How would Isaiah Berlin assess the current wave of authoritarian populism? The question is worth asking both for the light it casts on populism and for what it tells us about Berlin. In several respects, his view of populism is ambivalent: he is surprisingly sympathetic to the Russian populists of the nineteenth century, sharing their concern for genuine democracy and their reservations about elite leadership; he is especially troubled by the possibility of rule by scientific experts, although he does not reject elite judgement entirely; and his assessment of successful political judgement is not as clearly opposed to the kind of charismatic leadership favoured by many populists (for example, the leadership of Donald Trump) as one might expect. It is only in his treatment of individual liberty and value pluralism that Berlin provides anti-populists with more emphatic arguments, especially when his value pluralism is developed as “liberal pluralism.” Overall, the application of Berlin’s ideas to populism highlights some of his familiar themes but also shows how his work can be extended in interesting ways. In particular, his sympathy with the Russian populists suggests that he is more of a democrat than is often assumed, and the application to populism of his famous thesis about the dangers of positive liberty can be extended to negative liberty too.

以赛亚·柏林如何评价当前的威权民粹主义浪潮？这个问题值得一问，因为它给民粹主义带来了启发，也因为它告诉我们有关柏林的一切。在几个方面，他对民粹主义的看法是矛盾的：他出人意料地同情十九世纪的俄罗斯民粹主义者，分享他们对真正民主的关注和对精英领导的保留；尽管他并不完全拒绝精英的判断，但他对科学专家统治的可能性尤其感到困扰。他对成功政治判断的评价并不像人们想象的那样明显反对许多民粹主义者所青睐的魅力型领导（例如唐纳德·特朗普的领导）。只有在他对个人自由和价值多元主义的处理中，伯林才为反民粹主义者提供了更有力的论据，特别是当他的价值多元主义被发展为“自由多元主义”时。总体而言，伯林的思想在民粹主义中的应用突出了他的一些熟悉的主题，但也展示了如何以有趣的方式扩展他的作品。特别是，他对俄罗斯民粹主义者的同情表明，他比人们通常认为的更为民主，而且他关于积极自由的危险的著名论文对民粹主义的应用也可以扩展到消极自由。伯林的思想在民粹主义中的应用突出了他的一些熟悉的主题，但也展示了如何以有趣的方式扩展他的作品。特别是，他对俄罗斯民粹主义者的同情表明，他比人们通常认为的更为民主，而且他关于积极自由的危险的著名论文对民粹主义的应用也可以扩展到消极自由。伯林的思想在民粹主义中的应用突出了他的一些熟悉的主题，但也展示了如何以有趣的方式扩展他的作品。特别是，他对俄罗斯民粹主义者的同情表明，他比人们通常认为的更为民主，而且他关于积极自由的危险的著名论文对民粹主义的应用也可以扩展到消极自由。