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ChrystiaFreeland_2013G-_世界新富豪之兴起_
So here's the most important economic fact of our time. 当今最重要的经济现状是
economic:adj.经济的,经济上的;经济学的;
We are living in an age of surging income inequality, particularly between those at the very top and everyone else. 我们生活在一个收入差异加巨的年代 特别是处于顶层的人士收入远高于 其它阶层
surging:v.汹涌;使强烈地感到;急剧上升;激增;(surge的现在分词) particularly:adv.特别地,独特地;详细地,具体地;明确地,细致地;
This shift is the most striking in the U.S. and in the U.K., but it's a global phenomenon . 这种现象在英美最为显著 但全球皆然
shift:n.移动;变化;手段;轮班;v.移动;转变;转换; global:adj.全球的;总体的;球形的; phenomenon:n.现象;杰出的人;非凡的人(或事物);
It's happening in communist China, in formerly communist Russia, it's happening in India, in my own native Canada. 包括社会主义制度的中国 前共产主义苏联 印度和我的祖国加拿大
communist:n.共产党员;共产主义者;adj.共产主义的; formerly:adv.以前;原来; native:adj.本国的;土著的;天然的;与生俱来的;天赋的;n.本地人;土产;当地居民;
We're even seeing it in cozy social democracies like Sweden, Finland and Germany. 甚至在最适宜居住的社会民主国家 像瑞典,芬兰和德国都是如此
cozy:n.保温罩;v.蒙骗;抚慰;adj.舒适的;安逸的; democracies:民主;
Let me give you a few numbers to place what's happening. 我以几个数字为例,大家就会明白
In the 1970s, the One Percent accounted for about 10 percent of the national income in the United States. 在70年代的美国 (最富有的)1%的人的所得 占据了10%的国民收入
United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式)
Today, their share has more than doubled to above 20 percent. 如今,这部分人的收入占有率增加了一倍多 超过20%
But what's even more striking is what's happening at the very tippy top of the income distribution . 更让人震惊的是 顶层中的顶层们 的收入分配
tippy:adj.不安定的;容易倾斜的; distribution:n.分布;分配;分发;分销;
The 0.1 percent in the U.S. 那0.1%尖端人士
today account for more than eight percent of the national income. 拥有全美8%以上的 国民收入
account for:对…负有责任;对…做出解释;说明…的原因;导致;(比例)占;
They are where the One Percent was 30 years ago. 这是30年前顶端1%的占有率
Let me give you another number to put that in perspective , and this is a figure that was calculated in 2005 by Robert Reich , the Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. 让我再举一个数字来审视这个问题 这是2005年的统计数据 由Robert Reich 提供 他是克林顿政府的劳工部长
perspective:n.观点;远景;透视图;adj.透视的; Reich:n.德国;德意志帝国;
Reich took the wealth of two admittedly very rich men, Reich以两个无可厚非的巨富
wealth:n.财富;大量;富有; admittedly:adv.公认地;无可否认地;明白地;
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, and he found that it was equivalent to the wealth of the bottom 40 percent of the U.S. population, 120 million people. 比尔.盖茨和沃伦.巴菲特的财富为例 发现这个总和 相当于全美最底层的40%的全部财富 即1.2亿人的总和
Warren:n.养兔场;大杂院;拥挤的地区; equivalent:adj.等价的,相等的;同意义的;n.等价物,相等物;
Now, as it happens, 碰巧的是
Warren Buffett is not only himself a plutocrat , he is one of the most astute observers of that phenomenon, and he has his own favorite number. 沃伦 · 巴菲特不仅自己是个富豪 同时是此现象最敏锐的观察者之一 他有自己最偏好的数据
plutocrat:n.财阀;富豪; astute:adj.机敏的;狡猾的,诡计多端的; observers:n.观察者(observer的复数);
Buffett likes to point out that in 1992, the combined wealth of the people on the Forbes 400 list -- and this is the list of the 400 richest Americans -- was 300 billion dollars. 巴菲特指出,在1992年 福布斯400强 的财富总和 即最富有的400个美国人 总价值3000 亿美金
