A conservative's plea: Let's work together | Arthur Brooks

翻译人员: Ling Lu 校对人员: Gu Yu

I come from one of the most liberal,

我来自美国最自由、宽容和

tolerant, progressive places in the United States,

最具发展潜力的城市之一，

Seattle, Washington.

华盛顿西雅图。

And I grew up with a family of great Seattlites.

我成长于很棒的西雅图家庭。

My mother was an artist, my father was a college professor,

我的母亲是一位艺术家， 父亲是一名大学教授，

and I am truly grateful for my upbringing,

对他们的养育我满怀感激，

because I always felt completely comfortable designing my life

因为我完全可以按照 自己觉得合适的方式

exactly as I saw fit.

自在地规划我的人生。

And in point of fact,

而实际上，

I took a route that was not exactly what my parents had in mind.

我的选择和父母心中所想的不太一样。

When I was 19, I dropped out of college --

在我19岁的时候， 我从大学退学了——

dropped out, kicked out, splitting hairs.

辍学了， 或者更准确点说，是被开除了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And I went on the road as a professional French horn player,

我踏上了成为一名 专业法国号手的道路，

which was my lifelong dream.

那是我毕生的梦想。

I played chamber music all over the United States and Europe,

我在全美和欧洲表演室内乐，

and I toured for a couple of years

我巡回演出了几年，

with a great jazz guitar player named Charlie Bird.

和很优秀的爵士吉他手 查理·伯德一起。

And by the end of my 20s,

在我二十几岁的时候，

I wound up as a member of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra in Spain.

我为自己加入西班牙 巴塞罗那交响乐团兴奋不已。

What a great life.

多么美好的人生啊！

And you know, my parents never complained.

而且我的父母从没抱怨过，

They supported me all the way through it.

他们从始至终支持着我，

It wasn't their dream.

即使那不是他们的梦想。

They used to tell their neighbors and friends,

他们过去常跟邻居和朋友们讲，

"Our son, he's taking a gap decade."

“咱儿子要‘休整’个十年”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And --

以及

There was, however, one awkward conversation about my lifestyle

有一段关于我生活的尴尬谈话

that I want to tell you about.

我想要分享给你们。

I was 27, and I was home from Barcelona,

那时候我27岁， 我从巴塞罗那回到家，

and I was visiting my parents for Christmas,

那天是圣诞节， 我回家看望父母，

and I was cooking dinner with my mother, and we were alone in the kitchen.

当时我在帮母亲做晚饭时， 厨房里就我们两个人。

And she was quiet, too quiet.

她当时沉默着，一言不发。

Something was wrong.

我觉得有些不对劲。

And so I said, "Mom, what's on your mind?"

我就问我母亲： “妈，你在想什么呢？”

And she said, "Your dad and I are really worried about you."

她说：“我和你爸爸真的很担心你。”

And I said, "What?" I mean, what could it be, at this point?

我很惊讶：“什么嘛？ 你们现在有什么好担心？”

And she said, "I want you to be completely honest with me:

她答道： “我希望你诚实地回答我的问题：

have you been voting for Republicans?"

你是不是投票给共和党了？”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Now, the truth is,

事实是，

I wasn't really political, I was just a French horn player.

我对政治没什么兴趣， 我只是个法国小号吹奏者。

But I had a bit of an epiphany,

但我有点明白了，

and they had detected it, and it was causing some confusion.

他们察觉到了一些事， 所以有些困惑。

You see, I had become an enthusiast for capitalism,

那时我成了资本主义的狂热追捧者，

and I want to tell you why that is.

让我告诉你缘何如此。

It stems from a lifelong interest of mine

不管你信不信， 它根源于我一直以来

in, believe it or not, poverty.

对贫穷的研究。

See, when I was a kid growing up in Seattle,

在西雅图当我还是个孩童的时候，

I remember the first time I saw real poverty.

我记得那是第一次 我接触了真正的贫穷。

We were a lower middle class family, but that's of course not real poverty.

我的家庭属于中产阶级的下层， 但那当然不是真正的贫穷。

That's not even close.

一点都不是。

The first time I saw poverty, and poverty's face,

我第一次看到贫穷的真面目，

was when I was six or seven years old, early 1970s.

