to the suspension of actions to continuously expand nationalization within mixed economies. Setbacks suffered by socialism (for example, the democratically elected socialist government in Chile being overthrown by the military in 1973) further weakened the belief that democratic elections could provide a path of gradual reform to dismantle capitalism. By the last quarter of the 20th century, the state-led sectors within capitalist economies, far from becoming the vanguard of a new economy, came under increasing attack and were replaced by neoliberal-dominated policies.

2.废除资本主义(dismantling capitalism)。从反对资本主义运动一开始,就有一些人赞同对资本主义的批判以及革命者的基本目标,但同时认为:“彻底摧毁资本主义,至少在成熟的资本主义国家,不会创造有利于民主、平等的替代方案的条件。”他们建议,可以通过国家指导的、逐步引入社会主义要素的改革来实现向民主、平等的社会主义的过渡。这意味着,资本主义关系与社会主义关系将在一种混合经济中共存较长时期。在这种战略下,不会出现一种制度与另一种制度简单决裂的时刻。相反,资本主义将逐步被废除,并通过国家的持续行动建立替代它的社会主义制度。实现这一战略的关键先决条件是:第一,有一个稳定的选举式民主国家;第二,有一个广泛群众基础的社会主义政党能够赢得选举,并在足够长的时间内掌握政权,以便新的社会主义经济结构得到稳健的发展。这一废除资本主义的战略在20世纪上半叶得到了反对资本主义者的大力支持。第二次世界大战后,随着一些发达资本主义国家铁路和其他一些行业的国有化、社会化医疗体系的建立、公用事业的扩张,这一战略似乎取得了某些成功,然而,最终还是走向了失败。二战后几十年中,资本主义表现出来的活力以及许多国家对社会主义思想的意识形态攻势,导致了在混合经济中不断扩张国有化的行动被迫中止。社会主义所遭遇的挫折(例如,智利民主选举产生的社会主义政府在1973年被军队推翻)进一步弱化了民主选举可以提供一条逐渐废除资本主义的改革之路的信念。到了20世纪最后25年,资本主义经济中国家主导的部门不但远未成为一种新型经济的先锋,反而受到越来越多的攻击,并被新自由主义主导的政策取而代之。

3. Taming capitalism. The strategies of smashing capitalism and dismantling capitalism both aim to replace capitalism with a fundamentally different economic structure—socialism. In contrast, the strategy of taming capitalism does not seek to eliminate capitalism, but only to reduce the harms it causes. In the three decades after World War II, taming capitalism became the dominant strategic thinking of socialist parties in the latter half of the 20th century. These strategies were mainly embodied in the following three sets of state policies implemented in developed capitalist societies.

3.驯服资本主义(taming capitalism)。摧毁资本主义和废除资本主义的战略都想要用一种根本不同的经济结构——社会主义——取代资本主义。与它们相反,驯服资本主义的战略不是要消灭资本主义,而只是要减少资本主义造成的那些危害。在二战后的30年间,驯服资本主义成为20世纪下半叶社会主义政党的主导战略思想,这些战略主要体现在发达资本主义社会推行的以下三组国家政策中。

(1) Some of the most serious risks people face in life—particularly concerning health, employment, and income—were reduced through a fairly comprehensive social insurance system authorized and funded by the public.

(1)人们在生活中——特别是在健康、就业和收入方面——经历的一些最严重的风险通过一个相当全面的、由公共授权和资助的社会保险体系得以减少。

(2) The state assumed responsibility for providing a large number of public goods. These goods were financed by the government through a robust, relatively high-tax system and were used for basic and higher education, vocational skills training, public transportation, cultural activities, recreational facilities, and research and development. While the primary beneficiaries of some of these public goods were capitalists, many public goods still benefited the general public.

(2)国家承担了提供大量公共物品的责任,这些物品是通过一个健全的、相对高税收的制度由政府负担的,它们被用于基础教育和高等教育、职业技能培养、公共交通、文化活动、娱乐设施以及研发活动。其中一些公共物品的主要受益者是资本家,但许多公共物品仍然能让大众受益。

(3) The state has also established regulatory systems aimed at addressing the most severe negative externalities of capitalist market behavior by investors and enterprises: pollution, harms arising from products and workplaces, predatory market conduct, asset market volatility, and so on. Similarly, while some of these regulations serve strictly the interests of capitalists, others protect the welfare of workers and the broader populace.

