56学者评【从国际秩序失控到丛林法则再现】第45篇
李海默
复旦大学国际关系与公共事务学院青年副研究员
最近因为特朗普的一系列操作，“唐罗主义”或“门罗复归”的相关讨论成了学界和媒体上的大热门。不过，笔者在此想结合美国政治思想史的帝国传统略谈谈另一个维度。
|John Adams 图片来自网络
其实，“帝国”这个词对于美国的国家建构而言是个古已有之的词，根本不需要等到门罗的时代。这里可以举几个例子为证，亚当斯（John Adams）1780年4月即曾公开说：“This Country now is an Independant State, that hath taken its equal Station amidst the Nations of the Earth. It is an Empire, the Spirit of whose Government extends from the Center to the extream Parts. Universal participation of Council, creates Reciprocation of universal Obedience. The Seat of Government will be well informed of the State and Condition of the remote and extream parts which by participation in the Legislature, will be informed and satisfied in the reasons and necessity of the measures of Government. These will consider themselves as acting in every grant that is made, and in every tax imposed. This Consideration will give Efficacy to Government, that Consensus Obedientium, on which the permanent Power of Empire is founded. This is the Spirit of the New Empire in America. It is liable to many Disorders, but young and Strong, like the Infant Hercules it will strangle these serpents, in the Cradle. Its Strength will grow with Years. It will establish its Constitution, and perfect Growth to Maturity. To this Greatness of Empire it will certainly arise.”
(“这个国家如今是一个独立的国家，在地球诸国中占据了平等的地位。它是一个帝国，其政府的精神从中心延伸至最边远的地区。议会的普遍参与，创造了普遍服从的相互性。政府所在地将充分了解遥远和边缘地区的状况和条件，而这些地区通过参与立法机构，将知晓并满意政府措施的理由和必要性。这些地区会视自己为每一项拨款和每一项税收的行动者。这种考量将赋予政府效能，即那种‘服从的共识’，而帝国的持久权力正是建立在此之上。这就是美洲新帝国的精神。它易患许多混乱，但它年轻而强壮，如同婴儿时期的赫拉克勒斯，将在摇篮中扼杀这些毒蛇。它的力量将与年俱增。它将确立自己的宪法，并完美成长至成熟。它必将崛起至此等帝国之伟大。”)
|华盛顿演讲 图片来自网络
华盛顿1783年曾明确在演讲中说道：“the foundation of our Empire was not laid in the gloomy Age of ignorance and superstition, but at an Epocha when the rights of Mankind were better understood and more clearly defined, than at any former period”和“It is only in our United Character, as an Empire, that our Independance is acknowledged, that our power can be regarded or our Credit supported among foreign Nations—the Treaties of the European Powers with the United States of America will have no validity on a dissolution of the Union. We shall be left nearly in a State of Nature, or we may find by our own unhappy experience, that there is a natural and necessary progression from the extreme of Anarchy to the extreme of Tyranny, and that arbritary power is most easily established on the ruins of Liberty abused to Licentiousness”，
(“我们帝国的基础并非奠定于愚昧迷信的黑暗时代，而是奠定在这样一个纪元：人类的权利比以往任何时期都得到了更深刻的理解和更清晰的界定”和“唯有在我们作为一个帝国的联合特性中，我们的独立才能得到承认，我们的力量才能被看重，我们的信用才能在外国中得到支持——一旦联邦解体，欧洲列强与美利坚合众国签订的条约将不再有效。我们几乎将退回自然状态，或者我们可能通过自身的不幸经历发现，从无政府状态的极端到暴政的极端，存在着一种自然而必然的演进，而专断权力最容易建立在被滥用为放荡的自由之废墟上”。)
|汉密尔顿 图片来自网络
汉密尔顿在1788年的演讲中说：“It has been asserted, that the interests, habits and manners of the Thirteen States are different; and hence it is inferred, that no general free government can suit them. This diversity of habits, &c. has been a favorite theme with those who are disposed for a division of our empire; and like many other popular objections, seems to be founded on fallacy”，
(“有人断言，十三个州的利益、习惯和风俗各不相同；由此推断，没有哪个普遍的自由政府能适合它们。这种习惯等等的多样性，一直是我们帝国分裂倾向者所钟爱的主题；并且像许多其他流行的反对意见一样，似乎建立在谬误之上。”)
杰斐逊也是早在1780年时就已明确写道：“in the event of peace on terms which have been contemplated by some powers we shall form to the American union a barrier against the dangerous extension of the British Province of Canada and add to the Empire of liberty an extensive and fertile Country thereby converting dangerous Enemies into valuable friends”，1784年杰斐逊给华盛顿的一封信中说：“all the world is becoming commercial, was it practicable to keep our new empire separated from them we might indulge ourselves in speculating whether commerce contributes to the happiness of mankind, but we cannot separate ourselves from them, our citizens have had too full a taste of the comforts furnished by the arts & manufactures to be debarred the use of them”。
（杰斐逊也是早在1780年时就已明确写道：“若按某些大国所设想的条件实现和平，我们将为美国联盟构筑一道屏障，以抵御英属加拿大省份的危险扩张，并为‘自由帝国’增添一片广袤肥沃的土地，从而将危险的敌人转化为宝贵的朋友”。1784年杰斐逊给华盛顿的一封信中说：“整个世界正日益商业化，倘若我们能使新帝国与它们分离切实可行，我们或可沉湎于思辨商业是否有助于人类幸福；但我们无法与它们分离，我们的公民已充分领略了工艺和制造业所提供的舒适，不能禁止他们使用这些东西。”）
读了这些资料，我们很容易得到一个结论（而且并非过度强行解读），即自诩所谓“（捍卫）自由的帝国”实在乃是自美利坚立国之初（早于其宪政秩序的成立）就已昭昭显明的一个长期存在的话语传统。当然，在早期建国者那里，“捍卫自由”这个标签还是很重要的，因为这是区分美利坚新帝国与英吉利旧帝国的一条明显理论和思想分界线。但具体到“捍卫的是谁的自由”，就真不那么好说了。