经济学人476:莱克星顿 怀旧陷阱

 　　Lexington

　　莱克星顿

　　The nostalgia¹ trap

　　怀旧陷阱

　　Politicians need to stop pretending to angry voters that globalisation can be wished away

　　全球化通过许愿就能消失？政客们，别再蒙蔽愤怒的选民了

　　THE public is losing faith in the American Dream, Mitch McConnell declared on the night that he won a sixth Senate term, amid an electoral wave that handed his Republican Party control of Congress. Now begins a more important contest, Mr McConnell told Kentucky Republicans: the race to save the centuries-old “compact” that every American generation leaves the next one better off. Mr McConnell declared that promise imperilled by “distant planners in federal agencies”, whether they are killing² jobs in coal mines or—in their zeal³ to impose Obamacare—cancelling families' health insurance plans. The senator thanked his parents, survivors⁴ of the second world war, for passing their American optimism to him. Now, in unhappy contrast, Mr McConnell says he sees “hurt” in the eyes of ordinary folk.

　　在共和党取得国会控制权、同样也是米奇·麦康诺赢得第六次参议院连任的当晚，他说，公众正在对美国梦失去信心。他还对肯塔基州的共和党人说，如今，一场更为重要的竞争接踵而至，那就是挽救每一代美国人都应当比前一代更好的这个古老不成文规律。他说，“联邦机构中那些远在天边的出谋划策者”不论是减少煤矿业的就业机会，还是热忱地推行奥巴马医改、取消家庭健康保险计划，都对这一规律造成了伤害。这位参议员还感谢了他曾逃过二战的父母将乐观遗传给了自己。然而，麦康诺称，很不幸地，他现在在普通人眼中只能看到“受伤”。

　　He is right about the national mood. Voters are almost united in their belief that America is heading in the wrong direction. Alas⁵ for Mr McConnell, who is set to become Senate majority leader, that is about where their unity⁶ ends.

　　在国民情绪的问题上，他是对的。几乎所有选民都不约而同地认为，美国正在走向错误的方向。但对于即将成为参议院多数党领袖的麦康诺来说，可叹的是选民的共识将止于何处。

　　怀旧陷阱.jpg

　　Too many leaders in the rich West have picked up on gloom about the future as a driver of public distrust of politics, but offer only narrow, partisan⁷ solutions, often focused on scrapping⁸ opponents' policies that they always disliked. Republicans such as Mr McConnell are right to criticise⁹ government when it overreaches. But it is a stretch to suggest that reining¹⁰ in environmental rules on coal, or even repealing¹¹ Obamacare, can revive the American Dream.

　　在富庶的西部，许多领导人都把美国人对未来的悲观情绪，看做公众对政治普遍不信任的罪魁祸首，但他们只能提出狭隘、且受党派限制的解决方案，往往只关注于废除敌对党派不受选民欢迎的政策。而当政府过线时，麦康诺等共和党的确应该出言声讨。但暗示控制环保规定中涉及煤炭业的部分，甚至废除奥巴马医改，就能复兴美国梦，也是言过其实。

　　That dream looms¹² large in American politics. So much voter disquiet¹³ is linked to nostalgia for hazily-remembered golden decades when factories offered jobs for life, baby booms filled maternity¹⁴ wards¹⁵ and millions of families enjoyed the fruits of post-war prosperity (though women and non-whites may recall those years a bit differently). But coal mines, steel mills and factories have closed throughout the rich world, in countries with very different governments, labour laws and environmental rules. What all faced was an explosion in global competition, followed by a second wave of automation.