Forbes:n.福布斯(美国著名财经杂志);福布斯(美国出版及媒体集团);福布斯(姓氏);
Just think about it. 试想一下
You didn't even need to be a billionaire to get on that list in 1992. 试想一下 你就可以在1992年跻身福布斯400强
billionaire:n.亿万富翁;
Well, today, that figure has more than quintupled to 1.7 trillion , and I probably don't need to tell you that we haven't seen anything similar happen to the middle class , whose wealth has stagnated if not actually decreased . 现如今这个数字翻了五倍多 达到1.7万亿美金 不用我说大家便知 类似的增长并没发生在 中产阶级身上 中产阶级身上
quintupled:adj.五倍的;五部分组成的;n.五倍量;五个一组;vt.使成五倍;vi.成五倍; trillion:n.[数]万亿;adj.万亿的;num.[数]万亿; middle class:adj.中产阶级的;中层社会的; stagnated:v.停滞(stagnate的过去式); decreased:v.减少,减小,降低;(decrease的过去分词和过去式)
So we're living in the age of the global plutocracy , but we've been slow to notice it. 我们生活在全球财阀统治的时代 但却久久才意识到这一点
plutocracy:n.富豪统治,富豪统治集团;
One of the reasons, I think, is a sort of boiled frog phenomenon. 我认为其中一个原因 类似于 温水青蛙 现象
Changes which are slow and gradual can be hard to notice even if their ultimate impact is quite dramatic . 缓慢和逐步的变化 很难被注意到 即使最终的结果是致命的
gradual:adj.逐渐的;平缓的;n.弥撒升阶圣歌集; ultimate:adj.最终的;极限的;根本的;n.终极;根本;基本原则; impact:n.影响;效果;碰撞;冲击力;v.挤入,压紧;撞击;对…产生影响; dramatic:adj.突然的;巨大的;令人吃惊的;激动人心的;
Think about what happened, after all, to the poor frog. 想想那只青蛙悲惨的结局吧
But I think there's something else going on. 但我认为还有别的原因
Talking about income inequality, even if you're not on the Forbes 400 list, can make us feel uncomfortable. 当谈到收入不平等时 即使不是福布斯400 强之列的巨富 也会另人感到很不舒服
It feels less positive , less optimistic , to talk about how the pie is sliced than to think about how to make the pie bigger. 好似用消极、悲观的态度 来谈论如何切分蛋糕 而不是积极想办法使这块蛋糕变大
positive:adj.积极的;[数]正的,[医][化学]阳性的;确定的;n.正数;[摄]正片; optimistic:adj.乐观的;乐观主义的; sliced:adj.(食物)已切成薄片的;v.切成薄片;分配(slice的过去式和过去分词);
And if you do happen to be on the Forbes 400 list, talking about income distribution, and inevitably its cousin, income redistribution , can be downright threatening. 如果你有幸跻身福布斯400强 当讨论收入分配 以及随之而来的收入再分配时 你可能会有彻底的威胁感
inevitably:adv.不可避免地;必然地; redistribution:n.[经]重新分配; downright:adj.明白的;直率的;显明的;adv.完全,彻底;全然;
So we're living in the age of surging income inequality, especially at the top. 我们生活在收入不平等加剧的年代 尤其是在顶端人群中
especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分;
What's driving it, and what can we do about it? 这背后的动因是什么？我们又能做些什么？
One set of causes is political: lower taxes, deregulation , particularly of financial services, privatization , weaker legal protections for trade unions , all of these have contributed to more and more income going to the very, very top. 其中之一是政治原因 降低税收,放松管制,特别是对金融服务业 私有化,削弱法律对工会的保护 这一切都造成 越来越多的收入集中到社会顶层
deregulation:n.违反规定,反常;撤消管制规定; financial:adj.金融的;财政的,财务的; privatization:n.私有化; legal:adj.法律的;合法的;法定的; trade unions:工会; contributed:v.捐献,捐赠(尤指款或物); (contribute的过去式和过去分词)
