第2741期:Why meeting in the middle isn’t enough(1)

So ... Capitalism. Capitalism is the most powerful prosperity-generating force ever known.所以……资本主义。资本主义是人类历史上最强大的繁荣创造力量。Excuse me! Yes. Uh, sorry. I think you mean the most extractive force ever known.打扰一下！是的，呃，抱歉。我想你是说“最具掠夺性”的力量吧。Oh, hello. Well, it's lifted billions of people out of poverty and expanded access to food and literacy. It basically birthed our modern world.哦，你好。但它让数十亿人摆脱了贫困，扩大了人们获得食物和识字的机会。它基本上创造了我们的现代世界。Yeah, and in the process, it's wiped out hundreds of species anddecimatedcountless cultures, extracting resources faster than anything that came before.是啊，可在这个过程中，它也消灭了数百个物种，摧毁了无数文化，比历史上任何制度都更快速地掠夺资源。OK. But the market is a genius at driving innovation, giving us the freedom to buy, sell, compete and create in ways that make society better.好吧。但市场对推动创新极为擅长，它赋予我们买卖、竞争与创造的自由，从而改善社会。Yeah, but how can you call it freedom when the most affordable food is diabetes-inducing junk? How can it be genius, when life-saving drugs aren't fast-tracked because they don't generate enough profit?是啊，但当最便宜的食物是引发糖尿病的垃圾食品时，你怎么能称之为“自由”？当救命药因利润不高而无法加速上市时，这又如何称得上“天才”？Oh, so you want to grow the pie? Well, then the name of the game is capitalism.哦，所以你想让蛋糕变大？那么这场游戏的名字就叫“资本主义”。The game of capitalism is rigged. I mean, who cares about the size of the pie if it's so unevenly distributed?资本主义这场游戏是被操控的。我的意思是，如果蛋糕分配极度不均，又有谁在乎它有多大？Sweetheart, size always matters.亲爱的，大小永远很重要。And who would you have managing our food supply or setting drug prices? Do Venezuela or North Korea develop any life-saving drugs? Sure, capitalism has its problems, but it solves them through innovation.那你想让谁来管理我们的食物供应或制定药品价格？委内瑞拉或北韩有开发出什么救命药吗？当然，资本主义有它的问题，但它靠创新来解决。Yeah, yeah, I'm all for innovation. But toward what end game? I mean, there's this paradox where innovations in energy efficiency often make us use more total energy, which is a problem if that energy isn't clean.是是是，我也支持创新。但终极目标是什么？比如，有个悖论是：能源效率的提升常常导致我们使用更多的总能量，如果这些能量不是清洁的，那就是个大问题。Listen, the economic system in America today isn't even true capitalism. It's a crony perversion of capitalism. But even in its imperfect form, capitalism is still humanity's greatest champion. Try not to drop your hammer on his toe or gut him with your sickle.听着，当今美国的经济体制甚至不是真正的资本主义，它是一种裙带资本主义的畸形版本。但即便是不完美的形式，资本主义仍然是人类最伟大的支柱。别把你的锤子掉在他脚上，也别用镰刀把他开膛破肚。OK. See, criticizing capitalism does not mean pushing for socialism. It means recognizing the fatal flaw of capitalism. In its pursuit of profit, it fails to account fully for its costs. We are in the midst of an existential crisis when arms races are counted as economic growth. A tree is worth more dead than alive. And people are worth more outraged and addicted than they are conscious and free.好吧。看，批评资本主义并不意味着要拥抱社会主义。那是对资本主义致命缺陷的认识：在追逐利润的过程中，它从未真正考虑其全部代价。当军备竞赛被当作经济增长、树木死了比活着更有价值、人们愤怒和上瘾比清醒和自由更有“利用价值”时，我们已经处在一场生存危机中。I'm not saying that capitalism itself is the goal, OK? It's simply our best strategy for achieving the goal.我不是说资本主义本身是目标，好吗？它只是我们实现目标的最佳策略之一。Oh, so then what is the goal? That is a question for society, not capitalists to answer, you oligarch!哦，那目标是什么？这是全社会应该回答的问题，而不是让资本家来定的，寡头先生！Bring it, Pinko!放马过来吧，粉红分子！Whoa, whoa, whoa, fellas.喂喂喂，伙计们，冷静点。What!?什么！？What!?什么！？Oh, boy, OK.哦天啊，好吧。What if you're both partially right?如果你们两个都“各有道理”呢？