(3)国家还建立了监管制度,旨在应对资本主义市场中投资者和企业行为的最严重的负外部效应:污染、产品和工作场所产生的危害,掠夺性市场行为,资产市场波动,等等。同样,其中一些法规严格为资本家的利益服务,但也有一些法规保护工人和广大民众的福利。

These policies mean that the state has assumed part of the responsibility for correcting three major failures of the capitalist market in the capitalist economy: individual vulnerability to risk, insufficient supply of public goods, and the negative externalities of economic activities aimed at maximizing private profit. Capitalism has been tamed in some key respects, yet capitalism continues to exist, only less rapacious. However, in the first decade or so of the 21st century, the situation reversed. Everywhere, even in the heartlands of Nordic social democracy, voices called for abolishing "entitlements" related to social insurance, reducing taxation and the associated provision of public goods, relaxing regulation of many aspects of capitalist production and markets, and privatizing many state-provided services. Capitalist globalization has made it easier for capitalist corporations to shift investment to parts of the world with less regulation and cheaper labor, which has fragmented the labor movement and weakened its capacity for resistance and political mobilization. Alongside globalization, the financialization of capital has exacerbated inequality in wealth and income, which in turn has strengthened the political influence of opponents of socialism. Far from being tamed, capitalism has been liberated.

这些政策意味着国家在资本主义经济中承担了部分纠正资本主义市场三大失灵问题的责任:个人易受风险影响、公共产品供应不足和私人利润最大化经济活动的负外部效应。资本主义在一些关键方面被驯服了,但资本主义仍继续存在,只是不那么贪婪了。然而,在21世纪的头十几年中,情况发生了逆转。无论在哪里,甚至在北欧社会民主主义的大本营,都有人呼吁取消与社会保险有关的“权利”,减少收税和相关的公共品供应,放松对资本主义生产和市场的许多方面的管制,以及将许多国家提供的服务私有化。资本主义全球化使得资本主义公司更容易将投资转移到世界上监管较少、劳动力更便宜的地方,这使得劳工运动支离破碎,削弱了其抵抗和政治动员的能力。与全球化相伴,资本金融化导致财富和收入不平等问题加剧,这反过来又增强了社会主义的反对者的政治影响力。资本主义非但没有被驯服,反而被解放了。

4. Resisting capitalism. Wright argues that the term "resisting capitalism" can be used as an umbrella term for struggles against capitalism, but here he employs it in a narrower sense, meaning "struggles that oppose capitalism outside the state but do not themselves seek to gain state power." Taming capitalism hopes to use state power to eliminate the harms of capitalism; eradicating capitalism envisions turning state power against capitalism itself; resisting capitalism, by contrast, attempts to influence the state or prevent state action without using state power. Its basic proposition is as follows:

4.抵制资本主义(resisting capitalism)。赖特认为,“抵制资本主义”一词可以用作反对资本主义斗争的总括性术语,但他在这里是以一种更为狭义的方式使用它,其含义是“在国家之外反对资本主义,但本身并不试图获得国家权力的斗争”。驯服资本主义希望利用国家权力消除资本主义的危害,废除资本主义设想将国家权力转向反对资本主义本身,而抵制资本主义则试图影响国家或阻止国家行动,但不使用国家权力,其基本主张如下:

Resisting capitalism aims to mitigate the harms of this system but does not seek to seize state power. Instead, it tries to influence the behavior of capitalists and political elites through protest and other forms of resistance outside state power. We may not be able to change capitalism, but we can protect ourselves from its harms by creating trouble, protesting, and raising the costs of elite action. This is the strategy of various grassroots activists — environmentalists protesting toxic waste dumps and environmentally destructive development, consumers organizing boycotts of predatory corporations, rights lawyers defending the rights of immigrants, the poor, and sexual minorities. It is also the basic strategic logic of trade unions organizing strikes to raise wages and improve working conditions.