A lot of these political factors can be broadly lumped under the category of " crony capitalism ," 很多这些政治因素可以大致归结为 裙带资本主义
factors:n.因素(factor的复数); v.做代理商; broadly:adv.明显地;宽广地;概括地;露骨地;粗鄙地; lumped:adj.集中的;总集的;成块的; category:n.种类,分类;[数]范畴; crony:n.密友;好朋友; capitalism:n.资本主义;
political changes that benefit a group of well-connected insiders but don't actually do much good for the rest of us. 政治变革使得 密切相关的圈内人士直接受益 而对一般人意义了了
well-connected:adj.有好亲戚的;出身名门的;血统关系好的;精心构思的; insiders:n.[劳经]内部人员(insider的复数);局内人;
In practice , getting rid of crony capitalism is incredibly difficult. 在实践中,铲除裙带资本主义 是非常困难的
In practice:在实践中;实际上,事实上; incredibly:adv.难以置信地;非常地;
Think of all the years reformers of various stripes have tried to get rid of corruption in Russia, for instance , or how hard it is to re-regulate the banks even after the most profound financial crisis since the Great Depression , 以俄罗斯为例,多年来有多少 改革派想尽办法铲除腐败 力尽艰辛重整银行系统 即使是在大萧条以来最严重的 金融危机之后,依然见效不大。
reformers:维新派; stripes:n.条子布;条纹布(stripe复数形式);v.给…加条纹(stripe的三单形式); corruption:n.贪污,腐败;堕落; instance:n.实例;情况;建议;v.举...为例; profound:adj.深厚的;意义深远的;渊博的; crisis:n.危机;危险期;决定性时刻;adj.危机的;用于处理危机的; Depression:n.沮丧;洼地;不景气;忧愁;
or even how difficult it is to get the big multinational companies, including those whose motto might be "don't do evil ," 再有,要求那些大型跨国公司 包括一些口口声声宣扬 为善 的公司
multinational:adj.跨国公司的;多国的;n.跨国公司; motto:n.座右铭,格言;箴言; evil:adj.邪恶的;不幸的;有害的;讨厌的;n.罪恶,邪恶;不幸;
to pay taxes at a rate even approaching that paid by the middle class. 根据中产阶级的税率来纳税 是多么困难重重
approaching:v.靠近,接近;接洽;建议;要求;(approach的现在分词)
But while getting rid of crony capitalism in practice is really, really hard, at least intellectually , it's an easy problem. 但尽管在实践中根除裙带资本主义 实属不易 但至少从理智上讲,那是个简单的问题
intellectually:adv.智力上;理智地;知性上;
After all, no one is actually in favor of crony capitalism. 毕竟,没有人是真正支持裙带资本主义的
Indeed, this is one of those rare issues that unites the left and the right. 事实上这个问题 罕见地统一了左派和右派
issues:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;(issue的第三人称单数和复数) unites:联合;合并;
A critique of crony capitalism is as central to the Tea Party as it is to Occupy Wall Street . 批判裙带资本主义对茶党 和占领华尔街派而言同样重要
critique:n.评论文章;评论;v.写评论;对…发表评论;评判; Tea Party:n.茶话会;(下午)茶会;在美国各地抗议高额税收; Occupy:v.占据,占领;居住;使忙碌; Wall Street:n.华尔街(美国纽约金融中心和证券交易所所在地);
But if crony capitalism is, intellectually at least, the easy part of the problem, things get trickier when you look at the economic drivers of surging income inequality. 但如果裙带资本主义从理智上讲 是比较容易解决的部分 那么经济因素催成的贫富相差巨增 就变得更为繁杂
trickier:adj.狡猾的;机警的(tricky的变形);
In and of themselves, these aren't too mysterious . 就经济本身而言,并无特别神秘之处
mysterious:adj.神秘的;不可思议的;难解的;
Globalization and the technology revolution, the twin economic transformations which are changing our lives and transforming the global economy, are also powering the rise of the super-rich. 但全球化和技术革命 这一对经济转型 正在改变我们的生活 改变着全球经济 也催成超级富豪的崛起
