政治理論 - 亞當·斯密：英語精讀講義

Adam Smith is our guide to perhaps the most pressing dilemma of our time, 片語搭配

亞當·斯密或許是我們應對這個時代最迫切困境的嚮導，

how to make a capitalistic economy more humane and more meaningful. 文法

那就是如何讓資本主義經濟變得更具人性、更有意義。

He was born in Scotland in Kirkcaldy,

他出生於蘇格蘭的柯科迪，

a small manufacturing town near Edinburgh in 1723.

這是1723年愛丁堡附近的一個小型製造業城鎮。

He was a hard-working student and very close to his mother.

他是一名勤奮的學生，與母親的關係非常親密。

He then became an academic philosopher,

後來他成為了一名學術哲學家，

wrote a major book about the importance of sympathy

寫了一本關於同情心重要性的重要著作，

and lectured on logic and aesthetics.

並講授邏輯學與美學。

He was also one of the greatest thinkers in the history of economics,

他也是經濟學史上最偉大的思想家之一，

in part because his concerns went far beyond the economic. 片語搭配

部分原因在於他的關注點遠遠超出了經濟領域。

He wanted to understand the money system

他想弄懂貨幣體系的運作方式，

because his underlying ambition was to make nations and people happier.

因為他的根本抱負是讓國家和人民過得更幸福。

Smith remains an invaluable guide to four ideas.

對於以下四個觀念，斯密依然是我們寶貴的指南。

When one considers the modern world of work,

當我們審視現代的職場世界時，

two facts stand out. 片語動詞

有兩個事實尤為突出。

Modern economies produce unprecedented amounts of wealth

現代經濟創造了空前龐大的財富，

and many ordinary people find work rather boring 文法

但許多普通人卻覺得工作相當無聊，

and, a key complaint, meaningless.

而且，一個關鍵的抱怨是：工作毫無意義。

The two phenomena are in fact intimately related,

這兩種現象其實密切相關，

as Adam Smith was the first to understand

亞當·斯密是第一個透過他的勞動分工理論

through his theory of specialization.

理解這一點的人。

He observed that in modern businesses,

他觀察到，在現代企業中，

tasks formerly done by one person in a single day

以前由一個人在一天內完成的工作，

could far more profitably be split into many tasks 文法

如果能拆分成多項任務，

carried out by multiple people over whole careers.

交由多人在整個職業生涯中分別完成，利潤將豐厚得多。

Smith hailed this as a momentous development.

斯密將此譽為一項重大發展。

He predicted that national economies would become hugely richer 文法

他預言，勞動力越是專業化，

the more specialized their workforces became.

國家的經濟就會變得越發富裕。

One sign our world is now so rich,

斯密可能會告訴我們，

Smith could tell us,

我們的世界如今如此富裕的一個標誌是：

is that every time we meet a stranger

每當我們在派對上遇到陌生人時，

at a party we're unlikely to understand what they do.

我們往往搞不懂他們究竟是做什麼工作的。

The mania for incomprehensible job titles like 用詞

人們對那些令人費解的職稱的狂熱，比如

logistics supply manager,

物流供應經理、

packaging coordinator,

包裝協調員、

or communications and learning officer

或者是溝通與學習主管，

prove the economic logic of Smith's insight.

都證明了斯密洞見背後的經濟學邏輯。

But there is one special problem with specialization,

但專業化有一個特殊的問題，

meaning.

那就是意義。

When businesses are small and their processes contained,

當企業規模較小且流程集中時，

a sense of helping others is readily available.

