Citizenship Tests: A Comparative, Communitarian Perspective

The history, nature and scope of citizen naturalisation tests are briefly examined in this article, as well as their political and social applications. A comparison of tests from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany highlights the ways in which these tests are used as immigration controls rather than as a way to establish preparation for citizenship. The difference in the content of the tests also reveal alternative conceptions of citizenship including authoritarian, liberal and neo-communitarian.     

Divorcing Responsibly

In this article I argue that Part II of the Family LawAct 1996 gives expression to a new form ofresponsibility. I begin by suggesting thatresponsible behaviour has shifted from prohibiting orrequiring particular actions: we now exhibitresponsibility by our attitude towards our actions. I then examine where this new conception ofresponsibility has come from. Through an examinationof the work of post-liberal theorists, principallyMichael Sandel, I argue that a changing view ofpersonhood within post-liberal theory has led to aquestioning of the possibility of choice, and that theabsence of choice necessitates a shift in thedefinition of responsible behaviour. If we are createdby our decisions then we cannot be held to account forour decisions, but only for the care we have takenover them. Responsibility is therefore measured notby our level of self-control but by our level ofself-awareness. Finally I examine the consequences ofthis shift in the meaning of responsibility. Withinthis framework autonomy is illusory thereforedecisions do not need to be respected. This explainswhy the implementation of Part II of the Family LawAct 1996 has been called into question. Within thisframework responsibility is relative therefore itextends indefinitely. This enables the Family Law Actto be uniquely intrusive and judgmental: everydivorcing couple, on being held up to scrutiny, isfound lacking.     

日本“无缘死”研究中的共同体主义意识形态辨析

"无缘死"现象经日本NHK电视台传播以后迅速成为日本社会学界关注的热点,其相关研究在近五年来也层出不穷。日本学界将"无缘死"这一现象产生的原因归结于共同体解体,即包括家庭功能的衰退导致的家庭的解体、雇佣制度变革带来的大规模失业等,日本正迈向个体化时代。从这些研究结论不难看出,日本社会学界并未摆脱共同体主义意识形态预设,依然将共同体看作是稳固、静态、有凝聚力的集团,认为"无缘死"是日本家庭、村落、企业等共同体凝聚功能失效的后果。然而,这一意识形态预设不仅在理论上存在矛盾,也与日本社会的经验不相符。     

The Emerging Neocommunitarianism

The financial crisis which began in 2007 has been widely interpreted as a crisis of neoliberalism, akin to the crisis of Keynesianism of the 1970s. But there is little sign of a major paradigmatic alternative, either in theory or in practice. This article looks at how the crises and failures of neoliberalism are occurring at a micro‐policy level, where they are interpreted in terms of the fallibility of individual rational choice. Policy responses to this crisis, drawing on more psychologically nuanced accounts of economic behaviour, can be described as ‘neocommunitarian’, inasmuch as they echo the communitarian critique of the liberal self. Where neoliberalism rests on a vision of the individual as atomised and rational, neocommunitarianism treats individuals as governed by social norms and incentives simultaneously. And where neoliberalism subjects individuals to periodic audit organised around targets and outputs, neocommunitarianism conducts a constant audit of behavioural fluctuations in real time.     

个人主体教育的反思与类主体教育的建构

从个人主体到类主体,是现代社会对人的发展的要求。教育作为人的自我建构的实践活动,也必须由个人主体教育向类主体教育转变。这就是在教育目的上,由个人主义转变为共同体主义;在教育过程中,由主客体间的对象化活动转变为主体间的交往活动;在教育内容上,由片面的分裂的教育内容转变为全面的整合的教育内容。     

近代西方政府职能理论之嬗变与政治实践

自由资本主义时期,西方社会思潮的主流是古典自由主义。垄断资本主义时期,国家主义逐渐抬头。现代西方社会,政治上出现了两种改良的思潮:新自由主义与社群主义。在欧陆国家,政府具有较大的权力,负有较广泛的职责。在英美国家,政府权力相对较小,职责范围较为有限。我国政府改革的目标应是建立"小"而"强"的政府。     

新型权利主张及其法定化的条件--以我国社会转型为背景

虽然不断出现的新型权利主张是自然权利、道德权利和习惯权利等多种权利形态的复合体，但基于法律与其他社会规范的密切相关性，不能简单依据法律条文就对其进行否定，而应以德沃金的权利理论为指导正视其他权利形态，并以社会转型为背景分析其产生的具体原因。新型权利主张的主体、内容、客体等构成要素之所以发生一系列历史变迁，根本原因在于社会的转型使民众向国家发出分配正义的社会诉求。对此，必须立基于社群主义的政治立场，采纳自由主义的法学元素，严守法定权利的本质属性，明确新型权利主张法定化的具体标准：真实性、准确性、重要性。     

Ubuntu as public policy in South Africa: A conceptual framework

ABSTRACT

Beginning with an overview of the origin and core elements of ubuntu, this article focuses on the idea that the analytic process required to illustrate how a social theory and a political ideal can be extracted and developed out of their constitutive elements has not been given the rigorous attention it deserves. Without such rigour it is extremely difficult to recommend a coherent conceptual framework for political action. It then suggests guidelines for policy development and implementation, confident that nuanced variations in the various understandings of ubuntu are not so fundamental as to prevent trend-data analysis and generalisation.     

从"自我"到"主体"--"社群主义"文化批判

为了解决现代西方社会个人主义在张扬“自我”的同时却导致“自我”的普遍丧失这一化矛盾，“社群主义”企图从“化背景”中追寻自我、从“跨化对话”中确立自我、从“化认同”中实现自我。结果，“社群主义”实现的却是“化原于”中的”自我”隐蔽。个人主义的“自我’，丧失和“社群主义”的“自我”隐蔽只有通过主体以实践和否定的方式才能真正地得以消解。     

公司法律本质的双维分析

公司在法律本质上不仅是具有法人资格的营利性组织,从其内部关系分析,更是一种长期的契约关系。但公司法律本质的契约性,不同于以个别契约为模型的古典契约,而是以维护有机团结为主旨的关系契约,麦克尼尔的关系契约学说对公司内部关系具有解释力。