是在20世纪70年代初， 我还只有六、七岁

And it was like a lot of you, kind of a prosaic example, kind of trite.

像我们中很多人一样， 这个例子很平凡普通。

It was a picture in the National Geographic Magazine

那是《国家地理》中的一幅画

of a kid who was my age in East Africa,

画中是东非一个国家的 跟我差不多大的孩子，

and there were flies on his face and a distended belly.

苍蝇在他脸上飞，肚子膨胀着。

And he wasn't going to make it, and I knew that, and I was helpless.

我知道他挺不过去了， 我知道的，而我却无能为力。

Some of you remember that picture,

你们当中或许有人记得那样一幅画，

not exactly that picture, one just like it.

不一定完全一样， 但很相像的一幅画。

It introduced the West to grinding poverty around the world.

它向西方世界展现了 世界其它地方令人难以忍受的贫穷。

Well, that vision kind of haunted me as I grew up and I went to school

那样的图景在我的脑海中挥之不去， 伴随着我成长、上学、

and I dropped out and dropped in

退学、开始组建

and started my family.

我自己的家庭。

And I wondered, what happened to that kid?

我很想知道， 那个孩子后来怎么样了？

Or to people just like him all over the world?

或者说世界其他地方的 像他一样的人怎么样了？

And so I started to study, even though I wasn't in college,

我开始研究这个问题， 即便那时我已不在大学了，

I was looking for the answer:

我仍在寻找答案：

what happened to the world's poorest people?

世界上最贫穷的人们 身上都发生了什么？

Has it gotten worse? Has it gotten better? What?

是变糟了，还是变好了？ 到底怎么样了？

And I found the answer, and it changed my life,

我最终找到了答案， 并改变了我的人生。

and I want to share it with you.

我想与你们分享。

See --

其实

most Americans believe that poverty has gotten worse

大多数美国人觉得从孩童时代、 从他们看到那景象至今，

since we were children, since they saw that vision.

贫困变得更严重了。

If you ask Americans, "Has poverty gotten worse or better around the world?",

如果你问美国人：“世界贫困问题是 更严重了还是有所好转？”

70 percent will say that hunger has gotten worse since the early 1970s.

70%的人会说自20世纪 70年代初饥饿问题更严重了。

But here's the truth.

然而事实是这样的。

Here's the epiphany that I had that changed my thinking.

这是使我改变想法、 让我顿悟的一个时刻。

From 1970 until today,

自1970年至今，

the percentage of the world's population

世界处于饥饿水平的

living in starvation levels,

通过通货膨胀校正后

living on a dollar a day or less, obviously adjusted for inflation,

每天的生活费 不多于1美元的人口百分比

that percentage has declined

下降了

by 80 percent.

80%。

There's been an 80 percent decline in the world's worst poverty

从我小时候至今 世界最穷困的人数百分比

since I was a kid.

减少了80%。

And I didn't even know about it.

而我却不清楚这一事实。

This, my friends, that's a miracle.

我的朋友们，这是一个奇迹！

That's something we ought to celebrate.

这是值得我们庆贺的事情。

It's the greatest antipoverty achievement in the history of mankind,

这是人类史上反贫穷的最大成就，

and it happened in our lifetimes.

而且就发生在我们的有生之年。

(Applause)

（掌声 ）

So when I learned this, I asked, what did that? What made it possible?

当我知道这一事实时，我想， 是什么使得脱贫变得可能呢？

Because if you don't know why, you can't do it again.

因为若你不知道原因， 这将只是昙花一现。

If you want to replicate it

我们要复制成功，

and get the next two billion people out of poverty,

要使得仍在贫困中挣扎 的2亿人民摆脱现状，

because that's what we're talking about: since I was a kid,

因为那是我们一直在谈论的问题： 从我还是个孩子的时候，

two billion of the least of these, our brothers and sisters,

20亿最贫穷的人， 我们的兄弟姐妹，

have been pulled out of poverty.

脱离了贫穷。

I want the next two billion, so I've got to know why.

我希望拯救其余的20亿人， 所以我必须知道原因。

And I went in search of an answer.

我寻找着答案，

And it wasn't a political answer, because I didn't care.

它不是政治性的答案， 因为我根本不在乎政治的解答。

You know what, I still don't care.

