Lawrence Lessig: The unstoppable walk to political reform

翻译人员: Yi Zhong 校对人员: Elva Zhao

So a chip, a poet and a boy.

那么，一块芯片、一个诗人和一个男孩。

It's just about 20 years ago,

大约20年前，

June 1994, when Intel announced

1994年6月，英特尔公司宣告

that there was a flaw

他们的奔腾芯片

at the core of their Pentium chip.

存在一个瑕疵。

Deep in the code of the SRT algorithm

（这会让芯片在）运行 SRT 算法

to calculate intermediate quotients necessary

计算迭代浮点数除法求中间商的运算中

for iterative floating points of divisions --

出错。

I don't know what that means, but it's what it says on Wikipedia —

我不知道这意味着什么，但维基百科告诉我——

there was a flaw and an error

这是一种瑕疵，一个错误。

that meant that there was a certain probability

这意味着确有可能

that the result of the calculation would be an error,

在计算中将得到一个错误结果，

and the probability was one out of every

并且可能在3600亿次计算中

360 billion calculations.

发生一次。

So Intel said your average spreadsheet

然而，英特尔宣称在你使用制表软件时

would be flawed once every 27,000 years.

平均每27,000年才会遇到一次这个错误。

They didn't think it was significant,

他们认为这个瑕疵影响不大，

but there was an outrage in the community.

但是这在当时引起了社会的公愤。

The community, the techies, said, this flaw

全社会、技术人员们忿忿不平：

has to be addressed.

“这个瑕疵理应得到解决。”

They were not going to stand by quietly

他们没有袖手旁观，

as Intel gave them these chips.

因为英特尔给了他们这些有瑕疵的芯片。

So there was a revolution across the world.

于是，一场革命在世界各地蔓延开来，

People marched to demand --

人们纷纷游行示威。

okay, not really exactly like that —

好吧，其实也并完全是这样的。

but they rose up and they demanded

但是，他们联合起来要求

that Intel fix the flaw.

英特尔修复瑕疵。

And Intel set aside 475 million dollars

后来，英特尔被迫支出4.75亿美元

to fund the replacement of millions of chips

用于收回、修护数以百万计

to fix the flaw.

存在瑕疵的芯片。

So billions of dollars in our society

全社会花费了数十亿美元

was spent to address a problem

去解决一个

which would come once out of every 360 billion

每3600亿次运算出现一次

calculations.

错误。

Number two, a poet.

第二个故事，关于一个诗人。

This is Martin Niemöller.

他是马丁·尼莫拉。

You're familiar with his poetry.

你一定很熟悉他的诗。

Around the height of the Nazi period,

在纳粹集权时代，

he started repeating the verse,

他开始向人们重复这样的诗句，

"First they came for the communists,

“他们追杀共产主义者的时候，

and I did nothing,

我没有说话，

did not speak out because I was not a communist.

因为我不是共产主义者；

Then they came for the socialists.

接着他们追杀社会主义者；

Then they came for the trade unions.

追杀工会成员；

Then they came for the Jews.

又追杀犹太人；

And then they came for me.

最后他们奔我而来，

But there was no one left to speak for me."

但是已经没有人能为我说话了。”

Now, Niemöller is offering a certain kind of insight.

现在，尼莫拉是在给我们提供某种洞悉。

This is an insight at the core of intelligence.

这是一种对于智慧核心的洞悉。

We could call it cluefulness.

我们可以称它为“智能”。

It's a certain kind of test:

这是某种测试：

Can you recognize

你能否辨别

an underlying threat and respond?

潜在的威胁和响应？

Can you save yourself or save your kind?

你能否拯救你自己和你的同类？

Turns out ants are pretty good at this.

实际上，蚂蚁非常擅长于此。

Cows, not so much.

然而，牛却表现平平。

So can you see the pattern?

那么，你能够看出这些规律吗？

Can you see a pattern and then recognize

你能否看出这些规律然后认出来

and do something about it? Number two.

