民本思想的历史沿革及其评价

在中国古代政治思想史上,民本思想发端甚早,在殷周时期就出现了民本思想的萌芽,经过先秦、秦汉唐宋的发展,至明清时期发展到了极致。文章在对民本思想进行系统分析的基础上,对中国传统的民本思想做了简要的评价,认为民本思想虽有其进步的一面,但也存在着自身的缺点。一是思想家对民本问题的重视并不是自觉的,而是和农民战争息息相关;二是思想家关注的主要是如何安定君王天下,而不是维护民众的利益,君主仍是万民之主;三是思想家头脑中的“民”,首先是一个集合的概念,作为个体的“民”是没有任何意义的。

Evolution and Review of the Thought that the People Are the Foundation of a Country

This paper, after analyzing the basic concept of the thought, briefly reviews and evaluates the traditional Chinese thought in this aspect. The author thinks that the traditional Chinese thought has its progressive side but also has its own weakness: first it is not self-conscious but much close to peasant uprising for the ancient Chinese thinkers to think highly of the people; Secondly, what the thinkers care about is to help monarch to stabilize the country and not to protect the interests of the people; and the third is that the people in their minds is chiefly a concept of collective and as an individual, has no meaning.