抵制资本主义旨在减轻这一制度的危害,但不试图夺取国家权力。相反,它试图通过抗议以及国家权力之外的其他形式的抵抗来影响资本家和政治精英的行为。我们可能无法改变资本主义,但可以通过制造麻烦、抗议、提高精英行动的成本来保护自己免受其害。这是各种草根活动家——抗议有毒垃圾场和破坏环境发展的环保主义者,组织抵制掠夺性公司的消费者,维护移民、穷人和性少数群体权利的维权律师——的策略。这也是工会组织罢工以提高工资和改善工作条件的基本战略逻辑。

Resisting capitalism, in one form or another, may be the most widespread response to the harms of the capitalist system. It is rooted in civil society and linked to solidarities of work and community. Various identities beyond class, such as ethnicity, religion, race, and gender, often energize the agenda of resisting capitalism. In more organized forms, resisting capitalism is primarily advanced by social movements and labor movements. Moreover, even where trade unions are weak and a hostile political environment makes collective social protest difficult, workers on the shop floor can resist the oppression and exploitation of the capitalist labor process and class relations. An inherent feature of exploitation is that the exploiter depends on the exploited's effort. Since human beings are not robots, this means that people can, to some degree, refuse to exert maximum effort and diligence. This is the most basic form of resisting capitalism.

以这样或那样的形式抵制资本主义可能是对资本主义制度危害的最普遍的反应。它植根于民间社会,与工作和共同体的团结联系在一起。阶级之外的各种身份,如民族、宗教、种族、性别,常常为抵制资本主义的议程注入活力。在更有组织的形式中,抵制资本主义主要是由社会运动和劳工运动来推进的。而且,即使工会力量薄弱,敌对的政治环境使集体的社会抗议变得困难,车间的工人也能抵制资本主义劳动过程和阶级关系的压迫和剥削。剥削的一个内在特征是剥削者要依赖被剥削者的努力。由于人类不是机器人,这意味着人们在某种程度上能够拒绝付出最大的努力和勤奋。这是抵制资本主义的最基本形式。

5. Escaping capitalism. One of the earliest responses to capitalist predation was escape. Escaping capitalism may not form a systematic ideology of opposition to capitalism, but it has the following coherent logic:

5.逃避资本主义(escaping capitalism)。对资本主义掠夺最早的反应之一就是逃避。对资本主义的逃避可能并没有形成系统的反对资本主义的意识形态,但它有如下这样一个连贯的逻辑:

Capitalism is a system too powerful to destroy. Truly taming capitalism — let alone eradicating it — requires sustained collective action, but this is unrealistic. Moreover, in any case, the entire system is too vast and complex to be effectively controlled. Those in power are also too strong to be dislodged; they will always co-opt the opposition and defend their privileges. You cannot fight city hall. The more intense the resistance, the more powerful the authorities become. The best we can do is to try to shield ourselves from capitalism's destructive effects, perhaps to completely escape capitalism's ravages in some sheltered environment. We may not be able to change the whole world, but we can, as far as possible, liberate ourselves from its networks of domination and create micro-alternatives in which we can live healthy, happy lives.

资本主义是一个强大到无法摧毁的体系。真正驯服资本主义——更不用说废除资本主义——需要持续的集体行动,但这是不现实的。而且,无论如何,由于整个体系过于庞大和复杂,以至于无法实施有效控制。当权者力量也过于强大,以至于无法被驱逐,他们总会拉拢反对派,捍卫自己的特权。你不能与市政厅对抗。反抗越强烈,权力就越强大。我们所能做的最好选择,就是设法使自己免受资本主义的破坏性影响,或许能在某种受庇护的环境中彻底摆脱资本主义的蹂躏。我们可能无法改变整个世界,但我们可以尽可能地将自己从它的统治网络中解放出来,创造自己在其中健康幸福生活的微观替代方案。

