返回首页

RutgerBregman_2017-_贫穷不是缺少品格；贫困就是缺少金钱_
I'd like to start with a simple question: 让我们从一个简单的问题开始:
Why do the poor make so many poor decisions? 为什么穷人总是做出不好的决策？
I know it's a harsh question, but take a look at the data. 我知道这是一个残酷的问题, 但是让我们看看数据。
harsh:adj.严厉的;严酷的;刺耳的;粗糙的;刺目的; take a look at:看一看;检查;
The poor borrow more, save less, smoke more, exercise less, drink more and eat less healthfully. 穷人借钱越多,积蓄越少, 抽烟越多,锻炼越少,喝酒越多, 饮食越不健康。
Why? 为什么呢？
Well, the standard explanation was once summed up by the British Prime Minister , Margaret Thatcher . 标准的解释 是由英国首相Margaret Thatcher总结的。
standard:n.标准;水准;旗;度量衡标准;adj.标准的;合规格的;公认为优秀的; summed:v.归纳;总计;总结,概括;(sum的过去分词和过去式) Prime Minister:n.首相;总理; Thatcher:n.盖屋匠;
And she called poverty "a personality defect ." 她将贫穷称为“一种人格缺陷”。
poverty:n.贫困;困难;缺少;低劣; personality:n.性格;个性;人格;魅力;气质;名人;特色; defect:n.缺陷;缺点;毛病;v.叛变;背叛;投敌;
(Laughter) （笑）
A lack of character, basically . 简而言之,就是缺少一种品格。
basically:adv.主要地,基本上;
Now, I'm sure not many of you would be so blunt . 我知道你们大部分人不会这么直接。
blunt:adj.钝的,不锋利的;生硬的;直率的;v.使迟钝;
But the idea that there's something wrong with the poor themselves is not restricted to Mrs. Thatcher. 但是,不止Thatcher夫人一个人持有这种观点—— 穷人之所以贫穷是因为他们自己有问题。
restricted:adj.受限制的;保密的;v.限制(restrict的过去式和过去分词);
Some of you may believe that the poor should be held responsible for their own mistakes. 一些人会认为 穷人应该为他们自己的错误买单。
responsible:adj.负责的,可靠的;有责任的;
And others may argue that we should help them to make better decisions. 另一些人会反驳,我们应该帮助他们去做正确的决定。
But the underlying assumption is the same: there's something wrong with them. 但是潜在的假设是相同的: 穷人一定有问题。
underlying:adj.根本的; v.构成…的基础; (underlie的现在分词) assumption:n.假定;设想;担任;采取;
If we could just change them, if we could just teach them how to live their lives, if they would only listen. 如果我们能改变他们, 如果我们能教他们去正确地生活, 如果他们能听从我们的劝告。
And to be honest, this was what I thought for a long time. 坦诚地说, 长期以来,我也是这么认为的。
It was only a few years ago that I discovered that everything I thought I knew about poverty was wrong. 然而,就在几年前,我才发现 我对于贫困的一切看法都是错误的。
It all started when I accidentally stumbled upon a paper by a few American psychologists . 一切都源于一次偶然的机会,我发现了一篇 由几位美国心理学家发表的文章。
accidentally:adv.意外地:偶然,偶然地; stumbled:v.绊脚;跌跌撞撞地走;蹒跚而行;(stumble的过去分词和过去式) psychologists:n.[心理]心理学家(psychologist的复数形式);
They had traveled 8,000 miles, all the way to India, for a fascinating study. 他们前往印度,跋涉8000英里, 去进行一项有趣的研究。
fascinating:adj.极有吸引力的;迷人的;v.深深吸引;迷住;(fascinate的现在分词)
And it was an experiment with sugarcane farmers. 这是一个针对甘蔗种植者的实验。
sugarcane:n.[作物]甘蔗;糖蔗;
You should know that these farmers collect about 60 percent of their annual income all at once, right after the harvest. 你们应该知道,农民们60%的年收入 都来自于 丰收之后。
annual:n.年报;年鉴;年刊;adj.每年的;年度的;一年的;
This means that they're relatively poor one part of the year and rich the other. 这意味着他们每年有一段时间相对贫穷 另一段时间相对富裕。
relatively:adv.相当程度上;相当地;相对地;
The researchers asked them to do an IQ test before and after the harvest. 研究人员分别在丰收前和丰收后对农民们进行智商测试。
What they subsequently discovered completely blew my mind. 他们随后的发现令我震惊。
