【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 tay there.
　　問題是，如果你打從心里相信，那些在社會(huì)頂層的人都是精英，同時(shí)你也暗示著，以一種殘忍的方法，相信那些在社會(huì)底層的人，天生就該在社會(huì)底層，
　　I nother words, your position in life es to seem not accidental, but merited and deserved. And that makes failure seem much more crushing.
　　換句話說，你在社會(huì)的地位不是偶然，而都是你配得的，這種想法讓失敗變得更殘忍。
　　You know, in the Middle Ages, in England, when you met a very poor person, that person would be described as an amp。quot。unfortunateamp。quot。 literally, somebody who had not been blessed by fortune, an unfortunate.
　　你知道，在中世紀(jì)的英國，但你遇見一個(gè)非常窮苦的人，你會(huì)認(rèn)為他”。不走運(yùn)”。，直接地說，那些不被幸運(yùn)之神眷顧的人。
　　Nowadays, particularly in the United States, if you meet someone at the bottom of society, they may unkindly be described as a amp。quot。loser.amp。quot。 Thereamp。39。s a real difference between an unfortunate and a loser,
　　不幸的人，尤其在美國，如果人們遇見一些社會(huì)底層的人，他們被刻薄地形容成”。失敗者”。，”。不走運(yùn)”。和”。失敗者”。中間有很大的差別，
　　and that shows 400 years of evolution in society and our belief in who is responsible for our lives. Itamp。39。s no longer the gods, itamp。39。s us. Weamp。39。re in the driving seat.
　　這表現(xiàn)了四百年的社會(huì)演變，我們對誰該為人生負(fù)責(zé)看法的改變，神不再掌握我們的命運(yùn)，我們掌握自己的人生。
　　Thatamp。39。s exhilarating if youamp。39。re doing well, and very crushing if youamp。39。re not. It leads, in the worst cases in the analysis of a sociologist like Emil Durkheim it leads to increased rates of suicide.
　　如果你做的很好，這是件令人愉快的事。相反的情況，就很令人沮喪。社會(huì)學(xué)家Emil，Durkheim分析發(fā)現(xiàn)，這提高了自殺率，
　　There are more suicides in developed, individualistic countries than in any other part of the world. And some of the reason for that is that people take what happens to them extremely personally they own their success, but they also own their failure.
　　追求個(gè)人主義的發(fā)達(dá)國家的自殺率，高過于世界上其它地方，原因是人們把發(fā)生在自己身上的事情，全當(dāng)作自己的責(zé)任，人們擁有成功，也擁有失敗。
　　Is there any relief from some of thesepressures that Iamp。39。ve been outlining? I think there is. I just want to turn to afew of them. Letamp。39。s take meritocracy. This idea that everybody deserves to getwhere they get to, I think itamp。39。s a crazy idea, pletely crazy.
　　有什么方法可以解決剛才提到的這些焦慮呢?是有的。我想提出幾項(xiàng)，先說”。功績主義”。，也就是相信每個(gè)人的地位忠實(shí)呈現(xiàn)他的能力，我認(rèn)為這種想法太瘋狂了，
　　I will support any politician of Left and Right, with any halfwaydecent meritocratic idea。 I am a meritocrat in that sense. But I think itamp。39。s insane to believe that we will ever make a society that is genuinely meritocratic。 itamp。39。s an impossible dream.
　　我可以支持所有相信這個(gè)想法的，無論是左傾還是右傾的政治家，我同樣相信功績主義，但我認(rèn)為一個(gè)完全徹底以能力取決地位的社會(huì)，是個(gè)不可能的夢想。
　　The idea that we will make a society where literally everybody is graded, the good at the top, bad at the bottom, exactly done as it should be, is impossible. There are simply too many random factors:
　　這種我們能創(chuàng)造一個(gè)每個(gè)人的能力都忠實(shí)地被分級，好的就到頂端，壞的就到底部，而且保證過程毫無差錯(cuò)，這是不可能的。這世上有太多偶然的契機(jī)，
　　accidents, accidents of birth, accidents of things dropping on peopleamp。39。s heads, illnesses, etc. We will never get to grade them, never get to grade people as they should.
　　不同的機(jī)運(yùn)，出身，疾病，從天而降的意外等等，我們卻無法將這些因素分級，無法完全忠實(shí)的將人分級。
　　Iamp。39。m drawn to a lovely quote by St. Augustine in amp。quot。The City of God,amp。quot。 where he says, amp。quot。Itamp。39。s a sin to judge any man by his post.amp。quot。 In modern English that would mean itamp。39。s a sinto e to any view of who you should talk to, dependent on their business card. Itamp。39。s not the post that should count.
　　我很喜歡圣奧古斯丁在”。上帝之城”。里的一句話，他說”。以社會(huì)地位評價(jià)人是一種罪”。用現(xiàn)在的口吻說，看一個(gè)人的名片來決定你是否要和他交談是罪。
　　According to St. Augustine, only God can really put everybody in their place。 heamp。39。s going to do that on the Day of Judgment, with angels and trumpets, and the skies will open. Insane idea, if youamp。39。re a secularist person, like me.
　　對圣奧古斯丁來說，人的價(jià)值不在他的社會(huì)地位，只有神可以決定一個(gè)人的價(jià)值，他將在天使圍繞、小號奏鳴，天空破開的世界末日給于最后審判，如果你是像我一樣的世俗論者，這想法太瘋狂了，
　　But something very valuable in that idea, other words, hold your horses when youamp。39。re ing to judge people. You donamp。39。t necessarily know what someoneamp。39。s truevalue is.
　　但這想法有它的價(jià)值。換句話說，最好在你開口評論他人之前懸崖勒馬，你很有可能不知道他人的真正價(jià)值，這是不可測的。
　　That is an unknown part of them, and we shouldnamp。39。t behave as though it is known. There is another source of solace and fort for all this. When we think about failing in life, when we think about failure, one of the reasons why we fear failing is not just a loss of ine, a loss of status.
　　于是，我們不該為人下定論，還有另一種慰藉，當(dāng)我們想象人生中的失敗，我們恐懼的原因并不只是失去收入，失去地位，
　　What we fear is the judgment and ridicule of others. And it number one organ of ridicule, nowadays, is the newspaper. If you open the newspaper any day of the week,
　　我們害怕的是他人的評論和嘲笑，它的確存在。今日世界上最會(huì)嘲笑人的便是報(bào)紙。每天我們打開報(bào)紙，
　　itamp。39。s full of people whoamp。39。ve messed up their lives. Theyamp。39。ve slept with the wrong person, taken the wrong substance, passed the wrong piece of legislation whatever it is, and then are fit for ridicule. In other words, they have failed.
　　都能看到那些把生活搞砸的人，他們與錯(cuò)誤對象共枕，使用錯(cuò)誤藥物，通過錯(cuò)誤法案種種，讓人在茶余飯后拿來挖苦的新聞，這些人失敗了，
　　And they are described as amp。quot。losers.amp。quot。 Now, is ther