Faced with the harms of capitalism, this impulse to escape is embodied in many familiar responses: the migration of impoverished American peasants to the western frontier in the 19th century, driven by a desire for stable, self-sufficient agriculture rather than farming for the market; the utopian community experiments of the 19th century, which attempted to establish largely self-sufficient communities operating on principles of equality and reciprocity; the attempts at worker cooperatives, which sought to create workplaces organized around the principles of democracy, solidarity, and equality, thereby eliminating the alienation and exploitation of capitalist enterprises. Escaping capitalism is also implicit in the 1960s hippie motto "turn on, tune in, drop out." Certain religious groups, such as the Amish, attempt to build strong barriers between themselves and the rest of society to distance themselves as far as possible from the pressures of the capitalist market. Describing the family as "a haven in a heartless world" expresses the ideal people place on the family as a reciprocal, caring, non-competitive social space, a refuge people find in the ruthless competitive world of capitalism. Furthermore, intentional communities seeking to escape the pressures of capitalism, cooperatives aiming to escape authoritarian workplaces and capitalist corporate exploitation, and the do-it-yourself movement seeking to reduce dependence on market exchange can all be seen as classic cases of escaping capitalism.

面对资本主义的危害,这种逃避的冲动体现在许多为人们所熟知的反应中:19世纪美国贫困农民向西部边疆的迁移,是对稳定的、自给自足的农业的渴望,而不是对为市场而生产的农业的渴望;19世纪的乌托邦共同体实验,试图建立在平等互惠的原则下运作的、基本上自给自足的社区;工人合作社的尝试则试图创造围绕民主、团结和平等的原则组织起来的工作场所,以消除资本主义企业的异化和剥削。逃离资本主义还隐含在1960年代嬉皮士的座右铭“开启,融入,抽离”(turn on,tune in,drop out)中。某些宗教团体,如阿曼门诺派(the Amish),试图在他们自己与社会其他人之间建造强大的壁垒,以尽可能地远离资本主义市场的压力。将家庭描述为“无情世界中的天堂”,则表达了人们寄托于家庭的理想,即家庭是一个互惠的、充满关怀的非竞争性社会空间,是人们在无情的资本主义竞争世界中找到的避难所。此外,想要逃避资本主义压力的理念共同体(Intentional Communities),为了逃避专制的工作场所和资本主义公司剥削的合作社,旨在减少对市场交换产生依赖的自己动手运动(do-it-yourself),都可以被视为逃避资本主义的经典案例。

III. The Emergence and Prospects of the Strategy of Eroding Capitalism

三、侵蚀资本主义战略的出现及其前景

Wright points out that in the 20th-century struggle against capitalism, the five strategies outlined above appeared respectively in four different political positions and actions. Revolutionary communism combined resisting capitalism with destroying capitalism, viewing the labor movement as a crucial component for building working-class solidarity and transforming working-class consciousness, and taking the seizure of state power at the "ripe moment" to break with the old system as the ultimate goal of its strategy. To this end, revolutionary communists actively participated in radical resistance to capitalism within the labor movement. Democratic socialism abandoned the idea of destroying capitalism but still sought a strategy of ultimately transcending its structures through gradual abolition. This strategy combined reforms that eliminated the harms of capitalism with efforts to build a strong state-owned sector and support the labor movement. The social democratic strategy included resisting capitalism but combined this with taming capitalism, largely abandoning the effort of gradual abolition. Anarchist social movements, meanwhile, typically resisted capitalism merely to defend against its predation, sometimes combining this resistance with practices attempting to construct new alternatives to capitalism.

赖特指出,在20世纪反对资本主义的斗争中,上述五种战略分别出现在四种不同的政治主张和行动中。革命的共产主义主张把抵制资本主义与摧毁资本主义结合起来,把劳工运动视为建立工人阶级团结和转变工人阶级意识的重要组成部分,把在“时机成熟”时通过控制国家权力而与旧制度决裂作为其战略的最终目标。为此,革命的共产党人在劳工运动中积极参与对资本主义的激进抵抗。民主社会主义放弃了摧毁资本主义的想法,但仍然寻求通过逐步废除资本主义而最终超越其结构的战略。这一战略将消除资本主义危害的改革与建立强大的国有部门和支持劳工运动的努力结合在一起。社会民主主义的战略则包括抵制资本主义,但将其与驯服资本主义结合起来,并在很大程度上放弃了逐步废除资本主义的努力。而无政府主义的社会运动通常只是为了防御资本主义的掠夺而抵制资本主义,这种抵制有时是与试图建构替代资本主义的新方案的实践结合在一起的。

