保守主义融入特朗普主义:两个世纪多的时间扮演反动角色的美国保守派,在数字经济时代会有什么新色彩,是我们今天关注的焦点。更进一步说,我们需要解析,特朗普主义与美国保守主义的结合点在哪里。对于保守主义这个特性的了解,最佳途径莫过于听取保守分子自己的讲解了。我们的例证,是克赖尔蒙特研究所(Claremont Institute)于2019年发表在《克赖尔蒙特书评》上的《特朗普主义,民族主义,和保守主义》(Trumpism, Nationalism, and Conservatism)一文。在此文中,作者开宗明义:特朗普主义的实质是民族主义,是北大西洋区域民族国家精神复活的美国版本。这个美国版本所要师法的榜样,是欧洲大陆和北欧半岛(Scandinavian Peninsula)1848年革命体现的"民族之春"精神。那里不同国家的革命展现的共同目标,就是寻求代议制政府体制,来代表由相同语言,宗教,文化和地理位置所聚合的民众。在这位作者看来,这样的民族代议制政府体制,被全球化进程破坏了,形成了"随地居民"(Anywhere)和"属地居民"(Somewhere)的对立。"随地居民"是指全球化浪潮推动的精英阶层。他们轻轻点击鼠标,就可以随时出现在世界的任何地方。结果是,他们的国家民族意识不复存在,成了企图垄断世界资源的国际精英集团的成员。"属地居民"是指未被全球化浪潮席卷的地方民众。他们与所生所长的土地息息相关,因而具有强烈的国家民族意识。作者的最后结论是,美国保守主义在新千年的中心使命,是维护美利坚民族主义免遭全球主义消灭民族的灭顶之灾。从这项使命出发,特朗普主义是再合适不过的代表性意识形态。所以,美国保守主义与特朗普主义的合流,水到渠成。
保守派对白人民族主义的拥抱,当然引起了自由派的警觉。《纽约客》(The New Yorker)在2019年7月21日刊登文章,"保守派民族主义是专供知识分子的特朗普主义"(Conservative Nationalism Is Trumpism for Intellectuals)。作者引用了宾州大学法学教授瓦克斯(Amy Wax)在同年7月召开的全国保守主义年会上的发言,来说明美国保守主义对白人民族主义的青睐,是试图以知识届的语言,论证特朗普主义的合理性。瓦克斯在证明昂格鲁-萨克森人种的优越性时指称,"许多,其实是大多数,来自第三世界的移民,并非肯定能接受我们的看法和信念。他们中的某些人会口头上表示愿意,但未必真正理解那些看法和信念。当然会有些例外,但他们的大多数不在例外之列。"这番话,够得上直截了当的种族主义宣言了。但瓦克斯似乎感觉还不够凶狠。她接着引述了特朗普在一场集会上的名言,"我们为什么要让那么多粪坑国家的人来这里?"在保守派与会者的一片笑声中,瓦克斯郑重声明,特朗普的问话应该被看作严肃的问题,而不只是宣传手段。这位法学教授的最后结论是,保守派需要坦率地选择一个立场,多一些白人,少一些非白人会对美国更好。《纽约客》以这篇文章告诫自由派,不管美国保守主义以前的核心理念还包含些什么,它当前的追求就是白人种族主义,而它树起的大旗是特朗普主义。
福音派与特朗普的神交绝配:葛培理和他的同道没有枉费心机。由于他们的精心装扮,福音主义的形象,比之桑代时期的粗俗蛮横,大为改观。当特朗普在2016年大选期间,一举囊括福音派主流的热情支持时,无数的观察家们惋惜或沉痛地感叹,福音派放弃了自己的信念,为了最高法院的席位,与魔鬼做交易,闭眼忍痛投下自己的一票。观察家们的这声长叹,是对葛培理及其同道们的最高奖赏。葛培理成功地塑造了福音派的舞台形象,让福音主义用出众的表演技巧,掩饰了其内在的狰狞面目。但是,再精巧的表演也无法完全遮挡福音派灵魂的真相。在受过优良学术训练的福音派历史学家杜梅(Kristin Du Mez)眼中,福音派的真实面目与葛培理刻意装饰的形象落差巨大。根据杜梅的考察,福音派领袖和信众对特朗普的热情拥抱并不是利益交换的结果。相反,福音派和特朗普的结合是两相天然吻合的体现。在二战后的几十年间,福音派充分运用大众传媒的各种手段,给福音主义教义穿上了流行文化的外衣,向公众,尤其是青少年,灌输强调阳刚之气的父权制思想,白人中心的民族主义理念。结果是,以父权,夫权,和白人至上为核心精神的福音派价值观,最终找到了男性霸权,蔑视女权,种族歧视为特色的特朗普主义。这种拥抱可谓惺惺相惜,甚至无需利益交换。
2020年共和党党纲:2020年共和党全国代表大会最引人注目之处,是共和党党纲。代表大会决定,该届大会没有党纲公布。每四年一次为选举召开的党代会,通常以公布党纲的方式宣示党在今后四年的走向。用特殊的方式,共和党向世界公告,该党以党领袖的意志为意志,领袖的思想就是党的理念。有人戏称,共和党2020年的党纲是一句话,"朕即国家"(L’État, c’est moi,语出法国国王路易十四, Louis XIV)。这句戏言,饱含辛酸。世界上最大民主国家的一个主流政党,成了一个政商玩家的掌中宠物。共和党与特朗普主义完全合流了。
2020年的这一步,共和党费了几十年才迈出。
共和党的本土主义:共和党长期以来保持着具有强烈孤立主义和种族主义倾向的本土主义因素(Nativism)。但在二战后,很大程度上由于保守派政论家小威廉·巴克利(William F. Buckley Jr.)的努力,这种本土主义受到融合主义(Fusionism)的压制。巴克利的融合主义以反苏为旗帜,确立了共和党内国际主义的方向,把市场经济和国际主义融合在保守主义思潮之内,很大程度上约束了共和党内的种族主义和排外情绪。可是好景不长,随着苏联的解体,国际主义理念在共和党内快速衰退,孤立主义和排外情绪在全球化浪潮中迅猛抬头。茶党(Tea Party)的崛起,标志着共和党意识形态的重大转向。以此为契机,孤立主义,排外情绪,和白人种族主义在共和党内开闸潮水般倾泻而出。审慎的理性因素在共和党人当中消退之速度,令人震惊。就在茶党崛起的数年之后,两位政治学者(Thomas Mann, Norm Ornstein)出版了一本分析当代美国国会政治运行的著作,《比所见更糟》(It’s Even Worse Than It Looks),引起了政界和学界的很大反响。在这两位作者看来,共和党已经成为美国政治中叛逆性的极端奇异点(Outlier),大大偏离了正常轨道。共和党在意识形态上的极端化,对妥协的藐视,不为常规事实,证据,和科学所动的偏执,和对政治反对派合法性的不屑,都是该党处在奇异点上的表现。这种表现的根子,正是共和党的本土主义。当美国社会的主流在经济和科技浪潮的推动下,融入全球化发展动向之时,共和党却让本土主义抬头,力图用孤立主义,排外倾向,和白人种族主义阻挡美国和世界的进步,以维护人数日益减少的白人的特权地位。
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