人們很容易獲得一種幫助了別人的感覺。

But when everything is industrialised, one ends up as a tiny cog in a gigantic machine 慣用語

但當一切都工業化之後，一個人最終成了巨大機器裡的一顆小齒輪，

whose overall logic is liable to be absent from the minds of people lower down in the organization. 用詞

而這台機器的整體邏輯，很容易被處於組織底層的人們所忽略。

A company with 150,000 employees distributed across four continents,

一家擁有分布在四大洲的15萬名員工的公司，

making things that take five years from conception to delivery, 片語搭配

製造著從構思到交付需要花費五年的產品，

will struggle to maintain any sense of purpose or cohesion. 片語搭配

將會很難保持任何目標感或凝聚力。

So Smith discerned that bosses of the specialized corporations of modernity

因此斯密敏銳地指出，現代專業化公司的老闆們

have an extra responsibility to their workers,

對員工負有額外的責任，

to remind them of their purpose, role, and ultimate dignity of their labor.

那就是提醒員工他們的目標、角色以及其勞動最終的尊嚴所在。

Smith's age saw the development of what we'd now call consumer capitalism. 文法

斯密的時代見證了我們現在稱之為消費資本主義的發展。

Manufacturers began turning out luxury goods for a broadening middle class. 片語動詞

製造商開始為不斷擴大的中產階級生產奢侈品。

Some commentators were appalled.

一些評論家對此感到震驚。

The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau wished to ban luxury from his native Geneva.

哲學家讓-雅克·盧梭希望在他的故鄉日內瓦徹底禁止奢侈品。

He was a particular fan of ancient Sparta and argued that his city should copy its austere martial lifestyle. 文化背景

他特別推崇古斯巴達，並主張他的城市應該效仿其簡樸尚武的生活方式。

Disagreeing violently,

斯密對此堅決反對，

Smith pointed out to the Swiss philosopher that luxury consumerism in fact had a very serious role to play in a good society. 講解

他向這位瑞士哲學家指出，奢侈品消費實際上在良好社會中扮演著非常重要的角色。

It generated the surplus wealth that allowed societies to look after their weakest members. 片語動詞

它產生了剩餘財富，使社會能夠照顧那些最弱勢的群體。

Consumer societies, despite their frivolity,

消費社會儘管看似輕浮，

didn't let young children and the old starve,

但並未讓幼兒和老人挨餓，

for they could afford hospitals and poor relief. 文化背景

因為他們負擔得起醫院和貧困救濟。

So Smith defended consumer capitalism on the basis that it did more good for the poor than societies devoted to high ideals. 講解

因此，斯密為消費資本主義辯護的理由是，相比那些致力於崇高理想的社會，它為窮人帶來了更多好處。

That said, 表達脈絡

儘管如此，

Smith held out some fascinating hopes for the future of capitalism. 片語搭配

斯密對資本主義的未來仍抱有一些令人著迷的期望。

He didn't want it to stay stuck at the frivolous level forever. 片語搭配

他不希望它永遠停留在輕浮的層面上。

He observed that humans have many higher needs that currently lie outside of capitalist enterprise. 片語搭配

他觀察到人類有許多目前處於資本主義企業之外的更高層次的需求。

Among them, our need for emotional education,

其中包括我們需要情感教育，

for self-understanding,

需要自我了解，

for beautiful cities,

需要美麗的城市，

and for rewarding social lives.

以及需要有價值的社交生活。

The hope for the future is that we'll learn to generate sizable profits from helping people in truly important ambitious ways. 片語搭配

對未來的期望在於，我們將學會透過以真正重要和具有抱負的方式幫助他人來創造可觀的利潤。

Properly developed capitalism shouldn't just service our basic material needs while exciting us to buy frivolous things. 用詞

發展良好的資本主義不應僅僅服務於我們基本的物質需求並刺激我們購買輕浮的東西。

It should make money from goods and services that deliver true fulfillment. 片語搭配

它應該透過提供能帶來真正滿足感的商品和服務來賺錢。

Then as now, 表達脈絡

過去和現在一樣，

the great question was how to get the rich to behave well towards the rest of society. 文法

最大的問題是如何讓富人善待社會上的其他人。

The Christian answer to this was,

基督教對此的答案是，

make them feel guilty.

讓他們感到內疚。

Meanwhile,

同時，

the radical left-wing answer was then and now,

激進左翼過去和現在的答案都是，

raise taxes.