现在，依然不在乎。

I wanted the best answer from mainstream economists

我渴求从主流经济学家们 那里得到最佳的答案

left, right and center.

无论是左派的，右派的 和中间派的经济学家们。

And here it is.

下面

Here are the reasons.

我开始讲具体原因。

There are five reasons that two billion of our brothers and sisters

从孩提时代到现在， 20亿人民脱离贫困

have been pulled out of poverty since I was a kid.

有五点原因。

Number one: globalization.

第一：全球化

Number two: free trade.

第二：自由贸易

Number three: property rights.

第三：产权

Number four: rule of law.

第四：法治

Number five: entrepreneurship.

第五：企业家精神

It was the free enterprise system spreading around the world

这些是1970年后席卷全球的

after 1970 that did that.

自由市场经济体系促成的。

Now, I'm not naive.

我并不幼稚。

I know that free enterprise isn't perfect,

我知道自由市场经济并不完美，

and I know that free enterprise isn't everything we need

我也知道自由市场经济 并不能满足我们

to build a better world.

建设更美好的世界的全部需求。

But that is great.

但它是伟大的。

And that's beyond politics.

并且是超越政治的。

Here's what I learned. This is the epiphany.

这是我学到并且顿悟的一点。

Capitalism is not just about accumulation.

资本主义不仅仅是资本的积累

At its best, it's about aspiration,

它的绝佳之处在于：它与抱负相关，

which is what so many people on this stage talk about,

这是这个台上的许多人都曾讲过的，

is the aspiration that comes from dreams

是由梦想而生的抱负，

that are embedded in the free enterprise system.

它根植于自由市场体系。

And we've got to share it with more people.

我们必须要让更多人明白这一点。

Now, I want to tell you about a second epiphany

现在，我要谈谈我的第二个顿悟

that's related to that first one

它与第一个有关

that I think can bring us progress, not just around the world,

我相信它不仅仅会促进世界的发展，

but right here at home.

也促进我们这个国家的发展。

The best quote I've ever heard

用别人的一句话

to summarize the thoughts that I've just given you

概括刚刚

about pulling people out of poverty

关于使人们脱离贫穷的观点

is as follows:

就是：

"Free markets have created more wealth than any system in history.

“自由市场创造了史上最多的财富

They have lifted billions out of poverty."

并使得数以亿计的人们摆脱贫困。”

Who said it?

谁的名言？

It sounds like Milton Friedman or Ronald Reagan.

像是米尔顿·佛里德曼 或者罗纳德·里根的。

Wrong.

错！

President Barack Obama said that.

是奥巴马总统！

Why do I know it by heart?

为什么我记忆深刻？

Because he said it to me.

因为他是对我说的。

Crazy.

想不到吧。

And I said, "Hallelujah."

我当时说："哈利路亚！"

But more than that, I said,

不仅如此，我还说，

"What an opportunity."

“多么绝佳的机会。”

You know what I was thinking?

你们知道我当时在想什么嘛？

It was at an event that we were doing on the subject

2015年五月 我们在乔治城大学做一场

at Georgetown University in May of 2015.

有关我们所做课题的活动，

And I thought, this is the solution

那时我想到了解决

to the biggest problem facing America today. What?

当今美国面临的最大问题的方案。 那是什么呢？

It's coming together around these ideas,

就是无论是

liberals and conservatives,

自由主义者还是保守主义者， 聚集到一起讨论这些想法

to help people who need us the most.

帮助最需要我们帮助的那些人。

Now, I don't have to tell anybody in this room that we're in a crisis,

不必我说，在场的每一位 都知道我们身处危机，

in America and many countries around the world with political polarization.

在美国以及世界其它 有政治分歧的国家中，

It's risen to critical, crisis levels.

这一问题已经迫在眉睫。

It's unpleasant. It's not right.

这不免让人忧心重重。

There was an article last year

去年，

in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,

在西方最具影响力、 最前沿的科学杂志之一的

which is one of the most prestigious scientific journals

国家科学院院刊上

published in the West.

发表了一篇文章

And it was an article in 2014

那是2014年的一篇

on political motive asymmetry.

有关政治动因非对称的文章。

What's that? That's what psychologists call the phenomenon

那是什么？ 心理学家将这种现象描述为

of assuming that your ideology is based in love

假定你的思想观念建立在爱之上

but your opponents' ideology is based in hate.

