How do we create a better economy?

譯者: 柏陞 郭 審譯者: Zoe Walmsley

What does it mean for a country to have a healthy economy?

說一個國家的經濟健全是甚麼意思？

What does a healthy economy even look like?

健全的經濟長什麼模樣？

Does it look like this?

看起來像這樣嗎？

What about like this?

還是這樣呢？

Economist Kate Raworth shared a pretty interesting answer to this question

經濟學家凱特‧瑞沃斯 在 TED 訪談播客中，

on the TED Interview podcast.

針對這個問題給出一個很有趣的答案，

And it challenges an idea that most economists take for granted.

顛覆了一個眾多經濟學家 視為理所當然的想法。

We live— particularly in the West, particularly in the last 150 years—

我們活在一個……

特別是西方， 特別是過去 150 年來──

in a society that has a very strong belief that growth

活在一個堅信 「成長象徵進步」的社會。

is the sign of progress.

And to a certain extent, it’s true.

某種程度上來說，的確如此。

We love to see our kids grow.

我們樂見下一輩成長。

We love to see nature growing in spring.

我們樂見自然萬物在春天生長。

Growth is a wonderful, healthy phase of life.

成長是生命中一個美好、健康的階段。

But in our economies, it’s like we’ve turned to Peter Pan economics—

但講到經濟，我們的心態 卻好像彼得‧潘──

the economy that never wanted to grow up.

永遠不想長大、成熟，

It wanted to grow and grow and grow forever.

就想一直成長、不斷地成長， 演變成永久性的階段。

And it becomes this permanent phase.

But we already know, in our own bodies, in our own lives,

但我們從健康及生活中知道，

that there’s another side to this metaphor of growth that we love so much.

這個可愛的、彼得‧潘式的 成長比喻還有另外一面。

If I told you, my friend had gone to the doctor,

如果我告訴你，我的朋友去看醫生，

and the doctor told her she had a growth,

醫生跟她說她體內長了一個東西，

that already feels completely different.

那感覺就完全不同了。

Because in the space of our own bodies,

因為我們知道，如果體內 有個東西不斷地長大，

we know that when something tries to grow endlessly

within this healthy, dynamic living whole,

就會對原本生氣勃勃的健康構成威脅，

it is a threat to the health of the whole,

and we do everything we can to stop it.

而我們會盡全力去阻止。

But when we step into our economies, for some reason,

但不知為何，談到經濟時，

we think that endless growth is progress.

我們認為無限的成長就是進步。

And we are now running into severe problems

而這個追求成長的癮頭 現在演變成一個嚴重的問題。

because we are addicted to endless growth.

Simon Kuznets, he was asked in the 1930s by US Congress to come up,

1930 年代，美國國會 找上賽門‧庫茲涅茲，

請他為衡量經濟產出的數據 建立一個新指標。

for the first time, with a single number to measure the output of the economy.

America could say we produced so many tons of steel and so many bags of grain—

美國可以列舉生產了 多少噸的鋼和多少袋的穀物，

but can we add it all together?

是否可以加總起來呢？

So they commissioned him to do this and he said,

他們將任務委任給賽門，他說：

“Yes, I can. I can add it all together in one number.”

「行，我可以把這些 加總成一個數據。」

National income, what we now know as GDP— but he gave it with a caveat.

這就是國民所得，我們所知的 GDP── 可是有個但書。

He said the welfare of a nation can scarcely be known from this number,

他說，從這個數字幾乎 看不出一個國家的福利，

don’t mix it up with welfare, right?

別把它和福利混為一談喔！

Because it tells us nothing about the unpaid caring work of parents,

因為這數據不包含 父母所做的無薪照護，

tells us nothing about the value that’s created in communities,

也不包含與價格無關的社會價值，

because that’s not priced,

and it’s a measure of the flow of economic value.

它只是經濟價值流動的指標，

It tells us nothing about the living world, the forests, the mines

也不包含物種、森林、礦物等等，

that get run down in order to create this value.

為了創造經濟價值 而被消耗殆盡的東西。

But the convenience, the temptation, of this single number was so great

但這單一數據的方便性誘惑力之大，

that politicians sort of tucked it in their armpit and carried right on.

政治人物可說是不假思索 就一頭栽進去了，

And we ended up in a horse race of pursuing GDP growth.

最後就是拼命追求 GDP 成長的下場了。

The dream is that GDP can keep on increasing,

理想的境界是 GDP 持續成長，

we can have increasing financial returns,

財務報酬持續增加，

but that we can decouple from using Earth’s resources.

然後我們就能停止使用地球資源。

We can use less carbon and less metals, and minerals and plastics,

我們可以減少碳排、 少用一點金屬、礦物和塑膠，

and we can use less of the Earth’s land surface,

減少全球陸地的使用面積，

and separate these two: ever rising GDP and falling resource use.