并且尝试去做一些事情改变它？这是第二个故事。

Number three, a boy.

第三个故事，关于一个男孩。

This is my friend Aaron Swartz.

这是好朋友艾伦·斯沃兹。

He's Tim's friend.

他也是提姆的朋友。

He's friends of many of you in this audience,

他也是许多在座听众的朋友，

and seven years ago,

七年前，

Aaron came to me with a question.

艾伦抛给我一个问题，

It was just before I was going to give my first TED Talk.

就在我第一次 TED 演讲之前。

I was so proud. I was telling him about my talk,

我很自豪，在和他讲述我的演讲

"Laws that choke creativity."

《阻碍创造力的法律》。

And Aaron looked at me

然而艾伦看着我

and was a little impatient, and he said,

似乎有些不耐烦，然后他说：

"So how are you ever

“那么你有没有试图

going to solve the problems you're talking about?

去解决你说的那些问题呢？

Copyright policy, Internet policy,

版权政策、互联网政策，

how are you ever going to address those problems

你准备怎样去解决这些

so long as there's this fundamental corruption

存在于政府运作中的

in the way our government works?"

基本的腐败所带来的问题？

So I was a little put off by this.

他的话让我有一点失落

He wasn't sharing in my celebration.

他并没有分享我的喜悦，

And I said to him, "You know, Aaron,

接着，我跟他说：“艾伦，你知道，

it's not my field, not my field."

这不是我的领域，不是我的领域。”

He said, "You mean as an academic, it's not your field?"

他说：“你的意思作为一个学者，这不是你的领域？”

I said, "Yeah, as an academic, it's not my field."

我说：“对，作为一个学者，这不是我的领域。”

He said, "What about as a citizen?

他说：“那么作为一个公民呢？

As a citizen."

作为一个公民。”

Now, this is the way Aaron was.

你看，这就是艾伦为人处世的方式

He didn't tell. He asked questions.

他并不说，而是提问。

But his questions spoke as clearly

但是他问题掷地有声，

as my four-year-old's hug.

如同我四岁时的一个拥抱。

He was saying to me,

他告诉我，

"You've got to get a clue.

“你得自己去寻找线索。

You have got to get a clue, because there is

你得自己去找到线索，因为

a flaw at the core of the operating system

这是我们民主政治系统核心的一个瑕疵

of this democracy,

and it's not a flaw every one out of 360 billion times

并且，我们的民主并非每3600万次

our democracy tries to make a decision.

尝试表决才会重现这个瑕疵。

It is every time,

它时刻存在，

every single important issue.

存在于每一个重要的论点上。

We've got to end the bovinity of this political society.

我们必须结束这种政治社会中牛性的顺从思维

We've got to adopt, it turns out,

我们必须采取行动，

the word is fourmi-formatic attitude --

通过蚁式的思维方式来思考政治

that's what the Internet tells me the word is --

这就是英特尔公司告诉我们的

the ant's appreciative attitude

蚁式的思维态度

that gets us to recognize this flaw,

来帮助我们认识到这个缺陷

save our kind and save our demos.

去拯救我们的孩子和我们的民主

Now if you know Aaron Swartz,

如果你认识艾伦斯沃兹

you know that we lost him

你知道他已经离开了我们

just over a year ago.

就在一年前

It was about six weeks

就在我到TED演讲前的六个礼拜

before I gave my TED Talk,

and I was so grateful to Chris

现在我非常感激

that he asked me to give this TED Talk,

克里斯邀请我来到TED演讲

not because I had the chance to talk to you,

并不是因为我有机会跟你们分享我的演讲

although that was great,

尽管这也很伟大

but because it pulled me out of an extraordinary depression.

但是因为它把我从一种巨大的压抑中拉了出来

I couldn't begin to describe the sadness.

我不能总是宣泄我的悲伤

Because I had to focus.

