本文從西方晚近公民共和主義視角，探討儒家理想的公民典範─君
子。本文指出「君子」這個兩千年前即已形成的儒家人格典範，在
現今民主時代的政治社會場域，依然有其歷久彌新的意義。五四以
來對儒家君子理想的批判，主要依據西方效益主義式的自由主義理
論，此種自由理論只注目於消除外在自由障礙，欠缺對自我內在自
主性的開發，就實現真正的自由，以及營造自主公民形成的政治社
群而言，皆有所不足。公民共和主義楬櫫「自由作為不受宰制」論
題，回歸西方積極參與公共事務的公民自由古典傳統，重新肯定積
極自由之重要性，對近代自由主義的發展可以發揮補偏救弊的作用
。而儒家居仁行義的君子，從公民共和主義觀點，相當貼近現代正
義社會中的自主公民。在此一視角之下，儒家傳統祈嚮的理想君子
，似乎又走出老中國蜿蜒的古道，重現在萬紫千紅的今山。 This paper explores the ideal of jun-zi (君子) in
Confucianism from a civic republican perspective. The ideal
of Confucian jun-zi has been criticized by Chinese liberal
scholars from a utilitarian or“rights-based”liberalism
viewpoints and seems to be out-of-date since May Fourth
movement. In recent years, civic republicanism revived and
it raises some reflections about the theory and reality of
liberalism. According to civic republican viewpoints, there
are some deficiencies of utilitarian or“rightsbased”
liberalism for its focus on the protection of
individual rights or self-interests based on the concept of
negative liberty. For the elimination of external obstacles
of liberty and the individual rights-claim, the“rightsbased”
liberalism ignores the dimensions of internal
liberty, self-autonomy and moral duty of citizens. Instead
of individual rights or self-interest, civic republicanism
emphasizes the significances of the realization of public
responsibilities of citizen through active political
participation based on the thesis of“liberty as
independence or non-dominance”, which basically originates
from the concept of positive liberty. From this point of
view, I conclude that the ideal of Confucian jun-zi and
civic republican citizen are congruent and both seem to be
still up-to-date, and they are important and helpful for
remedying the defects of utilitarian or“rights-based”
liberalism in modern age.