　　美国梦在美国政治中有举足轻重的作用。许多选民的不淡定源于他们记忆中模糊的黄金时代的怀念，当时工厂是终身雇佣制，产房中挤满了呱呱落地的“婴儿潮”婴儿，无数家庭享受着战后繁荣（尽管女性和非白人家庭对那段时光也许有不一样的记忆）。但在整个发达世界，在那些有着不同政府组成形式、不同劳动法和环保法的国家里，煤矿、炼钢厂和工厂也都在倒闭。所有国家都面临着全球竞争的加剧和第二波自动化。

　　That helps to explain why voter unhappiness sounds so similar across the rich world. Your columnist¹⁶ has covered elections on four continents, and the same themes keep cropping up. Mr McConnell's speech in Kentucky reminded him of one given in 2011 by Ed Miliband, the leader of Britain's Labour Party, a leftwinger with whom Mr McConnell ought to have little in common. Mr Miliband accused Britain's Conservative-led government of betraying the “British Promise” of upward mobility¹⁷, tempered with egalitarianism. He noted¹⁸ that fewer than one in ten Britons believed that life would be easier for their children. He talked of his parents, refugees from Nazism¹⁹, and the post-war opportunities they enjoyed. His British Promise is built on government: his speech saluted²⁰ the National Health Service and state schools for helping²¹ new generations get ahead, and denounced Conservative cuts as “kicking away the ladders”.

　　这或许也是为什么，选民们的不悦情绪笼罩着所有发达国家。本专栏涵盖着四个大陆上的选举，而相同的话题总是屡见不鲜。麦康诺在肯塔基的演讲让人联想起英国工党领袖艾德·米利班德在2011年的一次演讲，这位左翼人士本该与麦康诺没有什么共同点，但他也同样指责本国政府背叛了要提高国民阶级地位的“英国承诺”，而是以平等主义敷衍糊弄。艾德·米利班德指出，每十个英国人中，只有不到一个人相信，下一代的生活会少一些艰难。他谈起了自己的父母，他们曾是纳粹时期的难民，还谈起了他们享受过的战后机会。他口中的英国承诺是建立在政府的基础上的，在他的演讲中，他向英国的国民医疗保健制度和国立学校致敬，称他们帮助下一代进步，而他把保守派削减计划的行为称作“踢走了人们向上爬的梯子”。

　　In Brussels, your columnist used to watch politicians defend what some called the European Dream, involving lots of “solidarity”—ie, farm subsidies²², industrial policies to prop²³ up favoured firms, welfare, transfers from rich countries to poor ones and a dose of protectionism. Voters needed a more protective Europe, thundered Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president from 2007-12, or they would reject it as a “Trojan horse” for globalisation.

　　本专栏也曾报道，布鲁塞尔的政客也在捍卫有些人口中的欧洲梦，团结是欧洲梦的一个主要内容，即农场补贴、促进受优待企业发展的工业政策、福利政策、富国接济贫国和保护主义等。法国2007年至2012年的总统萨科齐怒斥道，选民需要欧洲更大力度地实行贸易保护，否则就会把全球化看做“特洛伊木马”。

　　All this is revealing. In rich country after rich country, under governments both of the left and of the right, the biggest worry for voters is that middle-class incomes are stagnating²⁴ and the job-for-life is dead. Politicians instinctively²⁵ blame their domestic opponents' wicked or foolish policies. They cannot all be right.

　　这些都相当说明问题。不管在哪个发达国家，也不论政府是左派控制还是右派掌权，选民最大的担忧都是中产阶级收入的停滞不前和终身雇佣制的消失。政客们总会下意识地把责任推给国内竞争党派或意图不轨或愚不可及的政策。但这并不全都正确。

　　American conservatives growl²⁶ that if the country feels all wrong it is because Democrats²⁷ buy elections with “free stuff” for the feckless poor, destroying the national work ethic²⁸. Democrats say no, it is because Republicans are too heartless to care about the middle classes, and because unpatriotic billionaires send jobs overseas. Similarly, in Britain, Mr Miliband implies that the middle class are getting stiffed because the Conservatives care only about the rich. French presidents blame technocrats²⁹ in Brussels for the same problem. Few of these leaders will admit that their countries' travails³⁰ owe more to global forces than to their opponents' folly³¹.