These four kinds of advocacy and action were the main strategic responses to the injustices and oppression of capitalist society in the twentieth century. By the end of the twentieth century, at least in the advanced capitalist countries, the first two kinds of advocacy and action had virtually disappeared from the political stage. Democratic socialism was marginalized by the repeated failure of electoral strategies aimed at establishing a state-socialist sector within capitalist economies. Social democracy, though not disappearing, was also in decline and had largely lost its connection with labor struggles. The most dynamic anti-capitalist strategies in the first decade or so of the twenty-first century were rooted in social movements, often accompanied by strong anarchist currents. In most cases, this resistance to capitalism was disconnected from any overall political project directed at state power, and therefore also from political parties. However, at least in some anti-capitalist movements in Latin America and Southern Europe, the germ of a new strategic thinking is emerging, one that combines bottom-up, civil-society-centered actions of resisting and escaping capitalism with top-down, state-centered initiatives for taming and abolishing capitalism. Wright calls this new strategy eroding capitalism, and argues that the strategy of eroding capitalism is based primarily on the following grounds:

这四种主张和行动是20世纪对资本主义社会的不公正和压迫的主要战略回应。到了20世纪末,至少在发达资本主义国家,前两种主张和行动几乎已从政治舞台上消失。民主社会主义则因在资本主义经济体中建立国家社会主义部门的选举策略的一再失败而被边缘化。社会民主主义虽然没有消失,但也在衰落,并在很大程度上失去了与劳工斗争的联系。21世纪头十几年最具活力的反对资本主义的战略植根于社会运动,这些运动往往与强烈的无政府主义思潮相伴而行。在大多数情况下,这种对资本主义的抵制与针对国家权力的总体政治方案脱节,因此也与政党脱节。然而,至少在拉丁美洲和南欧的一些反对资本主义的运动中,一种新的战略思想的萌芽正在出现,它将自下而上、以市民社会为中心的抵制和逃避资本主义的行动,与自上而下、以国家为中心的驯服和废除资本主义的举措结合在一起。赖特将这种新的战略称为侵蚀资本主义,认为侵蚀资本主义的战略主要基于以下理由:

The erosion strategy is based on a particular understanding of the concept of an economic system. Let us consider capitalism. There has never been, nor could there be, a pure capitalist economy. Capitalism is defined by the combination of market exchange with private ownership of the means of production and the hiring of wage labor through the labor market. Existing economic systems combine capitalism with many other ways of organizing the production and distribution of goods and services, including: direct combination through the state; combination within the intimate relations of the family meeting household needs; combination through community networks and organizations often called the social and solidarity economy; combination through cooperatives democratically owned and managed by their members; combination through non-profit market-oriented organizations; combination through peer-to-peer networks involved in collaborative production processes. Beyond these, many other possibilities exist. Among these, some ways of organizing economic activity can be considered hybrids combining capitalist and non-capitalist elements; others are entirely non-capitalist; still others are anti-capitalist. … When capitalism is dominant in determining the economic life conditions and means of livelihood of most people, we call this complex economic system “capitalism.” This dominance is extremely destructive. One way to challenge capitalism is to establish, within the spaces and cracks of this complex system, economic relations that are as democratic, egalitarian, and participatory as possible. The theory of eroding capitalism holds that, in the long run, these alternatives have the potential to become increasingly important in the lives of individuals and communities, thereby eventually replacing capitalism’s dominant position within the overall system.

侵蚀战略是基于对经济体制概念的特殊理解。让我们来思考资本主义。从来没有、而且也不可能有一种经济是纯粹的资本主义。资本主义的定义是市场交换与生产资料私有制和通过劳动力市场招聘工薪阶层就业的结合。现有的经济体制将资本主义与许多其他组织商品和服务的生产和分配方式结合在一起,这种结合方式包括:通过国家的直接结合;在满足家庭成员需要的家庭亲密关系中的结合;通过通常被称为社会和团结经济的共同体网络和组织的结合;通过其成员民主拥有和管理的合作社的结合;通过非营利的市场导向性组织的结合;通过参与协作生产过程的点对点网络的结合。除此之外,还有很多其他的可能性。其中,一些组织经济活动的方式可以被认为是结合了资本主义因素与非资本主义因素的混合体;另一些方式则完全是非资本主义的;还有一些方式是反资本主义的。……当资本主义在决定大多数人的经济生活条件和谋生手段方面占主导地位时,我们称这种复杂的经济体制为“资本主义”。这种主导地位具有极大的破坏性。挑战资本主义的一种方式是在这个复杂系统的空间和裂缝中尽可能建立更加民主、平等以及参与性更强的经济关系。侵蚀资本主义的理论认为:从长远来看,这些替代方案有可能在个人和共同体的生活中日益重要,从而最终取代资本主义在整个体制中的主导地位。