subsequently:adv.随后,其后;后来;
The farmers scored much worse on the test before the harvest. 测试表明,农民们在丰收前的智商较低。
The effects of living in poverty, it turns out, correspond to losing 14 points of IQ. 在贫困中生活的结果就是—— 智商降低14点。
correspond:vi.符合,一致;相应;通信;
Now, to give you an idea, that's comparable to losing a night's sleep or the effects of alcoholism . 现在,再讲一个 能让你们彻底失眠的观点, 甚至连酗酒也不管用。
comparable to:可比较的,比得上的; alcoholism:n.酗酒;[内科]酒精中毒;
A few months later, I heard that Eldar Shafir, a professor at Princeton University and one of the authors of this study, was coming over to Holland , where I live. 几个月后,我听说 普林斯顿大学的教授、该研究的作者之一Eldar Shafir 将要来到我所在的荷兰。
Princeton:n.普林斯顿(美国新泽西州中部的自治市镇); Holland:n.荷兰;
So we met up in Amsterdam to talk about his revolutionary new theory of poverty. 于是我们在阿姆斯特丹见面 谈到了他那革命性的贫困新理论。
Amsterdam:n.阿姆斯特丹(荷兰首都);阿姆斯特丹(美国纽约东部城市); revolutionary:adj.革命性的;革命的;彻底变革的;n.改革者;革命者;
And I can sum it up in just two words: scarcity mentality . 我将这个理论总结为几个字: 匮乏心态。
sum it up:概括起来; scarcity:n.不足;缺乏; mentality:n.心态;[心理]智力;精神力;头脑作用;
It turns out that people behave differently when they perceive a thing to be scarce . 当人们察觉到缺乏某种东西时 他们的行为就会发生变化。
behave:v.表现;(机器等)运转;举止端正;(事物)起某种作用; perceive:v.注意到;意识到;将…理解为;认为; scarce:adv.勉强;刚;几乎不;简直不;adj.缺乏的;不足的;稀少的;
And what that thing is doesn't much matter -- whether it's not enough time, money or food. 无论这个“东西”是什么—— 缺时间、缺钱或缺食物。
You all know this feeling, when you've got too much to do, or when you've put off breaking for lunch and your blood sugar takes a dive . 你们都知道这种感觉, 当你有太多事情要做时, 或者当你没吃早餐时 你的血糖骤降。
blood sugar:n.血糖; dive:n.潜水;跳水;俯冲;猛冲;v.猛冲;(头朝下)跳入水中;[体]跳水(运动);
This narrows your focus to your immediate lack -- to the sandwich you've got to have now, the meeting that's starting in five minutes or the bills that have to be paid tomorrow. 你满脑子都是你所缺乏的东西—— 你现在必须得吃的三明治（缺乏食物）, 将在5分钟内开始的会议（缺少时间） 或是必须于明天前支付的账单（缺钱）。
sandwich:n.三明治;夹心面包片;
So the long-term perspective goes out the window. 这就导致你无法从长远的角度去思考。
long-term:adj.长期的;从长远来看; perspective:n.观点;远景;透视图;adj.透视的;
You could compare it to a new computer that's running 10 heavy programs at once. 就像一台新电脑 一次性运行10个庞杂的程序。
compare:v.比较;对比;n.比较;
It gets slower and slower, making errors. 它会变得越来越慢,出现错误。
Eventually , it freezes -- not because it's a bad computer, but because it has too much to do at once. 最终,死机了—— 不是因为它是一台坏电脑, 而是因为它一次性要处理太多程序。
Eventually:adv.最后,终于;
The poor have the same problem. 穷人面临着同样的问题。
They're not making dumb decisions because they are dumb, but because they're living in a context in which anyone would make dumb decisions. 他们做出不好的决定,不是因为他们是蠢人, 而是因为他们生活在一个 任何人都会做出愚蠢的决定的环境中。
dumb:adj.哑的,无说话能力的;不说话的,无声音的; context:n.环境;上下文;来龙去脉;
So suddenly I understood why so many of our anti-poverty programs don't work. 瞬间我明白了 为什么这么多反贫穷计划都不管用。
Investments in education, for example, are often completely ineffective . 比如在教育上加大投资,往往一点用都没有。
Investments:n.[经]投资,投资的财产;投资学;(investment的复数) ineffective:adj.无效的,失效的;不起作用的;
Poverty is not a lack of knowledge. 贫穷不是因为知识匮乏。