而对方的思想观念却建立在恨之上。

It's common in world conflict.

这在世界争端中是很常见的。

You expect to see this between Palestinians and Israelis, for example.

比如巴勒斯坦和以色列人之间。

What the authors of this article found

这篇文章的作者发现的是

was that in America today, a majority of Republicans and Democrats

在当今美国， 很大一部分共和党人和民主党人

suffer from political motive asymmetry.

在政治动因上存在着分歧。

A majority of people in our country today who are politically active believe

如今我们国家政治上 活跃的大部分人认为

that they are motivated by love but the other side is motivated by hate.

他们是为爱所驱使， 而其余人是为恨所驱使。

Think about it. Think about it.

想想吧。

Most people are walking around saying,

多数人总是说着：

"You know, my ideology is based on basic benevolence,

“我的思想基础是仁爱，

I want to help people,

我想要帮助人们，

but the other guys, they're evil and out to get me."

而另一部分人， 他们是邪恶的，他们试图打倒我。”

You can't progress as a society when you have this kind of asymmetry.

存在这样的分歧的社会 是无法进步的。

It's impossible.

这是不可能的。

How do we solve it?

我们要怎么解决这一问题？

Well, first, let's be honest: there are differences.

首先，让我们诚实面对吧： 分歧是存在的。

Let's not minimize the differences. That would be really naïve.

我们无法减小分歧， 因为那是幼稚的行为。

There's a lot of good research on this.

对此有相当多深入的研究。

A veteran of the TED stage is my friend Jonathan Haidt.

我的朋友乔纳森·海特 是TED的常客了。

He's a psychology professor at New York University.

他是纽约大学的心理学教授。

He does work on the ideology and values and morals of different people

他对不同人的思想、 价值观和道德观进行研究，

to see how they differ.

研究他们有着怎样的不同。

And he's shown, for example, that conservatives and liberals

他证明了保守派和自由派

have a very different emphasis on what they think is important.

对于他们认为重要的事 有很不同的见解。

For example, Jon Haidt has shown

比如，乔纳森·海特说明了

that liberals care about poverty

自由主义者关心贫穷

59 percent more than they care about economic liberty.

比关心经济自由超出59%。

And conservatives care about economic liberty

而保守主义者关心经济自由

28 percent more than they care about poverty.

比关心贫穷多28%。

Irreconcilable differences, right?

看上去不可调和的分歧，对么？

We'll never come together. Wrong.

我们不可能走到一起？不！

That is diversity in which lies our strength.

我们的力量恰恰在于分歧之中。

Remember what pulled up the poor.

牢记是什么停止了贫穷：

It was the obsession with poverty,

是对贫穷问题的痴迷和关注，

accompanied by the method of economic freedom

和全世界范围内的

spreading around the world.

自由经济秩序。

We need each other, in other words,

我们彼此需要，换句话说，

if we want to help people and get the next two billion people out of poverty.

如果我们想要帮助人们， 想要帮助另外2亿人民脱离贫困。

There's no other way.

别无他法。

Hmm.

嗯。

How are we going to get that?

我们要怎么做呢？

It's a tricky thing, isn't it.

这是很微妙的事情，不是么？

We need innovative thinking.

我们要创新思维。

A lot of it's on this stage.

很多的创新思想就在这个舞台。

Social entrepreneurship. Yeah. Absolutely. Phenomenal.

是的！那些非凡的 社会的企业家精神。

We need investment overseas

我们要投资海外，

in a sustainable, responsible, ethical and moral way. Yes. Yes.

以可持续的、负责的、 符合伦理道德的方式投资。

But you know what we really need?

但你们知道我们 真正需要的是什么吗？

We need a new day in flexible ideology.

我们需要打开灵活思维的新天地，

We need to be less predictable.

我们需要少一些的“可以预见”，

Don't we?

对吗？

Do you ever feel like your own ideology is starting to get predictable?

你们是否曾感到自己的 思想开始变得可预见？

Kinda conventional?

开始循规蹈矩？

Do you ever feel like you're always listening to people who agree with you?

你们是否感到自己 总是听信与自己意见一致的人的话？

Why is that dangerous?

