法律的“无为”之“有用”

只以“有”的形态存在并处处在生活中扩张的法律是相当危险的,既无益于秩序之维护,又无助于正义之实现。好的法律,不能仅仅只以“有”的方式存在,更多的是以“无”的方式存在。“有为而治”也是法律“父爱主义”的极端化,出于追求自由的本性,生活中只有一小部分领域属于法律的调整范围,大部分领域属于自主选择的私人空间,法律对这部分领域是“无”为。只强调法律的“有为”而忽视法律的“无为”,势必造成法律与自由的对立,只有在强调法律“有为”的同时又重视法律的“无为”,才是对法律全面和正确的认识,才能实现法律保障自由的价值。

The Usefulness of Legal Effortlessness

A law that only builds up itself and exists everywhere in life is dangerous which can neither maintain order nor realize justice. The good law not only “exists” in form, but also exists more in “non-existence”. “Doing to rule” is the extreme of “paternalism” in the field of law. Because of the human nature to pursue liberty, only a small part of life belongs to the proper sphere of law, while the major part belongs to the private sphere of self-decision in which the law does nothing. Emphasizing the law's exertion while ignoring its “inaction” is bound to cause the conflict between law and liberty. Only by putting emphasis on the “active” law while attaching great importance to law's “inaction” can a comprehensive and correct understanding of the law be achieved and the value of law in protecting liberty be realized.