提高稅收。

But Smith disagreed with both approaches.

但斯密不同意這兩種方法。

The hearts of the rich were likely to remain cold and high taxes would simply lead the rich to flee the country.

富人的心可能依然冷漠，而高稅收只會導致富人逃離國家。

He proposed that contrary to what one might expect, 表達脈絡

他提出，與人們可能預想的相反，

it isn't money that the rich really care about, 文法

富人真正關心的並不是錢，

it's honor and respect.

而是榮譽和尊重。

The rich accumulate money not because they're materially greedy, 文法

富人累積金錢並不是因為他們在物質上貪婪，

but primarily in order to be liked and approved of. 文法

而主要是為了受到他人的喜愛和認可。

So rather than taxing the rich, 文法

所以，與其對富人徵稅，

governments should understand the vanity at the heart of the rich and their motivations. 慣用語

政府更應該理解富人內心的虛榮以及他們的動機。

They should therefore give the rich plenty of honors and status

因此，政府應該給予富人大量的榮譽和地位，

in return for doing all the good things that these narcissists wouldn't normally bother with, 講解

作為回報，讓他們去做那些自戀者通常不屑一顧的好事，

like funding schools and hospitals and paying their workers well.

比如資助學校和醫院，以及給工人支付優渥的報酬。

As Smith put it, 表達脈絡

正如斯密所言：

"The great secret of education is to direct vanity to proper objects."

「教育的巨大秘密在於將虛榮心引向適當的對象。」

Big corporations feel very evil to us now,

現在大公司讓我們覺得非常邪惡，

the natural targets of blame for low-paying jobs,

它們自然成為了低薪工作、

environmental abuse, and sickening ingredients.

破壞環境以及令人作嘔的成分的指責目標。

But Adam Smith knew that there was an unexpected and more important element responsible for these ills,

但亞當·斯密知道，還有一個意想不到且更為重要的因素導致了這些弊病，

our taste. 用詞

那就是我們的品味。

It's not companies that primarily degrade the world,

主要使世界退化的並不是公司，

it's our appetites which they merely serve.

而是我們的慾望，公司只是在迎合這些慾望。

As a result,

因此，

the reform of capitalism hinges on an odd-sounding but critical task, 慣用語

資本主義改革的關鍵在於一項聽起來有些奇怪卻至關重要的任務：

the education of the consumer.

消費者的教育。

We need to be taught to want better quality things and pay a proper price for them,

我們需要被教導去追求更高品質的東西，並為此支付合理的價格，

one that reflects the true burden on workers and the environment. 片語搭配

這個價格能反映出工人和環境所承受的真實負擔。

A good capitalist society doesn't just offer customers choice, 文法

一個優秀的資本主義社會不僅為顧客提供選擇，

it also teaches people to exercise this choice in judicious ways. 片語搭配

還會教導人們以明智的方式行使這種選擇權。

Capitalism can, Smith suggests,

斯密認為，資本主義可以

be saved by elevating the quality of consumer demand. 文法

透過提升消費者需求的品質而得到拯救。

The economic state of the world can seem at once so wrong and yet so complicated 文法

世界的經濟狀況有時看起來如此糟糕卻又如此複雜，

we end up collapsing into despair and passivity. 片語動詞

以至於我們最終陷入了絕望與被動之中。

Adam Smith is on hand to lend us confidence and hope. 講解

而亞當·斯密就在這裡為我們提供信心與希望。

His work is full of ideas about how human values can be reconciled with the needs of businesses. 片語搭配

他的著作充滿了關於如何讓人類價值觀與商業需求相調和的思想。

He deserves our ongoing attention because he was interested in an issue that has become a leading priority of our own times,

他值得我們持續關注，因為他所關心的議題已經成為我們這個時代的首要優先事項，

how to create an economy that is at once profitable and civilized. 文法

那就是如何創造一個既有利可圖又文明的經濟體。