將永續上升的 GDP 與降低資源消耗分開來。

It’s a fabulous dream; would that it would be true.

再完美的夢想終歸是夢想。

We are at a time of climate emergency, of ecosystem collapse.

我們處於一個氣候危機、

生態系統崩壞的時代，

We need to radically reduce our use of Earth’s resources,

我們必須大幅減少消耗地球的資源，

and we're nowhere close to that.

可是卻還在原地打轉。

So I offer it as a compass for 21st century prosperity.

所以我想提出一個 21 世紀繁榮指標的羅盤。

And this compass, silly though it sounds,

羅盤的比喻聽起來有點蠢，

it looks like a doughnut with the hole in the middle.

它看起來就像中間有洞的甜甜圈。

So imagine from the center of it, humanity’s use of Earth’s resources

想像一下，

甜甜圈的中心代表 人類所使用的地球資源，

radiating out from the middle of that picture.

從中間向外放射。

So in the hole, in the middle of the doughnut,

然後，在甜甜圈中間的洞， 這裡代表一些地方，

that is the place where people don’t have enough resources

那裏的人沒有足夠的資源 滿足生活所需。

to meet the essentials of life.

It’s where people don’t have enough food or health care,

這裡的人沒有足夠的食物、 醫療、教育、住房，

or education or housing or gender equality or political voice or access to energy.

沒有性別平等、政治發言權， 取得能源的管道。

And we want to leave nobody in that hole.

我們不希望把任何人留在那個洞裡。

We want to get everybody over a social foundation of well-being,

我們想要一個讓人 身心健康的社會基礎，

所有人都能活得有尊嚴、

so all people on this planet can lead lives of dignity

and opportunity and community.

有機會、有歸屬。

And in low income countries, it absolutely makes sense,

在低收入國家，這絕對合理，

yes, let’s see the economy grow in ways that invest in health and education

沒錯，追求經濟發展，

再投資在全民皆能享用的 健康、教育及交通上。

and transport for all.

That was a very 20th century project.

那是典型的 20 世紀的計畫，

We're in the 21st century.

現在是 21 世紀。

We have Earth system scientists who started looking at the impact

地球科學家開始研究

人類對氣候造成的影響、

we were having on the climate, and the loss of soils and acid rain,

土壤的流失、酸雨、

and the hole in the ozone layer, and the collapse of species.

臭氧層的破洞，及生態物種的崩壞。

And they said, hang on.

他們說，等等，

We’ve been ignoring our planet.

我們一直以來忽視了地球。

In the growing to meet human needs, we have ignored the fact

在不斷追求成長、 滿足人類需求的過程中，

that we are deeply dependent on this delicately balanced living planet.

我們忽略了一個事實： 人類與地球的生態平衡息息相關。

It’s the only one we know of out there.

而地球是我們唯一所有。

And when we use Earth’s resources in such a way

所以，一旦地球資源的用途演變成

that we begin to push ourselves beyond the living capacities of this planet,

將人類的存續擺在地球的存續之前，

we are literally undermining the life supporting systems on which we depend.

其實就是在破壞我們賴以維生的系統。

So, hang on, just as there’s an inner limit of resource use,

所以，聽著，就像是 資源使用有其內在的極限，

and we call out poverty and deprivation,

及我們所知的貧窮和剝削，

there’s an outer limit of humanity’s resource use.

資源使用同樣也有外部的極限，

That’s ecological degradation.

那就是生態環境的惡化，

And we are breaking down this planet on which we depend.

我們正在瓦解我們倚賴的星球。

So there you get the doughnut, you get the inside,

因此這就是你看到的甜甜圈：

which is leave nobody behind in the hole.

讓人脫離中間那個資源匱乏的洞；

But don’t overshoot the outer ring either.

同時也不過度破壞甜甜圈的外圍。

And so the shape of progress is fundamentally changed.

如此就可完全改變進步的模式，

It’s no longer this ever rising line exponential growth,

不再是財經新聞中的 那條不斷上升的曲線，

that we hear about in the financial news all the time.

It’s balance.

而是…… 均衡。

To me, a source of real hope is that we deeply understand this

我覺得真正的希望源自於 我們對自身健康的體解。

at the level of our body.

You go to the doctor, the doctor will say,

當你去看診時，醫生會囑咐你

have enough food, but not too much, enough water, oxygen, exercise, sleep,

吃飽但不過量；

足夠的水及氧氣、運動和睡眠，

anything you like— have enough, but not too much.

不管你想要甚麼，適量就好。

Our health lies in balance.

健康來自於均衡。

And if we can take that metaphor from the human body to the planetary body,

只要用同樣這個比喻來看待地球，

we give ourselves a cracking chance of understanding

我們就有機會真正地了解

the deep interdependence of our world.

全球萬物間那個深厚的相互依賴性。