因为我必须要投注全部注意到真正重要的问题上

I had to focus on, what was I going to say to you?

那就是我能为你们讲一些什么

It saved me.

这件事拯救了我

But after the buzz, the excitement,

在脑中嗡嗡作响数秒之后

the power that comes from this community,

一种来自这个社会的令人兴奋的力量喷涌而来

I began to yearn for a less sterile,

我开始期待用一种趣味性的、

less academic way to address these issues,

活泼的方式去谈论这些

the issues that I was talking about.

我和你们讨论的话题

We'd begun to focus on New Hampshire

我们开始投入注意力到新罕布什尔州去

as a target for this political movement,

我们建立达到这个州政治进步的目标

because the primary in New Hampshire

因为这对于在新罕布什尔州的大选来说

is so incredibly important.

具有难以置信的重要意义

It was a group called the New Hampshire Rebellion

这个小组叫 新罕布什尔州反抗小组

that was beginning to talk about, how would we make

我们开始讨论如何在2016年

this issue of this corruption central in 2016?

针对这个腐败中心引发社会的争论

But it was another soul that caught my imagination,

但是有另外一个点子勾起了我的想象

a woman named Doris Haddock, aka Granny D.

一个叫做多丽丝哈多克，我们通常也叫她D奶奶

On January 1, 1999, 15 years ago,

在15年前的1999年1月1号，

at the age of 88, Granny D started a walk.

当她88岁的时候，她开始了一场徒步行走

She started in Los Angeles

她从洛杉矶出发

and began to walk to Washington, D.C.

计划走到华盛顿特区

with a single sign on her chest that said,

她胸牌上写着一个简单的口号

"campaign finance reform."

“竞选财务改革”

Eighteen months later,

18个月后

at the age of 90,

当她90岁的时候

she arrived in Washington with hundreds following her,

她和几百个追随她的人一起来到了华盛顿特区

including many congressmen who had gotten in a car

其中包括了许多开车前往的国会议员

and driven out about a mile outside of the city

他们甚至开出城区一公里

to walk in with her.

放下车和她一起结伴步行

(Laughter)

（笑）

Now, I don't have 13 months

对我来说，我没有13个月的时间

to walk across the country.

可以让我横穿整个国家

I've got three kids who hate to walk,

我有三个很讨厌步行的孩子

and a wife who, it turns out,

和一个事实证明仍然很讨厌

still hates when I'm not there

我因为神秘理由不在家的妻子

for mysterious reasons,

so this was not an option,

所以对我来说没有机会（去做这件事）

but the question I asked,

但是我有一个问题

could we remix Granny D a bit?

我们是否能够中和D奶奶的想法一些

What about a walk not of 3,200 miles

一场3200公里的徒步如何？

but of 185 miles across New Hampshire

或者是一场185公里的

in January?

在一月份横跨新罕布什尔州步行活动怎么样？

So on January 11,

追随这个想法，在1月11号

the anniversary of Aaron's death,

艾伦忌日的那天

we began a walk that ended on January 24th,

我们开始了这项活动

the day that Granny D was born.

直到 1月24号D奶奶生日那天

A total of 200 people joined us across this walk,

总共有200个人和我们一起经历了这项徒步行走

as we went from the very top to the very bottom of New Hampshire

我们翻越和行走在新罕布什尔州的山脉和河流

talking about this issue.

在此过程中我们讨论竞选财务腐败问题

And what was astonishing to me,

令我们惊讶的是

something I completely did not expect to find,

当我们讨论这些问题时，那些我从来没有预想到的

was the passion and anger

存在于我们每一个人身体中激情和愤怒

that there was among everyone that we talked to about this issue.

被激发出来了

We had found in a poll that 96 percent of Americans

有一项名义调查，96%的美国人

believe it important to reduce the influence

相信削减金钱在政治上的影响

of money in politics.