This way of thinking about the process of moving beyond capitalism is quite similar to the typical case often described of the transition from pre-capitalist feudal society to capitalism in Europe. In the late medieval feudal economy, especially in the towns, proto-capitalist relations and practices emerged. Initially, they involved merchant trading, handicraft production under guild regulation, and banking. These forms of economic activity filled gaps in various fields and were often very useful to the elites of feudal society. In these fields, the rules of economic transactions were quite different from those of the dominant feudalism. As their scope expanded, these market activities gradually became more capitalist and, in some places, eroded the established feudal dominance within the economy as a whole. Over a long and tortuous process lasting centuries, feudal structures ceased to dominate economic life in certain areas of Europe, and feudalism disappeared. This process could be interrupted by political upheaval or even revolution, but it did not cause a rupture in the economic structure; rather, it served to recognize and rationalize changes that had already occurred within the socio-economic structure.

这种思考超越资本主义的过程的方式,与通常所讲的欧洲由前资本主义的封建社会向资本主义过渡的典型情况颇为相似。在中世纪晚期的封建经济中,特别是在城市中,出现了原始资本主义的关系和实践。最初,它们涉及商人交易、行会监管下的手工业和银行业务。这些形式的经济活动填补了各个领域的空白,它们对封建社会的精英们来说往往非常有用。在这些领域中,经济交易的规则与占主导地位的封建主义截然不同。这些市场活动随着范围的扩大而逐渐变得更加资本主义化,并在某些地方侵蚀了整个经济中既定的封建统治。经过几个世纪漫长而曲折的过程,封建结构不再主宰欧洲某些领域的经济生活,封建主义随之消失。这一过程可能会被政治动荡甚至革命打断,但并没有造成经济结构的断裂,而是更能认可社会经济结构中已经发生的变化并使其合理化。

The strategic vision of eroding capitalism views the process of replacing capitalism’s dominant economic role in a similar way. Non-capitalist economic activities embodying democratic and egalitarian relations emerge in the ecological niches of a capitalist-dominated economy and grow over time, some spontaneously, others as a result of deliberate strategy. Some of these activities arise from the responses and initiatives of communities at the grassroots, while others are actively organized or facilitated by the state from above. These alternative economic relations form the building blocks of an economic structure whose relations of production are characterized by democracy, equality, and solidarity. Struggles involving the state are sometimes aimed at protecting these niches, sometimes at promoting new possibilities. Those engaged in these activities regularly encounter structural “limits of possibility”; to move beyond these limits may require more intense political mobilization to change key features of the “rules of the game” within which capitalism operates. Such mobilization often fails, but at least sometimes the conditions for such change mature, and the possibilities expand. Ultimately, the cumulative effect of the interaction between changes from above and initiatives from below may reach a point where socialist relations established within the economic ecosystem replace capitalist relations and become dominant in the lives of individuals and communities.

侵蚀资本主义的战略愿景以类似的方式看待取代资本主义主导经济角色的过程。体现民主和平等关系的非资本主义经济活动出现在资本主义主导的经济小环境中,并随着时间的推移而增长,它们有的是自发的,有的则是深思熟虑的策略所导致的结果。其中一些活动来自下层社区的响应和倡议,另一些则由国家从上层积极组织或促成。这些替代性经济关系构成了经济结构的基石,其生产关系的特征是民主、平等和团结。涉及国家的斗争有时是为了保护这些小环境,有时是为了促进新的可能性。参与这些活动的人会定期遇到结构上的“可能性极限”,要超越这些极限,可能需要进行更激烈的政治动员,以改变资本主义运作的“游戏规则”的关键特征。这种动员往往会失败,但至少在有些时候,这种改变的条件会成熟,可能性也在扩大。最终,来自上层的变化与来自下层的倡议之间相互作用的累积效应可能会达到这样的程度,从而使得在经济生态系统中建立的社会主义关系取代资本主义关系,在个人和共同体的生活中占据主导地位。

