The Formation of Constitutional System and the Rise of Modern Britain

Author: Wei Jianguo
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-12-01
Features:
1. The Significance of the Formation of Modern British Constitutionalism
The rise and strength of modern Britain have been driven by multiple factors, among which the formation and perfection of a constitutional system that adapts to the needs of a market economy are undoubtedly its most important structural and institutional support. As the first country in the world to adopt a tripartite separation of powers constitutional system, modern Britain should be regarded as the greatest institutional innovation it has contributed to the political world of the modern era. Through constitutional innovation, modern Britain led the trend of the times and rapidly rose to become a major European power and even a world power. From the perspective of European history, when Britain rose, its population was no more than 20 million. First, Britain defeated Spain's "Invincible Fleet" in 1588 and then defeated the "Merchant of the Sea" Holland. Eventually, in the late 18th century, after the Seven Years' War, Britain defeated France and became a world hegemon. Moreover, as the constitutional system was perfected, the market economy system in Britain gradually matured, the Industrial Revolution first occurred in Britain, and new technologies began to emerge continuously. In 1765, Watt improved the steam engine; in 1768, Arkwright invented the water-powered loom; in 1779, Clapton invented the mule; in 1784, Cartwright invented the power loom, and so on. Meanwhile, Adam Smith's work—The Wealth of Nations, which represents the theory of economic laissez-faire and mature market economy—was published in 1776. The hundreds of years of prosperity in British history fully demonstrate the dynamic role of constitutionalism in economic and social development. It can be said that the constitutional path taken by Britain was successful, its experience was valuable, and its influence on later generations was immense. Studying the formation and development of the British constitutional system can better help us understand the rise of modern Britain and provide clues to grasp the fundamentals. In terms of its profound significance, the formation and perfection of the modern British constitutional system were not only national but also global. Almost all constitutional states since modern times have followed the British constitutional system on the path to constitutionalism. The relationship between constitutionalism and the market economy is undoubtedly a key issue of concern in China's theoretical circles today, and there are indeed some regular connections between the two. The obstruction of China's constitutional process over the past century has been due to the lack of a market economy, the lack of an effective balance and mutual respect between individual rights and state power. Fortunately, after more than two decades of reform and opening up, the establishment and advancement of the market economy, and the fundamental changes in China's social interest structure, private property rights have been enshrined in the constitution, and a diversified interest structure has basically formed, thus providing an unprecedented structural foundation and background for the formation and development of constitutionalism in China. Of course, the realization of constitutionalism in China also depends on our rational consciousness and promotion. This requires strengthening research on the generation of Western constitutionalism to enrich our understanding of constitutionalism. In fact, the understanding and awareness of constitutionalism itself is an important part of our constitutional construction. A historical examination of the formation and development of the modern British constitutional system can provide some references and lessons for us to understand and grasp the mechanisms of institutional change and evolution during periods of social transformation. While emphasizing the diversity of modernization in different countries and the uniqueness of ethnic development, we should not overlook the universal and general laws contained within modernization. Although the political and economic systems, historical and cultural traditions of countries around the world vary, as long as they adopt the organizational form of nation-states, pursue interest-oriented market economies, and implement formal-rational, non-personalized bureaucratic management systems, then governance will inevitably choose the rule of law and constitutionalism. In contemporary China, with the establishment of the market economy system, constitutional and constitutional issues have increasingly become focal points of attention in the political sphere and even in the entire society, and have been clearly reflected in the ongoing political reform of governing the country according to the law. It must be admitted that modern political systems are directly linked to constitutions and constitutionalism, and thus, to some extent, China's political reform issues are constitutional issues. Therefore, tracing the roots of constitutionalism is necessary to provide certain knowledge and theoretical reserves for our constitutional development. Britain is the "motherland" of constitutionalism, and naturally becomes an important part that cannot be avoided or bypassed in constitutional research. A historical examination and reflection on the motivations, processes, and characteristics of the formation and development of modern British constitutionalism, and elevating it to a law-based understanding, hold important theoretical significance and practical value for China, which is vigorously developing the market economy and moving towards constitutionalism. Of course, what we seek more is experience rather than models, inspiration rather than patterns from the formation and development of modern British constitutionalism.