A recent analysis of 201 studies on the effectiveness of money-management training came to the conclusion that it has almost no effect at all. 最近,一项针对201起 金钱管理训练的有效性分析表明 这种训练完全无效。
analysis:n.分析;分解;验定; effectiveness:n.效力; conclusion:n.结论;结局;推论;
Now, don't get me wrong -- this is not to say the poor don't learn anything -- they can come out wiser for sure. 请不要误解了我的意思—— 我不是说穷人不学无术—— 他们当然可以变得更加聪明。
But it's not enough. 但这还不够。
Or as Professor Shafir told me, "It's like teaching someone to swim and then throwing them in a stormy sea." 或者说,就像Shafir教授所说, “就像是刚开始教一个人游泳 却立马把他们扔进波涛汹涌的大海。”
stormy:adj.暴风雨的;猛烈的;暴躁的;
I still remember sitting there, perplexed . 我仍然记得,我坐在那, 困惑不解。
perplexed:adj.困惑的;不知所措的;
And it struck me that we could have figured this all out decades ago. 教授的话给我带来了巨大的冲击—— 我们本应在几十年前就想明白。
I mean, these psychologists didn't need any complicated brain scans; they only had to measure the farmer's IQ, and IQ tests were invented more that 100 years ago. 我的意思是说,这些心理学家不需要任何复杂的大脑扫描; 他们只需要测量一下农民们的智商, 而智商测试在100多年前就被发明出来了。
complicated:adj.复杂的;难懂的;v.使复杂化;(complicate的过去分词和过去式)
Actually, I realized I had read about the psychology of poverty before. 事实上,我意识到我以前读过关于贫穷心理学的书籍。
psychology:n.心理学;心理状态;
George Orwell, one of the greatest writers who ever lived, experienced poverty firsthand in the 1920s. 世界上最着名的作家之一George Orwell 在1920年代曾亲身经历过贫穷。
firsthand:adj.直接的;直接采购的;直接得来的;adv.直接地;
'"The essence of poverty," he wrote back then, is that it " annihilates the future." 他在书中写到:“贫穷的本质, 是摧毁未来。”
essence:n.本质;实质;精髓;香精; annihilates:vt.歼灭;战胜;废止;vi.湮灭;湮没;
And he marveled at, quote , "How people take it for granted they have the right to preach at you and pray over you as soon as your income falls below a certain level." 他感叹道: “人们理所应当地认为 当你的收入在贫困线以下时 他们有权教导你并为你祈祷。”
marveled:n.奇迹;vt.对…感到惊异;vi.感到惊讶; quote:v.引用;报价;举例说明;开价;为(企业的股份)上市;n.引用; take it for granted:认为理所当然;想当然; preach:v.宣扬;说教;布道;n.说教;训诫; as soon as:一…就;
Now, those words are every bit as resonant today. 如今,这些话仍然能引起共鸣。
resonant:adj.洪亮的,共振的;共鸣的;
The big question is, of course: 当然,最大的问题是:
What can be done? 我们能做些什么？
Modern economists have a few solutions up their sleeves . 现代经济学家已经想出一些解决办法。
sleeves:n.[服装]袖子; v.给…装袖子; (sleeve的单三形式)
We could help the poor with their paperwork or send them a text message to remind them to pay their bills. 我们可以帮助穷人做一些文书工作 或者给他们发消息提醒他们支付账单。
paperwork:n.文书工作; text message:n.文本信息;短信息; remind:v.提醒;使想起;
This type of solution is hugely popular with modern politicians , mostly because, well, they cost next to nothing. 这种类型的解决办法颇受当代政客欢迎, 主要是因为, 这几乎没有成本。
solution:n.解决方案;溶液;溶解;解答; politicians:n.政治家;(蔑)政客;(美)政治贩;(politician的复数)
These solutions are, I think, a symbol of this era in which we so often treat the symptoms , but ignore the underlying cause. 我认为,这种解决办法是这个时代的一个标签—— 我们往往只关注表象, 却忽略深层原因。
symbol:n.象征;符号;标志; era:n.新时期;纪元;年代;新时代; treat:v.治疗;处理;招待;款待;n.款待;乐事;乐趣; symptoms:n.症状;征候;征兆;(symptom的复数) ignore:v.驳回诉讼;忽视;不理睬;
So I wonder: 试问:
Why don't we just change the context in which the poor live? 我们为什么不去改变穷人的生活环境？
Or, going back to our computer analogy : 让我们回到前面提到的电脑类比:
analogy:n.类比;类推;类似;
Why keep tinkering around with the software when we can easily solve the problem by installing some extra memory instead? 与其一直纠结于一点点改进软件, 为什么我们不简单地直接增加一些额外的内存呢？
tinkering:v.(尤指不起作用地)小修补,小修理;(tinker的现在分词) installing:v.安装;设置;建立(程序);(install的现在分词) extra:adj.额外的:n.额外的事物:adv.额外:另外:
At that point, Professor Shafir responded with a blank look . 这时,Shafir教授露出一副茫然的表情。
responded:v.回答,回应;作出反应;响应;反应灵敏;(respond的过去式和过去分词) a blank look:一副茫然若失的表情;茫然的一瞥;
And after a few seconds, he said, "Oh, I get it. 几秒钟后,他说: “噢,我知道了。
You mean you want to just hand out more money to the poor to eradicate poverty. 你的意思是你想给穷人发钱 以根除贫困。
eradicate:vt.根除,根绝;消灭;
Uh, sure, that'd be great. 额,当然,这是个好想法。
But I'm afraid that brand of left-wing politics you've got in Amsterdam -- it doesn't exist in the States." 但是,恐怕你在阿姆斯特丹提出的 这种左翼政策的想法—— 在美国并不存在。”
brand:v.铭刻于,铭记;打烙印于;印…商标于;n.商标,牌子;烙印; left-wing:adj.左派的; politics:n.政治;钩心斗角;政治观点;v.(贬)从事政治活动;(politic的第三人称单数)
But is this really an old-fashioned , leftist idea? 但这真的是一个过时的左派想法吗？
old-fashioned:adj.老式的;过时的;守旧的; leftist:n.左派;急进派;左翼的人;左撇子;adj.左派的;左撇子的;急进派的;
I remembered reading about an old plan -- something that has been proposed by some of history's leading thinkers. 我记得我看到过一个以前的计划—— 由一些历史上重要的思想家提出。
proposed:adj.建议的;推荐的;v.提议;建议;计划;求婚;(propose的过去分词和过去式)
The philosopher Thomas More first hinted at it in his book, " Utopia ," 500多年前,哲学家Thmas More在他的着作“乌托邦”
philosopher:n.哲学家;深思的人;善于思考的人; hinted:v.暗示;透露;示意;(hint的过去分词和过去式) Utopia:n.乌托邦(理想中最美好的社会);理想国;
more than 500 years ago. 最先提及了这个计划。
And its proponents have spanned the spectrum from the left to the right, from the civil rights campaigner , Martin Luther King, to the economist Milton Friedman. 它的支持者遍布左翼和右翼, 包括人权运动者Martin Luther King, 及经济学家Milton Friedman。
proponents:n.支持者;建议者(proponent的复数); spanned:adj.生活期有限的; spectrum:n.光谱;频谱;范围;余象; civil rights:na.公民权; campaigner:n.竞选者;从军者;出征者;老兵;
And it's an incredibly simple idea: basic income guarantee . 这个计划简单得不可置信: 保障基本收入。
incredibly:adv.难以置信地;非常地; guarantee:n.保证;担保;保证人;保证书;抵押品;v.保证;担保;
What it is? 什么意思呢？
Well, that's easy. 很简单。
It's a monthly grant, enough to pay for your basic needs: food, shelter, education. 就是每月的补助金,保障基本开支: 食物,住宿,教育。
monthly:n.月刊:adv.每个月:每月一次:adj.每月的:
It's completely unconditional , so no one's going to tell you what you have to do for it, and no one's going to tell you what you have to do with it. 这是无条件给予的, 没有人会告诉你如何去得到它, 没有人会告诉你如何去使用它。
unconditional:adj.无条件的;绝对的;无限制的; have to do with:与…有关;
The basic income is not a favor, but a right. 这个基本收入不是一种恩惠,而是一种权利。
There's absolutely no stigma attached . 这绝对不是什么见不得人的事。
absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地; stigma:n.[植]柱头;耻辱;污名;烙印;特征; attached:adj.依恋;v.重视;把…固定;(attach的过去分词和过去式)
So as I learned about the true nature of poverty, 正如我对贫穷本质的理解一样。
I couldn't stop wondering: 我止不住在想:
Is this the idea we've all been waiting for? 这是我们一直都在期待的想法吗？
Could it really be that simple? 它真的就这么简单吗？
And in the three years that followed, 随后的三年中,