会对美国社会非常重要

Now politicians and pundits tell you,

而当今的政界人士和学者却告诉你

there's nothing we can do about this issue,

他们对于这个问题束手无策

Americans don't care about it,

因为美国人民并不关心这个，

but the reason for that is

但是，他们不关心这件事的原因是因为

that 91 percent of Americans

91%的美国人

think there's nothing that can be done about this issue.

认为对于这个问题是没有解决的方法的

And it's this gap between 96 and 91

这里有一个96%和91%之间存在的缺口

that explains our politics of resignation.

来解释了我们政治上顺从不反抗的原因

I mean, after all, at least 96 percent of us

我的意思是，毕竟至少我们当中96%的人们

wish we could fly like Superman,

希望我们能像超人一样飞翔

but because at least 91 percent of us believe we can't,

但是至少有91%的人却不相信我们可以飞翔

we don't leap off of tall buildings every time

我们并不能每次从高楼大厦之间跳跃飞翔

we have that urge.

我们有的仅仅是这个冲动

That's because we accept our limits,

这就是为什么我们接受了自己的局限的原因

and so too with this reform.

而这一改革也是如此

But when you give people the sense of hope,

但是当你给民众这种希望的感觉的时候

you begin to thaw that absolute sense of impossibility.

你已经开始消融了这种不可能性的感觉

As Harvey Milk said, if you give 'em hope,

正如哈维米克尔说的那样，如果你给予一个希望

you give 'em a chance, a way to think

给予一种机会，一种思考的方式

about how this change is possible.

关于改变的可能性

Hope.

那就是希望

And hope is the one thing that we, Aaron's friends,

而”希望“这样东西

failed him with, because we let him

我们作为艾伦的朋友却没能给予他的

lose that sense of hope.

因为我们让他失去了这种希望的感觉

I loved that boy like I love my son.

我如同爱自己的儿子一样爱着他

But we failed him.

但是最终我们却让他失望

And I love my country,

我热爱我的国家

and I'm not going to fail that.

但我不想让我的国家失望

I'm not going to fail that.

我不能让它失望

That sense of hope, we're going to hold,

我们向往能够拥有这种希望的感觉

and we're going to fight for,

我们希望因此去为那些

however impossible this battle looks.

尽管看起来不可能胜利的斗争而战斗

What's next?

接下来我们做了什么呢

Well, we started with this march with 200 people,

首先，我们开始了一场200个人的游行

and next year, there will be 1,000

第二年更多的人加入进来，他们在一月的时候

on different routes

行走在不同的线路上

that march in the month of January

而这个人数将有可能到达1000人

and meet in Concord to celebrate this cause,

他们最后将康科德相遇去庆祝这项活动

and then in 2016, before the primary,

紧接着2016年，大选之前

there will be 10,000 who march across that state,

将会有1万人横跨新罕布什尔州

meeting in Concord to celebrate this cause.

最终在康科德相遇去庆祝这项活动

And as we have marched, people around the country

当我们开始游行的时候，来自不同国家的人们

have begun to say, "Can we do the same thing

开始讨论，我们能不能够在我们自己的州

in our state?"

做同样的事情

So we've started a platform called G.D. Walkers,

所以我们开始了一个叫做G.D. Walkers的平台

that is, Granny D walkers,

这代表着 Granny D Walkers

and Granny D walkers across the country

G.D. 步行者们

will be marching for this reform. Number one.

将会为这个改革而游行

Number two, on this march,

第二，在今年三月

one of the founders of Thunderclap, David Cascino,

其中一个雷霆的创始人，戴维卡西诺

was with us,

跟我们一起参与步行

and he said, "Well what can we do?"

然后他说，我们能真正做些什么？

And so they developed a platform,

然后他们创立了一个平台

which we are announcing today,

目的是

that allows us to pull together voters

创造机会让我们把所有

who are committed to this idea of reform.