　　美国的保守党咆哮着，如果美国人感觉不对，那是因为民主党用“免费的东西”讨好了无用的穷人，收买了选举，破坏了美国的职业道德。民主党否认说，其实这是因为民主党麻木不仁，对中产阶级毫不关心，以及因为毫无同情心的亿万富翁把大把工作拱手送给外国。同样地，在英国，米利班德也暗示，中产阶级陷入困境的原因是保守党只关心富人。法国总统则也以同样的罪名谴责布鲁塞尔的技术官僚。很少有领导人会承认，自己国家的困境更多地是由于全球大势，而不是竞争对手的愚蠢。

　　More and more voters now express a generalised contempt for established parties. Though his condemnations of Mr Obama resonate, Mr McConnell is not loved in Kentucky. Britons may dislike Conservatives, but painfully few trust Mr Miliband to deliver state-sponsored prosperity. Mr Sarkozy was hooted³² from office; his Socialist³³ successor is now even more despised.

　　如今，越来越多的选民都会已有的党派表现出一种普遍的轻视。尽管麦康诺和选民在谴责奥巴马这件事上是同一阵营，但麦康诺在肯塔基州并不受欢迎。英国人也许不喜欢保守党，但也很少有人相信米利班德，把通过国家力量实现普遍繁荣的重任交给他。萨科齐已经在一片谩骂声中离任，他社会党的继承者日子也越来越不好过。

　　Unhappy voters are all alike

　　不快乐的选民都一样

　　That general collapse³⁴ of trust can trump³⁵ national quirks³⁶. Take British campaign spending, which is ferociously³⁷ regulated—even paid political ads on TV and radio are banned. Total spending by parties and outside groups on Britain's 2010 general election was 34.3m (54.3m). That is less than the seventh-costliest Senate race in 2014, in Alaska (59.2m). Yet Britons voice the same furious suspicions that politicians are bought by big money as Americans do. Given the vast differences in absolute spending, that suggests voters are mostly saying something else: that they feel the fix is in (and that campaign-finance rules don't buy much public trust).

　　信任的普遍坍塌盖过了每个国家的独特性。拿英国的竞选花销为例，这在英国是明令禁止的，就连电视和广播付费政治广告也不被允许。在2010年大选中，所有党派和外围团体的花费一共为3430万英镑（约合5430万美元）。相较于美国2014年的参议院选举，这比花费排名第七位的阿拉斯加州还要少（约为5920美元）。但英国人仍然愤怒地怀疑英国政客们像美国政客一样受到了收买。而相对于在绝对支出上的差别，大多数选民更关心的，是问题是不是真的正在解决（而竞选筹得的款项规定并不能买来很多公众信任）。

　　This is not a call for political apathy³⁸. In every country some policies are better than others, and bad ones should be changed. Populists peddling³⁹ false remedies (Close the borders! Quit the EU! Secede⁴⁰!) must be debated and beaten. But let political leaders everywhere tell their publics the truth: the years of easy post-war growth are gone, replaced by competition that cannot be wished away, and so must be met head-on—and ideally harnessed. That will take hard work and new ideas. Time to wake up.

　　本文并非鼓吹政治冷漠。在每一个国家中，总有一些政策要优于其他政策，而不好的政策也需要被修改。必须要同叫卖错误解决方案（关闭国界！退出欧盟！独立！）的民粹主义者辩论，并制止他们。要各处的领导人们对公众说实话吧，战后容易的发展已经一去不复反了，取而代之的是即使希望也不可能消失的竞争，因此必须要直面竞争，最好还能利用竞争。这需要努力和创意。是时候该醒醒了。

1 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

4 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

5 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

6 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

7 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

8 scrapping   

刮，切除坯体余泥

参考例句：

• He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。
• These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。

9 criticise   

v.批评，评论；非难

参考例句：

• Right and left have much cause to criticise government.左翼和右翼有很多理由批评政府。
• It is not your place to criticise or suggest improvements!提出批评或给予改进建议并不是你的责任！

10 reining   

勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的现在分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理