I read everything I could find about basic income. 我阅读了一切我能找到的关于基本收入的书籍。
I researched the dozens of experiments that have been conducted all over the globe, and it didn't take long before I stumbled upon a story of a town that had done it -- had actually eradicated poverty. 我研究了几十个 遍布全球进行的实验, 很快我发现了一个镇子的故事—— 真正根除了贫困。
conducted:v.组织;安排;实施;执行;指挥;带领;引导;(conduct的过去分词和过去式) eradicated:adj.画着根的;v.摆脱;擦掉;连根拔起(eradicate的过去分词);
But then ... 然而...
nearly everyone forgot about it. 几乎没有人记得。
This story starts in Dauphin , Canada. 这个故事开始于加拿大Dauphin。
Dauphin:n.法国皇太子(1349年至1830年的称呼);
In 1974, everybody in this small town was guaranteed a basic income, ensuring that no one fell below the poverty line . 1974年,这个镇子上的每个人都得到了基本收入保障金, 没有人掉到贫困线以下。
guaranteed:adj.必然的; v.保证; ensuring:v.保证;确保;担保(ensure的现在分词); poverty line:n.贫困线(政府规定维持最低生活水平所需的收入标准);
At the start of the experiment, an army of researchers descended on the town. 在实验的开始, 一队研究学者空降在镇子上。
descended:adj.出身于...的;从一个祖先传下来的;
For four years, all went well. 在随后的四年,一切都很顺利。
But then a new government was voted into power, and the new Canadian cabinet saw little point to the expensive experiment. 然而,新政府掌权, 加拿大新内阁认为这项昂贵的实验没有任何意义。
cabinet:n.内阁;储藏柜;陈列柜;adj.内阁的;小房间用的;玲珑的;细木工做的;
So when it became clear there was no money left to analyze the results, the researchers decided to pack their files away in some 2,000 boxes. 所以,很明显,没有足够的资金去支撑结果分析工作, 学者们将这些文件打包装进2000个箱子里并带走。
analyze:v.对…进行分析,分解(等于analyse);
Twenty-five years went by, and then Evelyn Forget, a Canadian professor, found the records. 25年过去了, 一位加拿大教授Evelyn Forget 发现了这些记录。
For three years, she subjected the data to all manner of statistical analysis, and no matter what she tried, the results were the same every time: the experiment had been a resounding success. 三年间,她用尽各种方法对这些数据进行统计分析, 不管何种方法, 每一次的结果都是一样的: 这是一个彻彻底底成功的实验。
statistical:adj.统计的;统计学的; no matter what:不管什么…; resounding:adj.巨大的; v.回响; (resound的现在分词)
Evelyn Forget discovered that the people in Dauphin had not only become richer but also smarter and healthier. Evely Forget发现 在Dauphin,人们不仅变得更加富有, 还变得更加聪明且健康。
The school performance of kids improved substantially . 孩子们在学校的表现有了大幅度进步。
performance:n.性能;表现;业绩;表演; improved:adj.改良的:v.改进:改善(improve的过去分词和过去式) substantially:adv.实质上;大体上;充分地;
The hospitalization rate decreased by as much as 8.5 percent. 就医率下降了8.5%。
hospitalization:n.住院治疗;医院收容;住院保险(等于hospitalizationinsurance); decreased:v.减少,减小,降低;(decrease的过去分词和过去式)
Domestic violence incidents were down, as were mental health complaints . 家庭暴力事件减少了, 精神健康问题也减少了。
Domestic:n.佣人;家佣;家庭纠纷;家庭矛盾;adj.本国的;国内的;家用的;家庭的; violence:n.暴力;侵犯;激烈;歪曲; complaints:n.不满;抱怨;投诉;控告;(complaint的复数)
And people didn't quit their jobs. 而且人们都去工作。
quit:v.离开;放弃;停止;使…解除;n.离开;[计]退出;adj.摆脱了…的;已经了结的;
The only ones who worked a little less were new mothers and students -- who stayed in school longer. 只有新晋母亲和学生们工作得少一些—— 学生们在学校的时间增加。
Similar results have since been found in countless other experiments around the globe, from the US to India. 从美国到印度,全球范围内, 不计其数的其他实验 也得到了相似的结论。
countless:adj.无数的;数不尽的;
So ... 所以...
