《荀子》政治思想中的「權力」：行為者、關係及其運作

Abstract

本文藉由西方政治學對「權力」概念的討論來解讀中國政治思想，以政治學為方法，輔以概念史之分析，闡明《荀子》政治思想中「權力」的特色。有鑑於過去《荀子》政治思想研究，多聚焦在作為「君權」的「權力」之單一面向，本文透過西方政治學權力理論的折射，分析《荀子》中各項關於「權力」的概念，逐一討論權力的行為者、權力基礎、權力關係及其運作。 「政治權力」固然歸屬於統治者和統治集團，但從設計制度、運行制度的視角出發，「創制權力」的繼承權卻掌握在「學習共同體」（儒者）手中，從而可展現出荀子思想中「權力」具有多層性與動態性。透過觀察君臣之間、統治者與被統治者之間，乃至國家與國家之間的權力關係如何發生消長，本文從此發現權力行為者之間的張力關係及權力的動態消長關係。本文接著探討「刑誅」、「分」、「教化」等權力運作，並探問在這些權力運作當中，《荀子》實際將「權力」放在何人手上、被施力的對象又是誰，並考察「統治者」與「學習共同體」之間的競爭關係。最後，本文結論提出「權力」概念在荀子政治思想中的意義，以及中國政治思想中權力觀之三項特色：訴求讓衝突隱形、領土統一作為政權合法性基礎，以及動態的權力觀。

Under the shadow of Monarchy in Ancient China, most of the past researches on Xunzi simply took “power” as the “power of ruler”. This article tackles “power” in political thought of Xunzi in a different approach. By using the theories on the concept of “power” in Western political theories, and the analytical method from conceptual history, this article analyzes various concepts about power, such as the actors, power bases, power relations and its operations. Certainly, the political power belongs to the rulers and ruling groups, but if we consider further about “who designed an orderly system for all human kind,” the inheritance of the “power of making rules and ritual” is in the hands of Confucian “learning community”. This point of view leads to the multi-layered and dynamic thinking of “power” in Xunzi’s political theory. Once we put our eyes on the power relations between monarch and officeholders, rulers and ruled, and between states, we could see the tension and dynamic between power actors. For the operation of power, we focus upon the punishment (刑) and death penalty (誅) which represent the coercive power, the power of allocating of values for a society (分), and the power of education (教化). The operation of power at each form, we could see the competitive relationship between "rulers" and "learning communities." Finally, the conclusion of this article explores the theoretical significance of the concept of "power" in the political thought of Xunzi, and points out three characteristics of the view of power in Chinese political thought: the pursuit of making conflicts invisible, territorial unity as the legitimacy of political power, and a dynamic view on power.