Globalization:n.全球化; technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; transformations:n.[晶体]转变(transformation的复数形式);转换; transforming:v.使改变形态;使改变外观(或性质);使改观;(transform的现在分词)
Just think about it. 试想一下
For the first time in history, if you are an energetic entrepreneur with a brilliant new idea or a fantastic new product, you have almost instant , almost frictionless access to a global market of more than a billion people. 有史以来第一次, 如果你是一个充满活力的企业家 有一个绝妙的新点子 或神奇的新产品 你可以立即顺利地 进入超过 10 亿人的全球市场
energetic:adj.精力充沛的;充满活力的;需要能量的;积极的; entrepreneur:n.企业家;承包人;主办者; fantastic:奇异的,空想的 instant:n.瞬间; adj.立即的; conj.同"assoonas"; frictionless:adj.无摩擦的;光滑的;
As a result , if you are very, very smart and very, very lucky, you can get very, very rich very, very quickly. 因此,如果你非常非常的聪明 又非常非常的幸运 你可以 顺间变成富豪
As a result:结果;
The latest poster boy for this phenomenon is David Karp. 这种现象的最新代言人 是大卫 · 卡普
poster:n.海报;巨幅装饰画;发布消息的人;
The 26-year-old founder of Tumblr recently sold his company to Yahoo for 1.1 billion dollars. 这个26岁的Tumblr 创始人 最近把他的公司卖给了雅虎 成交价11 亿美金
founder:vi.失败;沉没;倒塌;变跛;vt.破坏;使摔倒;垮掉;n.创始人;建立者;翻沙工; recently:adv.最近;新近; Yahoo:n.粗鲁的人;
Think about that for a minute : 1.1 billion dollars, 26 years old. 好好想一下 11 亿美金,26 岁
for a minute:一会儿;
It's easiest to see how the technology revolution and globalization are creating this sort of superstar effect in highly visible fields, like sports and entertainment. 不难发现,技术革命 和全球化是如何创造这种超级巨星效应 在人人可见的领域内 如体育界和娱乐圈
highly:adv.高度地;非常;非常赞许地; visible:adj.明显的;看得见的;现有的;可得到的;n.可见物;进出口贸易中的有形项目;
We can all watch how a fantastic athlete or a fantastic performer can today leverage his or her skills across the global economy as never before. 我们都能看到那些出色的运动员 或明星利用他们的能力 在全球市场创造前所未有的价值
athlete:n.运动员,体育家;身强力壮的人; leverage:n.影响力;杠杆作用;杠杆效力;v.举债经营;借贷收购;
But today, that superstar effect is happening across the entire economy. 但如今,这种巨星效应 发生在整个经济体系中
We have superstar technologists . 我们有巨星技术专家
technologists:n.技术人员(technologist的复数);[劳经]技术专家;
We have superstar bankers. 有巨星银行家
We have superstar lawyers and superstar architects . 巨星律师和巨星建筑师
architects:n.建筑师;设计师;创造者;(architect的复数);
There are superstar cooks and superstar farmers. 有巨星厨师 和巨星农场主
There are even, and this is my personal favorite example, superstar dentists, the most dazzling exemplar of whom is Bernard Touati, the Frenchman who ministers to the smiles of fellow superstars like Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich or European-born American fashion designer 甚至有我个人最喜欢的例子 巨星牙医 其中最耀眼的 是这个法国牙医 Bernard Touati 他保障其他巨星们的露齿一笑 其中包括俄罗斯寡头阿布拉莫维奇 欧裔美国时装设计师
personal:adj.个人的;身体的;亲自的;n.人事消息栏;人称代名词; dazzling:adj.耀眼的; v.(强光等)使目眩; (dazzle的现在分词) exemplar:n.模范,榜样;标本; ministers:n.部长,大臣; v.辅助; (minister的第三人称单数和复数) superstars:n.(影视界等的)超级明星;超星体;(superstar的复数) oligarch:n.寡头政治执政者; Roman:n.罗马人;古罗马语;adj.罗马的;罗马人的; fashion designer:n.时装设计师;
Diane von Furstenberg. 黛安 · 冯 · 弗斯滕伯格
But while it's pretty easy to see how globalization and the technology revolution are creating this global plutocracy, what's a lot harder is figuring out what to think about it. 尽管显而易见全球化 和技术革命正在 创造世界超富 难解的是如何看待这一现象