为什么那样是危险的？

Because when we talk in this country about economics,

因为当我们在这个国家谈论经济的时候，

on the right, conservatives,

一边是保守主义者，

you're always talking about taxes and regulations and big government.

谈论的总是税、规则和大政府统治。

And on the left, liberals, you're talking about economics,

而另一边是自由主义者，谈到经济

it's always about income inequality.

总是关于收入不平等。

Right? Now those are important things,

是吧？那些确实都很重要，

really important to me, really important to you.

对我很重要，对你们也很重要。

But when it comes to lifting people up

但那些正在挨饿的人

who are starving and need us today, those are distractions.

需要我们的帮助时， 这些都只是让人分心的问题。

We need to come together around the best ways

我们应当 在最好的方法面前团结起来，

to mitigate poverty using the best tools at our disposal,

尽我们的可能减少贫困,

and that comes only when conservatives recognize that they need liberals

只有当保守派意识到 他们需要自由主义者

and their obsession with poverty,

对贫穷的忧虑，

and liberals need conservatives and their obsession with free markets.

并且自由主义者也需要 保守派对自由市场的痴迷时，

That's the diversity in which lies the future strength of this country,

我们才会成功。 只有我们选择这条路，这种多样性才会

if we choose to take it.

孕育未来国家强大的力量。

So how are we going to do it? How are we going to do it together?

我们要怎么达成这一目的呢？ 怎样共同达成呢？

I've got to have some action items, not just for you but for me.

我有一些行动上的建议， 对你们，也是对我自己。

Number one. Action item number one:

行动准则第一条：

remember, it's not good enough just to tolerate people who disagree.

切记，仅仅容忍别人的 不同意见是不够好的，

It's not good enough.

远远不够。

We have to remember that we need people who disagree with us,

我们要铭记我们需要 与我们意见不合的人，

because there are people who need all of us

因为有一群人 需要我们所有人的帮助，

who are still waiting for these tools.

他们仍在等待。

Now, what are you going to do? How are you going to express that?

你们准备怎么做呢？怎么表现呢？

Where does this start? It starts here.

从哪里开始呢？就从这里！

You know, all of us in this room, we're blessed.

在座的所有人，我们都是幸福的。

We're blessed with people who listen to us.

我们有倾听我们的人，

We're blessed with prosperity. We're blessed with leadership.

我们很成功， 我们拥有领导力。

When people hear us, with the kind of unpredictable ideology,

当人们听到了 我们未知意识形态的思想，

then maybe people will listen.

或许他们才会倾听我们。

Maybe progress will start at that point.

也许这就是成功的起点。

That's number one. Number two.

这是第一点。第二。

Number two: I'm asking you and I'm asking me

第二点：我在请你们，也请我自己

to be the person specifically who blurs the lines,

成为模糊界限的特定个人，

who is ambiguous, who is hard to classify.

成为一个含糊的，难以界定的人。

If you're a conservative,

如果你是保守派，

be the conservative who is always going on about poverty

那就做一个 把贫困问题常常挂在嘴边的保守派，

and the moral obligation to be a warrior for the poor.

和坚持遵守为穷人而战的 道德义务的战士。

And if you're a liberal, be a liberal who is always talking

如果你是自由派，

about the beauty of free markets to solve our problems

就做一个常常赞扬 在我们负责任地运行下的

when we use them responsibly.

自由市场的魅力的自由派。

If we do that, we get two things.

如果我们那样做了，两个目标指日可待。

Number one: we get to start to work on the next two billion

第一：我们开始致力于 帮助接下来的20亿人

and be the solution that we've seen so much of in the past

像以前解决那么多问题那样 帮助他们解决问题

and we need to see more of in the future. That's what we get.

未来我们还会解决更多。 这是我们可以做到的。

And the second is that we might just be able

第二是我们或许能够

to take the ghastly holy war of ideology that we're suffering under in this country

战胜这场令我们遭受苦难的 可怕的意识形态的战争，

and turn it into a competition of ideas

将它转变成基于 团结一致和互相尊重

based on solidarity and mutual respect.

的思想观念的竞争。

And then maybe, just maybe,

也许到时候可能，只是可能

we'll all realize that our big differences

我们会发现我们所谓的分歧

aren't really that big after all.

并不是那样的不可调和。

谢谢！

Thank you.

(Applause)

（掌声）