As a strategic synthesis, eroding capitalism combines the visions of social democracy and democratic socialism for changing the rules of the game of capitalism from above, in order to eliminate its most harmful effects and create state-based alternatives. Furthermore, eroding capitalism draws on the anarchist vision of creating new economic relations from below that embody emancipatory aspirations. Wright argues that, at present, no political movement has explicitly adopted this strategic synthesis that integrates resisting, taming, abolishing, and escaping capitalism in order to erode its dominance over the long term. However, impetus in this direction can be found in parties closely linked to progressive social movements—such as the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) in Greece and the Podemos party in Spain. Wright also notes that eroding capitalism may resonate with younger generations within some established center-left parties—for example, supporters of Bernie Sanders in the 2016 US Democratic presidential primaries or adherents of Jeremy Corbyn in the British Labour Party.

作为一种战略综合体,侵蚀资本主义结合了社会民主主义与民主社会主义的愿景,即从上层改变资本主义运作的游戏规则,以消除其最严重的危害,并创造以国家为根基的替代方案。此外,侵蚀资本主义还汲取了无政府主义愿景,即从下层创造体现解放愿望的新经济关系。赖特认为,从目前来看,还没有任何政治运动明确接受这种集抵制、驯服、废除和逃避资本主义为一体,以便长期侵蚀其主导地位的战略综合体。然而,在与进步的社会运动有密切联系的政党——如希腊的激进左翼联盟和西班牙的“我们能”(Podemos)党——中,可以找到这一方向的推动力。赖特还指出,侵蚀资本主义也可能在一些成熟的中左翼政党的年轻一代中产生共鸣——例如,2016年美国总统选举中民主党的伯尼·桑德斯(Bernie Sanders)的支持者或英国工党中杰里米·科尔宾(Jeremy Corbyn)的拥护者。

However, Wright believes that as a strategic vision, "eroding capitalism is both seductive and far-fetched." It is seductive because it shows that even if the state does not endorse social justice and emancipatory social change, there is still much that can be done. We can build a new world, not from the ruins of the old one, but in its interstices. We can establish "real utopias"—emancipatory outposts that transcend capitalism within a society still dominated by capitalism. It is far-fetched because, in a capitalist-dominated economy, given the enormous power and wealth of large capitalist corporations and the fact that most people's livelihoods depend on the smooth functioning of capitalist markets, the notion that the accumulation of emancipatory economic spaces could actually erode and replace capitalism is hard to believe. If emancipatory forms of non-capitalist economic activity and relations develop to the point of threatening capitalist dominance, they would surely be destroyed. To dispel doubts, Wright further discusses three issues closely related to how to realize the strategy of eroding capitalism in his book *How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century*: first, to take the realization of "economic democratic socialism" as the goal of transcending capitalism; second, to take the advancement and deepening of the democratic process as a reliable way to gradually weaken capitalist dominance; third, the key to realizing the strategy of eroding capitalism is to shape effective, politically organized collective actors.

然而,赖特认为,作为一种战略愿景,“侵蚀资本主义既诱人又牵强”。说它诱人,是因为它表明,即使国家不认同社会正义和解放性社会变革,也仍然有很多事情可以做。我们可以建设一个新世界,但不是从旧世界的废墟中,而是在旧世界的空隙中。我们可以建立“真正的乌托邦”,即在一个仍由资本主义主导的社会中建立一个个超越资本主义的解放营地。说它牵强,是因为在一个由资本主义主导的经济体中,由于大型资本主义公司拥有巨大的权力和财富,以及大多数人的生计依赖于资本主义市场的顺利运作,因而那种认为解放的经济空间的积累可能真的会侵蚀和取代资本主义的观点是令人难以置信的。如果非资本主义经济活动和关系的解放形式发展到威胁资本主义主导地位的地步,它们肯定会被摧毁。为了消除人们的疑虑,赖特在《如何成为21世纪的反资本主义者》一书中进一步论述了三个与如何实现侵蚀资本主义战略密切相关的问题:第一,要把实现“经济民主的社会主义”作为超越资本主义的目标;第二,要把推进和深化民主进程作为逐渐削弱资本主义主导地位的可靠途径;第三,实现侵蚀资本主义战略的关键是塑造有效的、有政治组织的集体行动者。