And that's because, in contrast with crony capitalism, so much of what globalization and the technology revolution have done is highly positive. 因为 与裙带资本主义相反 全球化和技术革命 带来的收益多是积极向上的
contrast:n.对比;对照;反差;明显的差异;v.对比;对照;形成对比;
Let's start with technology. 我们先从技术说起
I love the Internet. I love my mobile devices . 我爱互联网。也爱移动设备
mobile:n.手机;汽车;移动电话;adj.活跃的;可动的; devices:n.[机][计]设备;[机]装置;[电子]器件(device的复数);
I love the fact that they mean that whoever chooses to will be able to watch this talk far beyond this auditorium . 我喜欢 不管是谁在什么地方都能选择观看这个演讲 远远超出这个礼堂的范围
whoever:任何人:无论是谁: auditorium:n.礼堂,会堂;观众席;
I'm even more of a fan of globalization. 我更是全球化的粉丝
This is the transformation which has lifted hundreds of millions of the world's poorest people out of poverty and into the middle class, and if you happen to live in the rich part of the world, it's made many new products affordable -- who do you think built your iPhone? — and things that we've relied on for a long time much cheaper. 这种转型 使数亿 世界上最贫穷的人民摆脱贫困 进入中产阶级 如果你碰巧住在发达国家 这种转型让许多新产品变得物美价廉- 想想是谁生产的你的 iPhone?— 我们依赖已久的物品变得越来越便宜
poverty:n.贫困;困难;缺少;低劣; affordable:adj.负担得起的; relied:v.依赖;依靠;信赖;信任;(rely的过去分词和过去式)
Think of your dishwasher or your t-shirt. 看看你的洗碗机或是你的 t 恤
dishwasher:n.洗碗工;洗碟机;
So what's not to like? 那还有什么不喜欢的呢？
Well, a few things. 确实有一些
One of the things that worries me is how easily what you might call meritocratic plutocracy can become crony plutocracy. 我担心的事情之一 是任人唯才的富豪统治 很容易成为裙带富豪统治
meritocratic:精英;精英领导;精英管治
Imagine you're a brilliant entrepreneur who has successfully sold that idea or that product to the global billions and become a billionaire in the process . 假设你是一位出色的企业家 成功地向全球数十亿人 销售了新产品或新点子 销售了新产品或新点子
process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的;
It gets tempting at that point to use your economic nous to manipulate the rules of the global political economy in your own favor. 此时你经不住诱惑 使用你的经济常识去 操作全球政治经济的游戏规则 为自己谋取暴利
tempting:adj.吸引人的;诱惑人的;v.引诱;(tempt的现在分词); nous:n.理性;精神;心灵;常识; manipulate:vt.操纵;操作;巧妙地处理;篡改; political economy:n.政治经济学;
And that's no mere hypothetical example. 这并不只是个假设
mere:adj.仅仅的;只不过的;n.小湖;池塘; hypothetical:adj.假设的;爱猜想的;
Think about Amazon , Apple, Google , Starbucks . 看看亚马逊、 苹果、 谷歌、 星巴克
Amazon:亚马逊;古希腊女战士; Google:谷歌;谷歌搜索引擎; Starbucks:n.星巴克(咖啡店名);
These are among the world's most admired, most beloved , most innovative companies. 这些都是属于世界上最受尊敬 最受喜爱,最具创新性的公司
beloved:adj.心爱的;挚爱的;n.心爱的人;亲爱的教友; innovative:adj.革新的,创新的;
They also happen to be particularly adept at working the international tax system so as to lower their tax bill very, very significantly . 他们特别擅长 利用国际税制的差别避税 大大降低税额
adept:adj.熟练的;擅长…的;n.内行;能手; significantly:adv.意味深长地;值得注目地;
And why stop at just playing the global political and economic system as it exists to your own maximum advantage ? 那为什么不继续利用现有 全球化政治经济体系 来获得最大利益呢?
