金融革命與商業社會的興起：18世紀初期英格蘭的社會轉型

Financial Revolution and the Emergence of Commercial Society: Social Transformation in Early Eighteenth-Century Britain

陳禹仲(Alvin Chen)

《史繹》 38期 (2014/06) Pp. 87-123

https://doi.org/10.3966/230689192014060038004

摘要

本文採討17世紀末、18世紀初，英格蘭從政的思想家對於財政改革的討論，並兼以採討18世紀初英格蘭社會產業型態的轉變，希望由這兩個脈絡重新檢視「商業社會（Commercial Society），這個過往為經濟與社會史家所重視的歷史現象。本文試圖指出，包含英格蘭17世紀末的金融革命（Financial Revolution），乃至於至18世紀末政治經濟學（Political Economy）成為一門獨立的學門等歷史現象，其實都與時人對於其自身的社會正在經歷史為商業化的轉變有關。金融革命並不僅是財政經濟的改革，同時也反映當時從政的英格蘭人對於社會型態已然轉變的認知，而此認知則又與商業和貿易逐漸成為社會的核心經濟活動有關。

關鍵字

金融革命 ； 商業社會 ； 商業 ； 英格蘭銀行 ； 政治算數

並列摘要

This article examines the relationship between the financial revolution in late-seventeenth-century England and the emergence of a commercial society in early-eighteenth-century Britain. In this article, I argue that late-seventeenth-century English intellectuals' advocacy for the construction of new financial institutions reveals their awareness of the necessity of corresponding financial institutions in making progress toward a more commercialized society. The financial revolution during that period was dependent on the emergence of a new commercial society, which was a central topic of discussion among eighteenth-century British intellectuals. I also argue that the financial revolution, late-seventeenth-century discussions of political arithmetic, and eighteenth century debates on luxury and political economy indicated that English and (after 1708) British intellectuals were aware of transformations that had taken place in social and economic behaviors. Consequently, these behaviors transformed their mentality, distinguishing them from their predecessors.

並列關鍵字

Financial revolution ； commercial society ； commerce ； Bank of England ； political arithmetic