here's what I've learned. 我得到了如下结论。
When it comes to poverty, we, the rich, should stop pretending we know best. 当贫困出现时, 我们这些富有的人,应该停止我们假装最了解穷人。
We should stop sending shoes and teddy bears to the poor, to people we have never met. 我们应该停止给穷人们、我们没见过的人们 送去鞋子和泰迪熊。
teddy:泰迪玩具熊
And we should get rid of the vast industry of paternalistic bureaucrats when we could simply hand over their salaries to the poor they're supposed to help. 我们应该根除大张旗鼓式的专断官僚主义, 我们可以把工资 给那些应该受到帮助的穷人们。
paternalistic:adj.家长式作风的; bureaucrats:官僚; supposed:adj.误信的;所谓的;v.认为;假设;设想;(suppose的过去分词和过去式)
(Applause) （掌声）
Because, I mean, the great thing about money is that people can use it to buy things they need instead of things that self-appointed experts think they need. 因为,我认为,钱应该花在 穷人们需要的地方 而不是专家们认为他们需要的地方。
self-appointed:adj.自封的;自己作主的;
Just imagine how many brilliant scientists and entrepreneurs and writers, like George Orwell, are now withering away in scarcity. 想象一下有多少杰出的科学家、企业家和作家, 例如George Orwell, 因为缺钱而陨落。
entrepreneurs:n.企业家;(entrepreneur的复数) withering:adj.尖刻的; v.(使)枯萎,凋谢;
Imagine how much energy and talent we would unleash if we got rid of poverty once and for all . 想象一下,如果我们能一次性让所以人彻底摆脱贫困 有多少能量和天赋能够被释放。
unleash:vt.发泄;突然释放;使爆发; once and for all:一劳永逸地;彻底地;最后一次;
I believe that a basic income would work like venture capital for the people. 我认为,保障基本收入是对人们的一项风险投资。
venture capital:风险投资;
And we can't afford not to do it, because poverty is hugely expensive. 而且我们不得不这么做, 因为贫穷的代价太昂贵了。
afford:v.给予,提供;买得起;
Just look at the cost of child poverty in the US, for example. 比如,让我们看看在美国用于儿童贫困的支出。
at the cost of:以…为代价;
It's estimated at 500 billion dollars each year, in terms of higher health care spending, higher dropout rates, and more crime. 每年估计有5000亿美元 用于解决越来越高的卫生保健开支,越来越高的辍学率 及越来越多的犯罪。
estimated:adj.估计的;预计的;估算的; health care:n.卫生保健; dropout:n.退学学生;脱落;信号失落;
Now, this is an incredible waste of human potential . 现在看来,这是对于人类潜能的一种不可置信的浪费。
incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的; potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的;
But let's talk about the elephant in the room . 让我们讨论一下最关键的问题。
elephant in the room:房间里的大象,形容明明存在的问题却被人刻意回避;
How could we ever afford a basic income guarantee? 我们是否能够承担基本收入保障？
Well, it's actually a lot cheaper than you may think. 其实这比你们想象的要便宜得多。
What they did in Dauphin is finance it with a negative income tax . 在Dauphin,政府给予人民最低收入补贴。
finance:n.财政,财政学;金融;v.负担经费,供给…经费; negative:adj.[数]负的;消极的;否定的;阴性的;n.否定;负数;[摄]底片;v.否定;拒绝; income tax:所得税;
This means that your income is topped up as soon as you fall below the poverty line. 这意味着只要你掉到贫困线以下 你的收入就会提高。
And in that scenario , according to our economists' best estimates , for a net cost of 175 billion -- a quarter of US military spending, one percent of GDP -- you could lift all impoverished Americans above the poverty line. 在这种情形下, 据我们的经济学家最乐观的估计, 净支出1750亿美金—— 美国军费支出的四分之一,全国GDP的百分之一—— 你就可以将美国所有的贫困人口拉至贫困线以上。
