美国国家公共电台 NPR--Can billionaires save the world? Some are skeptical

Can billionaires save the world? Some are skeptical¹

Transcript²

Disgraced crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried pledged to make a fortune just to give it all away. Does the downfall of FTX invite more scrutiny³ of billionaires who vow⁴ to save the world?

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The spectacular downfall of crypto firm FTX has had many ripple⁵ effects, though not all of them are financial. It also affected⁶ a movement known as effective altruism⁷. FTX founder⁸ Sam Bankman-Fried was a big booster of effective altruism. He said he aspired⁹ to make as much money as possible so that he could then give it away. But with FTX in bankruptcy¹⁰ proceedings¹¹ and Bankman-Fried now facing a federal inquiry¹² into market manipulation, that movement is now in turmoil¹³. To help us understand how the FTX fiasco has affected this emerging form of philanthropy, I spoke¹⁴ with Rutger Bregman. He's a historian based in the Netherlands and the author of "Humankind: A Hopeful History." Bregman started by telling me how effective altruism began.

RUTGER BREGMAN: It actually started with very poor students, basically, who, quite impressively, were giving, you know, away a big part of the little money that they had to highly effective charities. It's just that, since the movement has been growing, they've been able to recruit rich people as well. They started to realize that, if you want to do a lot of good, money is quite helpful.

MART?NEZ: So then where does effective altruism stand? I mean, is it in a crisis mode? Is it something that somehow people can trust again?

BREGMAN: I think it's pretty heartbreaking to see what's been happening. I know quite a few people in this community, and so many of them are, you know, very morally ambitious - give away a huge part of their income. Almost all of them are vegan. Many of them have donated their kidney to a complete stranger. So these are quite often quite impressive people. But now, it turns out that they were receiving money from this, you know, completely fraudulent person. And, you know, many of the actually great causes they were working on are maybe now tainted¹⁵ as well.

MART?NEZ: If billionaires around the world paid taxes at a level that's probably more fair, would we need effective altruism?

BREGMAN: So I don't think I've ever made it a secret that I'm not a big fan of billionaire philanthropy, actually. I think billionaires shouldn't exist. I think that most billionaire philanthropy is just a scam, you know, to distract people from their corrupt¹⁶ business models and their tax evasion¹⁷ and their tax avoidance.

I do think, on the other hand, that you also have to acknowledge that, in a world where governments are just not spending enough - not nearly enough on things like pandemic prevention or, you know, the risk of artificial intelligence or, you know, malaria¹⁸ bed nets, then I'm pretty happy that there are people like, say, Bill Gates, for example, who are doing a lot of work there. And even if you're, you know, on the far left, you just have to acknowledge that foundations like that have been saving millions of lives. So again, it's complicated. My simple answer would be like, first, pay your taxes. And then, by all means, if you're still rich, give it away.

MART?NEZ: Have the world's governments, though, maybe relied too much on billionaires to maybe help fix some problems that they don't want to fix or can fix?

BREGMAN: Sometimes that's absolutely the case. But sometimes also - I mean, recently, the United Kingdom slashed¹⁹ its foreign aid budget. And I can't remember, you know, people getting really, really angry about this. The sad truth is that even most of us are mostly focused on problems of rich people and rich countries. And most people in rich countries don't realize just how rich they are. So for example, if you earn a median wage in the United States, you're already part of the 3% richest in the world. Especially if you're highly educated, middle class in the rich world, you are - you know, you're part of a global elite²⁰.

MART?NEZ: Is this a movement, do you think, that can recover? I mean, it has a tarnished²¹ kind of name right now. But once we get past everything that's happened with FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried, is this something that can reestablish its credibility, so to speak?

BREGMAN: The honest answer is I don't know. The blow has been very, very big. I think that the movement was already big enough that, at least in some form, it will have to survive. There are many, you know, EA-ish (ph) institutions and foundations and charities and you name it. And there's just thousands of pretty morally ambitious people around the globe who became connected because of this movement. But, I mean, the principle itself of quite often young people, you know, in their 20s and in their 30s who realize they're highly privileged and want to make a big difference in the world for the good - I think that, in itself, is something that we should be cheering on.

MART?NEZ: That's historian Rutger Bregman, author of "Humankind: A Hopeful History." Rutger, thanks.

BREGMAN: Thanks.

1 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

4 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

5 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 altruism   

n.利他主义，不自私

参考例句：

• An important feature of moral behaviour is altruism.道德行为一个重要特点就是利他主义。
• Altruism is crucial for social cohesion.利他主义对社会的凝聚是至关重要的。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 aspired   

v.渴望，追求( aspire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She aspired to a scientific career. 她有志于科学事业。
• Britain,France,the United States and Japan all aspired to hegemony after the end of World War I. 第一次世界大战后，英、法、美、日都想争夺霸权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

11 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

12 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

13 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

17 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

18 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

19 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

21 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。