maximum:n.最大限度;最大量;最高限度;adj.最高的;最多的;最大极限的; advantage:n.有利条件:优势:优点:
Once you have the tremendous economic power that we're seeing at the very, very top of the income distribution and the political power that inevitably entails , it becomes tempting as well to start trying to change the rules of the game in your own favor. 因为一旦你拥有巨大的经济实力 像那些处于收入分配顶端的富豪们 以及相关的政治权力 开始尝试改变游戏规则 以谋私利的想法 就会变得非常诱人
tremendous:adj.极大的,巨大的;惊人的;极好的; entails:vt.使需要,必需;承担;遗传给;蕴含;n.引起;需要;继承;
Again, this is no mere hypothetical. 再次重申,这绝不是假设
It's what the Russian oligarchs did in creating the sale-of-the-century privatization of Russia's natural resources . 正如俄罗斯寡头们 在前所未有的私有化过程中 出卖俄罗斯天然资源的所作所为一样
oligarchs:n.寡头政治的执政者,寡头统治集团成员; resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数);
It's one way of describing what happened with deregulation of the financial services in the U.S. and the U.K. 这也描绘了英美两国 放松对金融服务业管制 所造成的后果
describing:v.描述;形容;把…称为;做…运动;(describe的现在分词)
A second thing that worries me is how easily meritocratic plutocracy can become aristocracy . 我担心的第二件事 就是任人唯才的富豪统治 很容易成为贵族统治
aristocracy:n.贵族;贵族统治;上层社会;贵族政治;
One way of describing the plutocrats is as alpha geeks , and they are people who are acutely aware of how important highly sophisticated analytical and quantitative skills are in today's economy. 形容这些富豪的一种方法 可称他们为技术达人 这些人敏锐地意识到 高度复杂的分析和计量能力 在当今的经济社会是多么重要
plutocrats:n.富豪;财阀政治(plutocrat的复数形式); alpha:n.希腊字母表的第1个字母; geeks:n.奇葩(指反常的人,畸形人,野人,现也指智力超群,善于钻研但不懂与人交往的学者或知识分子); acutely:adv.尖锐地;剧烈地; sophisticated:adj.复杂的;老练的;见多识广的;水平高的; analytical:adj.分析的;解析的;善于分析的; quantitative:adj.定量的;量的,数量的;
That's why they are spending unprecedented time and resources educating their own children. 这就是为什么他们花 大量的时间和金钱 在孩子的教育上
unprecedented:adj.空前的;无前例的;
The middle class is spending more on schooling too, but in the global educational arms race that starts at nursery school and ends at Harvard , Stanford or MIT, the 99 percent is increasingly outgunned by the One Percent. 中产阶级们也在加大教育投资 但在全球 教育军备竞赛 中 从幼儿园开始 到最终升入哈佛,斯坦福或麻省理工这样的顶尖大学 99%的平民阶层 越来越争不过那1%的特权子弟
educational:adj.教育的;有关教育的;有教育意义的 arms race:n.军备竞赛; nursery school:n.幼儿园; Harvard:n.哈佛大学;哈佛大学学生; increasingly:adv.越来越多地;渐增地; outgunned:v.(军事上)胜过,超过;(outgun的过去式和过去分词)
The result is something that economists Alan Krueger and Miles Corak call the Great Gatsby Curve . 结果就象经济学家艾伦 · 克鲁格 和迈尔斯.酷瑞克描绘的伟大的盖茨比曲线一样
Curve:n.曲线;弯曲;曲面;弧线;v.(使)沿曲线移动;呈曲线形;
As income inequality increases, social mobility decreases . 随着收入失衡的增加 社会的流动性降低
mobility:n.移动性;机动性;[电子]迁移率; decreases:减少(decrease的复数);
The plutocracy may be a meritocracy , but increasingly you have to be born on the top rung of the ladder to even take part in that race. 财阀统治可能是任人为才 但你必须出生在权贵之家 否则连参加角逐的机会都没有
meritocracy:n.英才教育(制度);精英管理的社会; rung:n.横档,脚蹬横木;地位;v.给…打电话(ring的过去式和过去分词); ladder:n.阶梯;途径;梯状物;v.成名;发迹;在…上装设梯子;
The third thing, and this is what worries me the most, is the extent to which those same largely positive forces which are driving the rise of the global plutocracy also happen to be hollowing out the middle class in Western industrialized economies . 第三件事,也是我最担心的是 这股积极向上 同时推动全球富豪崛起的力量 正在挖空西方发达国家 的中产阶级
extent:n.程度;范围;长度; largely:adv.主要地;大部分;大量地; hollowing:n.打凹成形(雕塑技法);v.挖空,弄凹(hollow的ing形式); industrialized:adj.工业化的;v.使工业化;将…组成产业(industrialize的过去分词); economies:n.经济;经济结构;节约;(economy的复数)
Let's start with technology. 我们先谈谈技术
Those same forces that are creating billionaires are also devouring many traditional middle-class jobs. 正在创造着亿万富翁的那股力量 也在吞食许多传统的中产阶级的工作机会
billionaires:亿万富翁(billionaire的复数); devouring:v.狼吞虎咽地吃光;津津有味地看;吞没;毁灭;(devour的现在分词) traditional:传统的,惯例的, middle-class:adj.中产阶级的;中层社会的;
When's the last time you used a travel agent ? 你最后一次使用旅行社是什么时候?