有志于这种想法的投票民众联合起来。

Regardless of where you are,

不管你在哪儿

in New Hampshire or outside of New Hampshire,

在不在新罕布什尔州

you can sign up and directly be informed

你可以注册并直接收到

where the candidates are on this issue

那些候选人关于竞选资本问题上的信息

so you can decide who to vote for

根据这个你可以选择你应该将票投向谁

as a function of which is going

这个平台将把最初可能性构想

to make this possibility real.

转化为真实可能的平台

And then finally number three, the hardest.

最后第三，也是最难的

We're in the age of the Super PAC.

我们正在经历超级资本的时代

Indeed yesterday, Merriam announced

事实上昨天，韦氏字典宣告

that Merriam-Webster will have Super PAC as a word.

韦氏字典将会将超级PAC收录到词典中

It is now an official word in the dictionary.

现在它成为一个官方认可的词汇了

So on May 1, aka May Day,

在5月1日，也就是国际劳动节

we're going to try an experiment.

我们将开始一项实验

We're going to try a launching

我们将尝试推出一项

of what we can think of as a Super PAC

可以帮助我们思考的计划

to end all Super PACs.

来帮助我们结束超级筹款机的垄断

And the basic way this works is this.

这也是这项工作最根本的地方

For the last year, we have been working

在过去的一年里，我们已经开始

with analysts and political experts

和分析家们、政治专家一起

to calculate, how much would it cost

计算政客为在大选重赢得足够选票

to win enough votes in the United States Congress

而可能滋生的资本腐败中金钱数额

to make fundamental reform possible?

What is that number? Half a billion? A billion?

那么这个数字是多少呢？500万？1000万？

What is that number?

这个数字到底是什么呢？

And then whatever that number is,

不管这个数字是多少

we are going to kickstart, sort of,

我们将启动众筹网

because you can't use KickStarter for political work,

因为你不可能使用众筹网去做政治工作

but anyway, kickstart, sort of,

但是不管如何，各种各样的众筹网

first a bottom-up campaign

是第一个自下而上的运动

where people will make small dollar commitments

人们可以花费很少的钱

contingent on reaching very ambitious goals,

去帮助达到一个非常有野心的目标

and when those goals have been reached,

当这些目标已经达成

we will turn to the large dollar contributors,

我们将会得到很大的经济收益

to get them to contribute to make it possible

去帮助他们实现可能

for us to run the kind of Super PAC necessary

对我们来说去经营超级PAC

to win this issue,

来赢得胜利非常必要

to change the way money influences politics,

去改变金钱影响政治的方式

so that on November 8,

因此在11月8日

which I discovered yesterday is the day

我昨天发现

that Aaron would have been 30 years old,

假如艾伦依然健在，选举日那一天将会是他30岁生日

on November 8,

在11月8号这天

we will celebrate 218 representatives

我们将会庆祝

承担这项改革使命的218为白宫代表和60位国会议员

in the House and 60 Senators

in the United States Senate

who have committed to this idea

of fundamental reform.

So last night, we heard about wishes.

昨晚，我们听到了许多美好的期望

Here's my wish.

这是我的期望

May one.

可能仅仅是一个

May the ideals of one boy

来自一个男孩

unite one nation behind one critical idea

对国家团结的思考带来的一个想法

that we are one people,

但我们是站在一起的人

we are the people who were promised a government,

我们有权获得一个政府

a government that was promised to be

一个聆听民众之需求和呼吁

dependent upon the people alone, the people,

的政府

who, as Madison told us,

正如麦迪森所说

meant not the rich more than the poor.

不是富人，也不仅仅是穷人

May one.

And then may you, may you join this movement,

希望你加入到这项改革中来

not because you're a politician,

不是因为你是一个政客

not because you're an expert,

不是因为你是一个专家

not because this is your field,

也不是因为这是你擅长的领域

but because if you are,

而是因为你是

you are a citizen.

一位美国公民

Aaron asked me that.

这是艾伦问我的

Now I've asked you.

就是现在我在问你的

Thank you very much.

非常感谢

(Applause)

（掌声）