scenario:n.方案;情节;剧本; according to:根据,据说; estimates:n.估计;估价;估计的成本;v.估价;估算(estimate的第三人称单数和复数) military:adj.军事的;军人的;适于战争的;n.军队;军人; impoverished:adj.穷困的;用尽了的,无创造性的;v.使贫困(impoverish的过去分词);
You could actually eradicate poverty. 你就可以实实在在地彻底驱除贫困。
Now, that should be our goal. 现在来看,这应该是我们共同的目标。
(Applause) （掌声）
The time for small thoughts and little nudges is past. 前面所讲都是一些琐碎的想法和说服...
nudges:轻推;说服;轻轻的推动;好言说服;轻轻地推动;
I really believe that the time has come for radical new ideas, and basic income is so much more than just another policy . 现在到了最根本的新想法的时间, 保障基本收入不仅仅是一个新政策。
radical:n.自由基;激进分子;游离基;adj.根本的;彻底的;完全的;全新的; policy:n.政策,方针;保险单;
It is also a complete rethink of what work actually is. 它还是关于对于“工作”本质的全面的再思考。
rethink:v.重新考虑;再想;n.重新考虑;反思;新想法;
And in that sense, it will not only free the poor, but also the rest of us. 就其意义而言, 它不仅将解放穷人, 还将解放我们其余的人。
Nowadays, millions of people feel that their jobs have little meaning or significance . 现如今,成千上万的人认为 他们的工作没有任何意义或并不重要。
significance:n.意义;重要性;意思;
A recent poll among 230,000 employees in 142 countries found that only 30 percent of workers actually like their job. 最近的一个针对142个国家共23,0000员工 的问卷调查发现 只有13%的员工真正热爱他们的工作。
poll:n.投票; v.获得(票数); adj.当事人一方作成的;
And another poll found that as much as 37 percent of British workers have a job that they think doesn't even need to exist. 另一项调查发现英国37%的员工 认为他们的工作根本没有存在的价值。
It's like Brad Pitt says in "Fight Club," 就像Brad Pitt在搏击俱乐部中所说
'"Too often we're working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need." “我们总是在做着那些我们憎恨的工作, 买着那些我们根本不需要的东西。”
(Laughter) （笑）
Now, don't get me wrong -- 现在,请不要误解我——
I'm not talking about the teachers and the garbagemen and the care workers here. 在这里我不是说老师、清洁工 及看护工作者。
garbagemen:n.清洁工;
If they stopped working, we'd be in trouble. 如果他们停止工作, 那麻烦可就大了。
I'm talking about all those well-paid professionals with excellent résumés who earn their money doing ... 我是说那些所有的有着出色的履历、拿着高薪水的专家们 他们在社交网络中
well-paid:adj.待遇优厚的;收入高的; professionals:n.[管理]专业人员(professional的复数); résumés:n.简历;
strategic transactor peer-to-peer meetings while brainstorming the value add-on of disruptive co-creation in the network society. 通过战略性的会议, 并努力想出创造性毁灭的附加价值 来赚钱。
strategic:adj.战略上的,战略的; transactor:n.交易者;处理者;计算机输入的问答元件;询答装置; peer-to-peer:n.对等;对等网络; brainstorming:n.集思广益;v.集中各人智慧猛攻;(brainstorm的现在分词) add-on:n.一种硬件设备(用于加在计算机上以扩展其功能);追加; disruptive:adj.破坏的;分裂性的;制造混乱的;
(Laughter) （笑）
(Applause) （掌声）
Or something like that. 或者类似的情况。
Just imagine again how much talent we're wasting, simply because we tell our kids they'll have to " earn a living ." 让我们想象一下我们浪费了多少天分, 仅仅因为我们告诉我们的孩子们他们不得不为了生存而工作。
earn a living:谋生;活命;
