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需要提及穆勒之前的一位德国人:威廉。冯。洪堡(Wilhelm von Humboldt 1767 – 1835, 其弟为著名的自然学家Alexander von Humboldt),其著作The Limits of State Action让穆勒深受影响,他重申并拓展了洪堡的自由主义的概念,还在《论自由》的扉页上引用了洪堡在The Limits of State Action中的一段话:The grand, leading principle, towards which every argument unfolded in these pages directly converges, is the absolute and essential importance of human development in its richest diversity. 我有种感觉,穆勒感兴趣的还是积极自由,因此有意无意间会将自由主义往社会公益上引导。等读了On Liberty再作结论。
下面是有关洪堡著作的介绍 -
The Limits of State Action – Sphere and Duties of Government, by "Germany’s greatest philosopher of freedom," as F. A. Hayek called him, has an exuberance and attention to principle that make it a valuable introduction to classical liberal political thought. It is also crucial for an understanding of liberalism as it developed in Europe at the turn of the nineteenth century. Humboldt explores the role that liberty plays in individual development, discusses criteria for permitting the state to limit individual actions, and suggests ways of confining the state to its proper bounds. In so doing, he uniquely combines the ancient concern for human excellence and the modern concern for what has come to be known as negative liberty.
关于自由主义还有段逸闻,近两百年前雪莱和拜伦曾办过一份杂志就叫做“自由主义”,这大概是诗人关心政治的一例~
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