2. The Characteristics of the Formation of Modern British Constitutionalism
For a long time, the formation and development of the British constitutional system have been a field of research that Chinese and Western scholars have been eager to explore. However, due to the continuous nature of British constitutional development, its formation and development bear more traditional traces. Therefore, there is some ambiguity in understanding the connection and differences between medieval and modern British constitutionalism, often equating medieval British constitutionalism with modern British constitutionalism. In fact, starting from the 17th century, there were significant differences between the modern British constitutional system and its values and the medieval constitutional system and its values. Hobbs-Baum emphasizes: "This avoidance of intense confrontation, this preference for putting new wine in old bottles, should not be confused with no change at all." The development of British constitutionalism from the medieval to the modern period can be divided into two inseparable stages: first, the medieval mixed system of estates, and then, through the modern constitutional revolution, the establishment of a mature and stable bourgeois tripartite separation of powers system. Starting from the medieval Magna Carta, due to the opposition and conflict between feudal local nobles, cities, and the monarchy, the British constitutional tradition was created under the feudal system, establishing a feudal mixed system. With the development of modern capitalist commodity and currency economy, the strength of the bourgeoisie increased, and social conflicts gradually shifted to conflicts between local nobles, the king, and the bourgeoisie. Feudalism was not conducive to the development of centralized states, while the healthy development of commodity and currency economy depended on the protection of a large centralized state. Protection by a large centralized state could accelerate the speed of resource transactions, reduce transaction costs, and improve transaction efficiency. At the same time, the paradox of the state was also raised: having a strong but limited government became a necessary requirement for economic development. If the state was too weak, it could not guarantee the implementation of contracts and the security of property rights, and the level of exchange and commodity and currency economic development would be very limited. However, with the enhancement of state power, a problem arose: a strong government could protect property rights, but it could also threaten contracts and property rights due to the power of the state. Therefore, the development of a free-market system must be accompanied by the establishment of systems to constrain government behavior. An absolutist state could only respect and protect property rights morally but could not do so effectively in terms of institutions. In the 17th century, Britain was the first to establish a tripartite separation of powers constitutional system, beginning to use the means of division of powers to solve the "essence dilemma" of the state's role. At this time, the social class color of division of powers gradually faded, and its functional color gradually strengthened. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the establishment of parliamentary supremacy and the judicial independence of common courts limited the arbitrary infringement of private property rights by the monarchy and ensured the existence of checks and balances within the state system, so that the state could play its role actively and effectively while not abusing its power. Constitutionalism does not negate public power but only limits it. Through the establishment and perfection of the tripartite separation of powers constitutional system, modern Britain formed a powerful but limited government and provided the key foundation of property rights protection for the Industrial Revolution of 1780. It can be said that modern Britain rose with the protection of private property rights.
3. Methods for Studying the Formation of Modern British Constitutionalism
Currently, the field of constitutional studies is divided into various theoretical factions, such as metaphysics and realism, a priori and empiricism, natural law and legal positivism, and a focus on subjective and objective aspects, leading to different definitions of constitutionalism. The complex and varied definitions of constitutionalism in the field of constitutional studies stem from the lack of a unified discourse background for understanding constitutionalism. As a result, constitutionalism presents different meanings in different contexts, causing confusion in the use of the concept, and even in the same article, constitutionalism can have different meanings in different contexts. In fact, this is partly a product of studying constitutionalism without considering its historical context: people are accustomed to viewing the history of constitutional development as having only subordinate and secondary significance, or even believing that constitutionalism can be studied and understood without its history. As a result, the study of constitutionalism has relied more on deductive analytical methods than on descriptive factual methods. Most deductive analytical methods establish the formation of constitutionalism on the basis of logical deduction, but due to the lack of historical evidence, their conclusions inevitably lack the vividness of facts and the depth of history, and may even lead to unfounded assertions. In fact, the formation, development, and transformation of constitutionalism are intrinsically linked to social life and social development, and we should not study it in isolation from its social foundation. If we leave out the background conditions in which constitutionalism exists and changes, we cannot understand its development and the changes in its values. Because, explaining constitutionalism with its "definition" only answers the question "what is constitutionalism," but cannot answer the question "how did constitutionalism come about." In fact, it is more important to understand how constitutionalism came about than to clarify its definition. Therefore, studying the formation of modern British constitutionalism cannot be separated from historical methods, historical perspectives, and backgrounds, requiring the introduction of historical methods and adherence to the historical materialist stance. For the study of British constitutionalism, introducing interdisciplinary research that intersects history and law is also feasible. History and law are merely artificial disciplinary divisions for the convenience of research, and their separation is not absolute. Because, whether it is history or law, they both face the same reality and history of human society. The only differences between them are their research focus, research methods, and the theories they use. Therefore, it is normal for research fields to overlap or intersect. Moreover, interdisciplinary research methods can help expand our research fields and perspectives. Through the logical of historical genealogy, we can guide ourselves beyond superficial appearances to deeper generative mechanisms. As a process description, history itself is a method and is a basic theoretical quality for legal scholars. As German legal scholar Savigny emphasized, "Legal scholars must possess two indispensable qualities: historical literacy to firmly grasp the characteristics of every era and every legal form; and systematic vision, to examine every concept and rule in close connection with the whole, that is, in its true and natural relationship." Due to the lack of historical background and perspective, the study of British constitutionalism for a long time has been limited to superficial expansion, lacking depth excavation; it has been confined to the surface, always hovering on the peaks and troughs of the waves. But without knowing what forces are surging in the deep waters of the constitutional river to form the visible peaks on the surface, we cannot understand the true historical process of the development of modern British constitutionalism. Through deep historical description, we can restore the true historical face of the formation of modern British constitutionalism since then, helping us to more accurately understand the real historical process of its development, so that we can abstract the internal laws of its formation and development. The internal laws of the formation and development of constitutionalism are not outside history but within history. Without in-depth and development of constitutional history research, constitutional theory research also loses its basis and support. Currently, the reason why British constitutional theory has long failed to achieve significant progress is an important factor in the lagging research on British constitutional history. It can be said that without a descriptive constitutional history that truly reflects historical development, there can be no genuine analytical constitutional theory, let alone high-level constitutional theory. Because "knowing why" is built on "knowing what." Therefore, it is necessary to establish a good interactive relationship between constitutional history and constitutional theory, only by closely combining historical narration with theoretical research can we achieve genuine and profound views. A convincing British constitutional theory can only be based on direct and continuous reflection on British constitutional history.