travel agent:n.旅行代办人;旅行代理商;旅行社;
And in contrast with the industrial revolution , the titans of our new economy aren't creating that many new jobs. 与工业革命相反 我们的新经济巨人 并沒有创造很多新的就业机会
industrial revolution:n.工业革命; titans:n.泰坦巨神;(美)大力神Ⅱ型洲际导弹(Titan的复数);
At its zenith , G.M. employed hundreds of thousands, 在其全盛时期,通用公司雇用数十万人
zenith:n.顶峰;顶点;最高点;n.(Zenith)人名;(英)齐尼思;n.真力时(瑞士名表); employed:v.雇用:应用:运用:使用(employ的过去分词和过去式)
Facebook fewer than 10,000. 而Facebook 的雇员少于一万
The same is true of globalization. 全球化也正是如此
For all that it is raising hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the emerging markets, it's also outsourcing a lot of jobs from the developed Western economies. 虽然它使数以百万计 的发展中国家人民脱离贫困 但它将西方国家中产阶级的工作机会 向海外外包
For all that:尽管;虽然如此; emerging:adj.新兴的;v.出现,浮现,露出;暴露;(emerge的现在分词) outsourcing:n.外包;外购;外部采办;
The terrifying reality is that there is no economic rule which automatically translates increased economic growth into widely shared prosperity . 更可怕的现实是 没有任何经济规则 能自动使 经济增长 转变成广泛共享的繁荣
terrifying:adj.令人恐惧的;骇人的;极大的;v.使害怕,使恐怖;(terrify的现在分词) automatically:adv.自动地;机械地;无意识地;adj.不经思索的; prosperity:n.繁荣,成功;
That's shown in what I consider to be the most scary economic statistic of our time. 这体现了当今就我个人认为 最可怕的经济统计数据.
