经济学人:权利的游戏 西班牙面临分裂亟待改革

 　　Leaders Centrifugal Spain

　　先驱 沙盘上的西班牙

　　Umbrage¹ in Catalonia

　　阴云笼罩卡泰罗尼亚

　　Even though the spectre of secession is an unwelcome distraction², Spain still needs to change

　　分裂的阴影分散了西班牙的注意力，尽管不受欢迎，但这个国家依旧需要变革

　　George Orwell, a British writer, fought in the trenches³ in the Spanish civil war to defend Catalonia from General Franco. He would surely be saddened by what is going on in that beautiful, cultured corner of Spain. On November 25th Catalans will vote in a regional election called as an unofficial referendum on independence. Since Catalonia represents a big chunk⁴ of the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy, and since Spain is in the front-line of efforts to save the euro, the vote and its aftermath will be felt farther afield.

　　英国作家乔治·奥威尔曾经参加过西班牙内战，保卫过卡泰罗尼亚，抵御了佛朗哥将军的部队。如果他还在世，定会为在这个美丽文明的西班牙东北角上演的悲剧而痛心。11月25日卡泰罗尼亚人将进行地区性选举，也作非正式独立公投。由于卡泰罗尼亚是欧元区第四大经济体西班牙的重要一部分，且西班牙又处在拯救欧元行动的前线，无疑这次投票及其结果都将产生及其深远的影响。

　　What could be wrong with 7.5m people with their own language and culture choosing to become a nation-state? At first blush, it is hard to object to what Catalan nationalists call the “right to decide”. In fact, there are many reasons why Catalans should not waste their energy trying to break away from Spain. Start by recalling Orwell’s definition of nationalism as “power-hunger tempered by self-deception”。

　　卡泰罗尼亚拥有750万人口和属于自己的语言，选择独立何错之有？乍一看，似乎很难反驳卡泰罗尼亚民族主义者所谓的“自主决定权”。事实上，有很多理由解释了为什么卡泰罗尼亚不应该在争取独立这件事上耗费精力。首先回顾一下奥威尔对于名族主义的定义：“一种因自欺而产生的权利饥渴”。

　　Under Spain’s constitution of 1978, Catalonia enjoys more self-government than almost any other corner of Europe. It runs its own schools, hospitals, police, prisons and cultural institutions. It lacks only tax-raising powers and the Ruritanian trappings of statehood, which nationalist politicians appear to be hungry for. As for the self-deception, this is sometimes farcical: Catalan public television offers a weather forecast that includes provinces that have been part of France since 1659, but no meteorological information for Zaragoza or Madrid. And most Catalans still seem happy to be both Catalans and Spaniards. Support for independence has risen mainly because Catalans think it would offer relief from recession.

　　依照西班牙1978年的宪法，卡泰罗尼亚享有比欧洲其他地区更多的自治权，拥有自己的学校、医院、警察、监狱和文化机构，但唯独没有征税的权利和理想王国的标志，即被承认的国家地位。而后两者正是名族主义者所觊觎的。谈到自欺，有时很可笑：卡泰罗尼亚公共电视的天气预报会播放早在1695年就隶属法国的一些行省的天气预报，却不播报萨拉戈萨或马德里的气象信息。而且卡泰罗尼亚人似乎很满意自己既属于卡泰罗尼亚又属于西班牙。他们支持独立主要是因为他们觉得这样能减轻经济衰退带来的痛苦。

　　It would not. An independent Catalonia would have more fiscal⁵ revenues, but it would also have a higher debt burden than Spain. The argument that Catalans should not subsidise feckless Andalusians is a dangerous one: apply that more widely and the euro zone would fall apart. Indeed, far from welcoming Catalonia as an independent member, the euro zone’s leaders hardly yearn⁶ for an extra nation-state.

　　然而事实并非真如他们所想。如果独立，泰罗尼亚人民将上缴更多的税，而且承受的债务压力要比没有独立时还大。有人认为安达鲁西亚人软弱无用，卡泰罗尼亚不应对其进行补助，但这一论调很危险：若广泛采纳，每个国家都这么想，欧元区将分崩离析。诚然，欧元区领导人一点也不支持卡泰罗尼亚独立，不希望多出一个国家来。

　　Spilling the Spanish beans

　　道破天机

　　All that said, the Catalan problem cannot be wished away. Roughly three-quarters of the next Catalan parliament is likely to vote for the right to decide. The constitution says only the Spanish parliament can approve a referendum—and it will not do so. The constitution has in general served both Spain and Catalonia well—but there is a case for updating it.

　　说归说，但卡泰罗尼亚问题不是想结束就能结束的。下届卡泰罗尼亚议会成员中大约四分之三将投票支持“自主决定权”。虽说宪法规定只有西班牙议会才能批准公投，但宪法可以修改——宪法不会否决卡泰罗尼亚进行公投的权利，总体来说宪法对于西班牙和卡泰罗尼亚同样适用。

　　The Catalans’ complaints come down to two things. First they feel that Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government in Madrid refuses to recognise that Spain is a plurinational and pluri-linguistic country. Second, they think that, set beside the other 16 regions, they pay too much.

　　卡泰罗尼亚的不满主要归结于两件事上。第一，他们觉得马里亚诺·拉霍伊政府不承认西班牙是多民族国家，拥有多种语言。第二，他们认为与其他16个地区相比，自己上缴的税太多了。

　　The neatest answer to these grievances⁷ would be for Spain formally to embrace federalism, with a federal senate and clear rules about who collects which taxes. Federalism would mean each region was equal, with the same rights and obligations. But it has been a dirty word in Spain since a failed federal government in 1873-74. A messier, but more feasible, alternative would be to accept that some regions—Catalonia, the Basque country and perhaps Galicia—should have more autonomy than the rest and be recognised as cultural nations within Spain. Doing this would require a national pact⁸ to revise the constitution. After the Catalan vote, Mr Rajoy would be wise to set that process in motion.

　　针对这些不满，西班牙最直接的解决方案就是正式建立联邦制，设立参议院，并明确征税体制。而联邦的建立将意味着地区平等，享有同等权利，履行同等义务。事实上早在1873-74就已尝试过建立联邦，却以失败而告终，从那以后西班牙一直把联邦制当做污浊腐败的代名词。因此选择一个相对较次但更可行的办法将更容易为人接受——允许卡泰罗尼亚、巴斯克和加利西亚等一些地区享有更多自治权，并承认其各自的文化。若采取这一措施，西班牙需要制定一个宪法修改协定，而且拉霍伊最好在卡泰罗尼亚非正式公投后就行动起来。翻译：郁炳睿

　　1.civil war 内战

　　例句:The Civil War forced extension of the use of machinery⁹.

　　南北战争促进了机器的普及。

　　2.the euro zone 欧元区

　　例句:How are businesses within the euro zone affected¹⁰ by the euro?

　　欧元将如何影响欧元区内的商业运作？

　　3.fall apart 崩溃

　　例句:Many of these guys fall apart when they retire.

　　这些人有许多一退休身体就垮了。

　　4.hungry for 渴望

　　例句:People are hungry for somebody to tell them the truth.

　　人民渴望有人给他们讲实话。

1 umbrage   

n.不快；树荫

参考例句：

• Everything gives umbrage to a tyrantny.所有事情都使专制君主生气。
• She took umbrage at my remarks about her hair.我对她头发的评论使她很不高兴。

2 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

3 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

4 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

6 yearn   

v.想念；怀念；渴望

参考例句：

• We yearn to surrender our entire being.我们渴望着放纵我们整个的生命。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

7 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

9 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

10 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。