文艺复兴时期人文主义者的两种城邦人口思想

古希腊城邦崇尚独特的有限人口论,这种以少为美的人口思想,与同样植根于城邦语境的理想国学说融合为一种思想范式,对后世影响深远。文艺复兴时期,本质上身为人文主义者的乌托邦社会主义者,多沿用该范式,构筑小国寡民的城邦蓝图。但与此同时,佛罗伦萨人文主义者却背离了该范式,歌颂本邦人口的增长。究其因,乌托邦社会主义者缺乏城邦公民的政治实践,其对小国寡民的坚守,出自学术传承和高尚空想;而佛罗伦萨人文主义者多参与城邦政治,目睹了列国纷争、大国入侵的危局,理解人口有限是制约城邦国力的现实因素。故而,继承有限人口论,体现了一类人文主义者对古希腊城邦人口思想的固守;挑战有限人口论,亦反映出另一类人文主义者为应对时势而做出的思想拓新:二者对于重新认识文艺复兴时期的城邦观念,均具有深刻意义。

Two Humanist City-State Population Thoughts in the Renaissance

The ancient Greek city-states advocated the limited population theory which was merged with the ideal city-state theory into a theoretical paradigm,having far-reaching influence on the Western political thought.During the Renaissance,Utopian socialists who were essentially humanists adopted this paradigm to build their Utopias with a small population.However,in the meantime,the Florentine humanists deviated from the paradigm and praised the population growth.The reason was that Utopian socialists lacked the political practice as city-state citizens and their adherence came from academic inheritance and noble reverie,whereas the Florentine humanists participated in the city-state politics and witnessed the invasion of the great powers,understanding that the limited population was the actual factor restricting the strength of the city.Therefore,inheriting the limited population theory embodied how the traditional city-state conception shaped the humanist thoughts,while the challenge of such theory also reflected what new theoretical response which was made by the humanists to the current situation.This can significantly improve the understanding of the concept of city-state in the Renaissance.