전제권력의 해체와 근대정치로의 이행: 고전적 자유주의의 정치적 함의

Abstract

This article discusses the theories of John Locke and Thomas Paine, both of whom justified the English Revolution, the American Revolution and the French Revolution on the basis of classical liberalism. Different from the class perspective in which classical liberalism is regarded as the ideological basis of bourgeoisie republic, the article interprets the ideas of Locke and Paine grounded on the assumption that the landmark of modernity is the dissolution of despotic power. The ideological and institutional principles of classical liberalism, such as natural rights of man, popular sovereignty, the representative government, separation of powers and constitutionalism, were proposed as the political project of classical liberalists in order to criticize pre-modern despotism and provide an alternative to this system. The political implications through this interpretation of classical liberalism are as follows; first, classical liberalists should be interpreted or investigated in the historical context; secondly, political principles of classical liberalism, which were systematized by classical liberalists, should be considered to be important factors for the sake of the extension and development of democracy; thirdly, radical reconstruction of political liberalism is required in order to make a resistance against the rising new despotic power.