参考例句：

• "That's a fine bevy, Ma'm,'said Gerald gallantly, reining his horse alongside the carriage. "太太！好一窝漂亮的云雀呀！" 杰拉尔德殷勤地说，一面让自己的马告近塔尔顿的马车。
• I was a temperamental genius in need of reining in by stabler personalities. 我是个需要由更稳重的人降服住的神经质的天才。

11 repealing   

撤销，废除( repeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In addition, repealing the alternative minimum tax would also help. 此外，废除替代性最低税也会有所帮助。
• Repealing the investment tax credit. 取消投资税款扣除。

12 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 disquiet   

n.担心，焦虑

参考例句：

• The disquiet will boil over in the long run.这种不安情绪终有一天会爆发的。
• Her disquiet made us uneasy too.她的忧虑使我们也很不安。

14 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

15 wards   

区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态

参考例句：

• This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
• It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区，下设三个分区。

16 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

17 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 Nazism   

n. 纳粹主义

参考例句：

• His philosophical eyes were obviously shortsighted by the evil influence of Nazism. 显然，他那双哲学家般的深邃的眼睛也被纳粹的妖氛所眩惑。 来自中国文学部分
• Nazism suppressed all three movements as degenerate. 纳粹把所有三个运动都作为颓废艺术而加以镇压。

20 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

22 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

24 stagnating   

v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I feel I'm stagnating in this job. 我觉得，干这份工作我没有长进。
• ITT was stagnating when Geneen became the chief executive officer in 1959. 1959年吉宁出任行政总负责人时，国际电话电报公司正处于不景气时期。 来自辞典例句

25 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

27 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

29 technocrats   

n.技术专家，专家政治论者( technocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Few business barons remained. They were replaced by "technocrats," who became the heads of corporations. 企业巨头所剩无几，大多已被“技术专家”所代替，这些人成了公司的领导。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• However, bankers called the technocrats' bluff and proceeded to lend with gusto. 但是，银行家们称技术专家官员不过在虚张声势，并且还会乐观的继续借贷业务。 来自互联网

30 travails   

n.艰苦劳动( travail的名词复数 )；辛勤努力；痛苦；分娩的阵痛

参考例句：

• In the and travails of businesses you'll always need hometown help. 就算你的业务扩大到其他城市，也不要忘了你的发源地。 来自互联网
• Tata Motor's travails with Land Rover and Jaguar spring to mind as recent less-than-favorable examples. 印度塔塔汽车公司对陆虎和捷豹品牌的辛苦收购就是最近一个不如人意的例子。 来自互联网

31 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

32 hooted   

（使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• An owl hooted nearby. 一只猫头鹰在附近啼叫。
• The crowd hooted and jeered at the speaker. 群众向那演讲人发出轻蔑的叫嚣和嘲笑。

33 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

34 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

35 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

36 quirks   

n.奇事，巧合( quirk的名词复数 )；怪癖

参考例句：

• One of his quirks is that he refuses to travel by train. 他的怪癖之一是不愿乘火车旅行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All men have their own quirks and twists. 人人都有他们自己的怪癖和奇想。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

37 ferociously   

野蛮地，残忍地

参考例句：

• The buck shook his antlers ferociously. 那雄鹿猛烈地摇动他的鹿角。
• At intervals, he gritted his teeth ferociously. 他不时狠狠的轧平。

38 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

39 peddling   

忙于琐事的，无关紧要的

参考例句：

• He worked as a door-to-door salesman peddling cloths and brushes. 他的工作是上门推销抹布和刷子。
• "If he doesn't like peddling, why doesn't he practice law? "要是他不高兴卖柴火，干吗不当律师呢？

40 secede   

v.退出，脱离

参考例句：

• They plotted to make the whole Mississippi Valley secede from the United States.他们阴谋策划使整个密西西比流域脱离美国。
• We won't allow Tibet to secede from China and become an independent nation.我们决不允许西藏脱离中国独立。