Or think of what a math whiz working at Facebook lamented a few years ago: "The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads." 或者,看看几年前在Facebook工作的一个数学天才抱怨的, “我这代最优秀的思想 是考虑如何让人们点击更多的广告。”
whiz:n.飕飕声;奇才;vi.飕飕作声;vt.使飕飕作声; lamented:adj.令人遗憾的;被哀悼的;v.哀悼(lament的过去式和过去分词形式);
I'm a historian. 我是一个历史学家。
And if history teaches us anything, it is that things could be different. 如果历史教给我们任何东西, 那就是事情可以不一样。
There is nothing inevitable about the way we structured our society and economy right now. 我们建立起我们的社会和经济 不是只有一种方式。
inevitable:adj.必然的,不可避免的; structured:adj.有结构的;有组织的;v.组织;构成(structure的过去分词);建造; economy:n.经济;节约;理财;
Ideas can and do change the world. 思想可以并且正在改变世界。
And I think that especially in the past few years, it has become abundantly clear that we cannot stick to the status quo -- that we need new ideas. 我认为,特别是在过去几年, 我们不能安于现状, 这变得越来越明确了—— 我们需要新的想法。
especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; abundantly:adv.丰富地;大量地; status quo:n.现状;原来的状况;
I know that many of you may feel pessimistic about a future of rising inequality, xenophobia and climate change. 我知道你们中的许多人对未来加剧的不平等、 仇外、 以及气候变化 感到悲观。
pessimistic:adj.悲观的,厌世的;悲观主义的; xenophobia:n.仇外;对外国人的畏惧和憎恨;
But it's not enough to know what we're against. 但是光知道我们反对什么是不够的。
We also need to be for something. 我们需要做些什么。
Martin Luther King didn't say, "I have a nightmare ." Martin Luther King没有说,“我有一个噩梦。”
nightmare:n.恶梦;梦魇般的经历;adj.可怕的;噩梦似的;
(Laughter) （笑）
He had a dream. 他有一个梦想。
(Applause) （掌声）
So ... 所以...
here's my dream: 这是我的梦想:
I believe in a future where the value of your work is not determined by the size of your paycheck , but by the amount of happiness you spread and the amount of meaning you give. 我相信在未来, 你工作的价值 不由你赚的钱决定, 而是由你传播的快乐和 你创造的意义决定。
determined:adj.决定了的:v.决定;(determine的过去分词和过去式) paycheck:n.工资;薪金;工资支票;
I believe in a future where the point of education is not to prepare you for another useless job but for a life well-lived. 我相信在未来, 教育的目的不在于为一个无意义的工作做好准备, 而在于为有意义的一生做好准备。
I believe in a future where an existence without poverty is not a privilege but a right we all deserve . 我相信在未来, 脱离贫困不是一项特权, 而是我们应得的一项权利。
privilege:n.特权;优待;v.给与…特权;特免; deserve:vi.应受,应得;
So here we are. 所以有我们。
Here we are. 有我们。
We've got the research, we've got the evidence and we've got the means. 我们进行研究,我们得到证据, 我们创造意义。
evidence:n.证据,证明;迹象;明显;v.证明;
Now, more than 500 years after Thomas More first wrote about a basic income, and 100 years after George Orwell discovered the true nature of poverty, we all need to change our worldview , because poverty is not a lack of character. 现在,在Thomas More第一次描述基础收入500年之后 以及在George Orwell发现贫穷的实质100年之后, 我们需要改变我们的世界观, 因为贫穷不是缺少一种人格。
worldview:n.世界观;
Poverty is a lack of cash. 贫穷就是缺少金钱。
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）