The above is this article's general explanation of the new strategy for opposing capitalism in the 21st century proposed by Wright—eroding capitalism. In this author's view, Wright's exposition of this new strategy has important theoretical and practical significance. First, his exposition powerfully refutes the neoliberal claim that capitalism is irreplaceable, clearly pointing out that "another world"—a socialist society—is possible. Second, Wright's exposition shows that capitalism cannot fully realize the values of equality/fairness, democracy/freedom, and community/solidarity that most people believe in. This provides new arguments for people's motivation to oppose capitalism. Third, Wright's exposition offers an in-depth analysis of the five strategies for opposing capitalism in the 20th century, providing a relatively objective assessment of their respective historical contributions and limitations. Finally, Wright's exposition makes a useful exploration of how to realize socialism in developed capitalist countries in the 21st century, further clarifying the goals of people's opposition to capitalism. Of course, there are still many problems with Wright's exposition, particularly in that his new strategy lacks a demonstration of feasibility, thus still bearing a largely utopian character. Nevertheless, in any case, we should express admiration for Wright, for he is, after all, fighting for socialism in a developed capitalist country like the United States.

以上是本文对赖特提出的21世纪反对资本主义的新战略——侵蚀资本主义的大致阐释。在笔者看来,赖特对这一新战略的论述具有重要的理论意义和现实意义。首先,他的论述有力地反驳了新自由主义的资本主义不可替代的论调,明确指出“另一个世界”即社会主义社会是可能的。其次,赖特的论述表明,资本主义无法充分实现大多数人信奉的平等/公平、民主/自由和共同体/团结这些价值观。这为人们反对资本主义的动机提供了新的论据。再次,赖特的论述对20世纪反对资本主义的五种战略做了深入的分析,较为客观地评价了它们各自的历史贡献及其局限性。最后,赖特的论述对21世纪在发达资本主义国家如何实现社会主义做了有益的探讨,进一步明确了人们反对资本主义的目标。当然,赖特的论述还存在很多问题,这尤其体现为他的新战略缺少可行性的论证,从而在很大程度上仍然具有乌托邦的特征。不过,无论如何,我们都应对赖特表示敬佩,因为他毕竟是在美国这样一个发达的资本主义国家为社会主义而战。

(Author: Duan Zhongqiao, School of Marxism, Shandong Normal University; Political Philosophy Research Center, School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China)

(作者:段忠桥,山东师范大学马克思主义学院,中国人民大学哲学院政治哲学研究中心)

Online Editor: Tongxin

网络编辑:同心

Notes

  1. G. A. Cohen (1941–2009): A Canadian-born analytic Marxist philosopher, known for his work on historical materialism and the critique of capitalism.
  2. Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937): An Italian Marxist philosopher and politician, known for his concepts of cultural hegemony and the theory of revolution in Western capitalist societies.
  3. The 1973 Chilean coup d'état: On September 11, 1973, the democratically elected socialist government of President Salvador Allende was overthrown by a military junta led by General Augusto Pinochet, with support from the United States.
  4. "开启,融入,抽离" (turn on, tune in, drop out): A slogan popularized by American counterculture figure Timothy Leary in the 1960s, advocating psychedelic drug use, engagement with the counterculture, and withdrawal from mainstream society.
  5. 阿曼门诺派 (the Amish): A traditionalist Christian group known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt modern technology, often forming separate communities.
  6. "无情世界中的天堂" (a haven in a heartless world): A phrase popularized by Christopher Lasch's 1977 book of the same title, describing the modern family as a refuge from the competitive, impersonal capitalist marketplace.
  7. 理念共同体 (Intentional Communities): Planned residential communities designed to promote a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork, often based on shared values or ideologies.