statistic:n.统计学;统计数字;统计资料;(一项)统计数据;adj.统计(上)的;
Since the late 1990s, increases in productivity have been decoupled from increases in wages and employment . 从九十年代后期,提高工作效率 与增加工资 和就业脱钩
productivity:n.生产力;生产率;生产能力; decoupled:adj.不挂钩的;v.解耦,[电]退耦(decouple的过去式和过去分词); wages:n.[劳经]工资; v.开展(运动等)(wage的第三人称单数形式); employment:n.使用;职业;雇用;
That means that our countries are getting richer, our companies are getting more efficient , but we're not creating more jobs and we're not paying people, as a whole , more. 这意味着,我们的国家越来越富有 企业效率增长 但没有创造更多就业机会 总体工资水平没有增加
efficient:adj.有效率的;有能力的;生效的; as a whole:总的来说;
One scary conclusion you could draw from all of this is to worry about structural unemployment . 综上所述,可以得到一个可怕的结论 那就是令人担扰的结构性失业
conclusion:n.结论;结局;推论; structural:adj.结构的;建筑的; unemployment:n.失业;失业率;失业人数;
What worries me more is a different nightmare scenario . 更令我担忧的是一个不同的噩梦般的场景
nightmare:n.恶梦;梦魇般的经历;adj.可怕的;噩梦似的; scenario:n.方案;情节;剧本;
After all, in a totally free labor market, we could find jobs for pretty much everyone. 毕竟,在一个完全自由的劳动力市场里 几乎每个人都能找到工作
The dystopia that worries me is a universe in which a few geniuses invent Google and its ilk and the rest of us are employed giving them massages . 但我担心这反乌托邦社会 由发明了谷歌的天才 和其同党们统治 其他受雇于他们的只是打杂
dystopia:n.反面假想国; geniuses:n.天才;天资;才能,本领;(genius的复数) massages:n.按摩; v.按摩; (massage的第三人称单数和复数)
So when I get really depressed about all of this, 所以当我为这一切沮丧之极时
depressed:adj.沮丧的; v.使抑郁; (depress的过去式和过去分词)
I comfort myself in thinking about the Industrial Revolution. 我总用工业革命来安慰自己
After all, for all its grim , satanic mills , it worked out pretty well, didn't it? 毕竟,对于那些冷酷、魔鬼般的工厂 结果都还可以不是吗?
grim:adj.冷酷的;糟糕的;残忍的; satanic:adj.邪恶的;魔鬼的; mills:n.磨坊; v.碾碎,磨成粉(mill的第三人称单数和复数)
After all, all of us here are richer, healthier, taller -- well, there are a few exceptions — and live longer than our ancestors in the early 19th century. 毕竟,我们现在都更富有、 更健康、更高大- 当然有几个例外 — 我们比19 世纪初的祖先要长寿
But it's important to remember that before we learned how to share the fruits of the Industrial Revolution with the broad swathes of society, we had to go through two depressions , the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Long Depression of the 1870s, two world wars, communist revolutions in Russia and in China, and an era of tremendous social and political upheaval in the West. 但要切记 在我们学会 与社会大众 分享工业革命的硕果之前 我们不得不经历两个经济萧条 20 世纪 30 年代的大萧条 和19世纪70年代的长期萧条 两次世界大战 俄罗斯和中国的共产革命, 和西方社会 和政治极端动荡的时代
swathes:vt.包围;紧绑;裹;n.带子,绷带;包装品; depressions:n.[经]萧条(depression的复数形式);按下;抑制;[内科]抑郁症; revolutions:n.革命,转数(revolution的复数形式); upheaval:n.剧变;隆起;举起;
We also, not coincidentally , went through an era of tremendous social and political inventions. 绝非巧合 现在我们也正在经历一个 社会和政治变革的时代
coincidentally:adv.巧合地;一致地;
We created the modern welfare state . 我们创建了现代福利国家
welfare state:n.福利制度(由政府向有需要的人提供各种免费服务,如医疗、失业救济金、对老人的照顾等);
We created public education. 我们创建了公众教育
We created public health care . 我们创建了公共卫生保障系统
health care:n.卫生保健;
We created public pensions . 我们创建了公共养老金
pensions:n.[劳经]养老金(pension的复数形式); v.发放退休金(pension的第三人称单数形式);
We created unions. 我们还创建了工会
Today, we are living through an era of economic transformation comparable in its scale and its scope to the Industrial Revolution. 今天,我们生活在一个 经济转型的时代, 其规模和范围 可与工业革命相提并论
comparable:adj.可比较的;比得上的; scale:n.规模;比例;鳞;刻度;天平;数值范围;v.衡量;攀登;剥落;生水垢; scope:n.能力; v.仔细看;
To be sure that this new economy benefits us all and not just the plutocrats, we need to embark on an era of comparably ambitious social and political change. 要确保这一新经济造福天下 而不仅仅是使富豪们受益 我们需要非常 大胆的社会和政治变革
To be sure:诚然;的确;哎呀(表惊奇); embark:vi.从事,着手;上船或飞机;vt.使从事;使上船; comparably:adv.同等地;可比较地; ambitious:adj.野心勃勃的;有雄心的;热望的;炫耀的;
We need a new New Deal. 我们需要一个新政
(Applause) （掌声）