Why do we blame individuals for economic crises? | Liene Ozolina

譯者: Xinyao Shi 審譯者: Amanda Zhu

It was a cold, sunny March day.

那是一個寒冷晴朗的三月天。

I was walking along the street in Riga.

我走在里加的街上。

I remember the winter was slowly coming to an end.

我還記得當時冬天已經接近尾聲。

There was still some snow around here and there,

到處都還有一點積雪

but the pavement was already clear and dry.

但人行道基本上是乾淨的。

If you've lived in Riga,

如果你在里加住過，

you will know that feeling of relief that the first signs of spring bring,

你會了解春天即將到來的跡象 所帶來的寬慰，

and you no longer have to trudge through that slushy mix

因為你不再需要在街上的

of snow and mud on the streets.

雪和泥中跋涉。

So there I am, enjoying my stroll,

當時我正在愜意地漫步，

as I suddenly notice a stencil on the pavement in front of me,

突然發現我前方人行道的路面上

a graffiti:

有模板塗鴉。

white letters painted on these dark grey bricks.

深灰色的地磚上畫著白色的字體。

It says,

它寫著：

"Where is your responsibility?"

「你的責任是什麼?」

The question stopped me in my tracks.

這個問題讓我停下腳步。

As I'm standing there considering its meaning,

當我正在思考它的寓意時，

I notice I'm standing outside the Riga Municipality Social Welfare Department.

我發現我正站在里加市 社會福利部外面。

So it appears that the author of this graffiti, whoever it is,

所以，這塗鴉的作者所提的問題，

is asking this question to people coming to apply for social assistance.

可能是在針對所有 前來尋求社會資助的人。

That winter,

那個冬天，

I had been doing research on the aftermath of the financial crisis in Latvia.

我正在研究拉脫維亞 金融危機的後續效應。

When the Global Financial Crisis erupted in 2008, Latvia got hit hard

作為一個開放的小型經濟體， 在 2008 年全球金融危機爆發時

as a small, open economy.

拉脫維亞受到了沉重打擊。

To balance the books,

為了讓收支平衡，

the Latvian government chose a strategy of internal devaluation.

拉脫維亞政府選擇內部貶值的策略。

Now, in essence, that meant drastically reducing public budget spending,

這意味著公共財政支出預算被大量消減、

so, slashing public sector workers' wages,

公務員被降薪、

shrinking civil service,

公務員被裁減、

cutting unemployment benefits and other social assistance,

失業補助和其他社會救助也減少，

raising taxes.

並且課稅加重。

My mother had been working as a history teacher her whole life.

我母親當了一輩子的歷史老師。

The austerity for her meant seeing her salary cut by 30 percent

經濟的緊縮導致她的薪水

突然被降了百分之三十。

all of a sudden.

And there were many in a situation like hers or worse.

而且很多人都和她身處一樣 或者更糟的境遇。

The costs of the crisis were put on the shoulders of ordinary Latvians.

這次危機的代價都是由里加民眾承擔。

因為這次危機和經濟緊縮，

As a result of the crisis and the austerity,

the Latvian economy shrank by 25 percent in a two-year period.

里加的經濟在兩年間萎縮了 25%。

Only Greece suffered an economic contraction

只有希臘遭受了

一樣慘烈的經濟萎縮。

of a comparable scale.

Yet, while Greeks were out in the streets for months

但不同的是，希臘人民 不斷在雅典進行抗議，

staging continuous, often violent protests in Athens,

甚至經常發生暴力事件，

all was quiet in Riga.

而里加卻無比安靜。

Prominent economists were fighting in the columns of "The New York Times"

著名的經濟學家都在 《紐約時報》的專欄中

about this curious extreme Latvian experiment

爭論里加採取的這種令人困惑又極端的

實驗性經濟緊縮制度，

of this austerity regime,

and they were watching on in disbelief

而對拉脫維亞人的容忍

how the Latvian society was putting up with it.

百思不解。

I was studying in London at the time,

我當時在倫敦讀書，

and I remember the Occupy movement there

而且我還記得當時的「佔領運動」

和它如何蔓延到各大城市： 從馬德里到紐約和倫敦——

and how it was spreading from city to city,

from Madrid to New York to London,

the 99 percent against the one percent.

那 99% 對 1% 的抗爭。

You know the story.

你知道的。

Yet when I arrived in Riga,

但當我抵達里加時，

there were no echoes of the Occupy here.

那裡並沒「佔領運動」的絲毫跡象。

Latvians were just putting up with it.

拉脫維亞人都逆來順受。

They "swallowed the toad," as the local saying goes.

用當地的說法形容， 他們「把蛤蟆給吞了」。

For my doctoral research,

為了我的博士研究，

I wanted to study how the state-citizen relationship was changing in Latvia

我想探討在後蘇聯時代，

拉脫維亞的政府與國民之間的關係 發生了什麼變化。

in the post-Soviet era,

and I had chosen the unemployment office

我選擇了失業中心

as my research site.

作為我的研究對象。

And as I arrived there in that autumn of 2011,

當我在 2011 年秋天抵達那裡時，

我發現我正在親眼目睹

I realized, "I am actually witnessing firsthand

how the effects of crises are playing out,

金融危機的後遺症，

and how those worst affected by it, people who have lost their jobs,

和那些受到最大的打擊而失去工作的人

are reacting to it."

對此的反應。

So I started interviewing people I met at the unemployment office.

所以我開始訪問 我在失業中心遇見的人。

They were all registered as job seekers and hoping for some help from the state.

政府有他們失業的記錄， 而他們希望得到政府的幫助，

Yet, as I was soon discovering, this help was of a particular kind.

但，我很快就發現 政府提供的幫助有特定的形式。

There was some cash benefit,

它提供了一些現金資助，

but mostly state assistance came in the form of various social programs,

但大部分都是以社會計畫的 形式提供援助。

and one of the biggest of these programs was called

其中最大規模的計畫是一個叫

"Competitiveness-Raising Activities."

「提高競爭力活動」

It was, in essence, a series of seminars

實際上，這是一系列鼓勵所有失業者

that all of the unemployed were encouraged to attend.

參加的研討會。

So I started attending these seminars with them.

我開始隨他們一起參加這些講座

And a number of paradoxes struck me.

而我意識到好多矛盾的地方。

So, imagine:

想像一下，

the crisis is still ongoing,

金融危機還在發生，

the Latvian economy is contracting,

拉脫維亞的經濟還在萎縮，

hardly anyone is hiring,

沒有人在招聘，

and there we are,

而我們一群十五個人

in this small, brightly lit classroom,

卻在這個狹小、明亮的課教室裡

a group of 15 people,

working on lists of our personal strengths and weaknesses, our inner demons,

列出自己的優勢和缺點、我們的心魔，

而我們被告知

that we are told are preventing us from being more successful

這些是我們在勞動市場上 無法成功的因素。

in the labor market.

As the largest local bank is being bailed out

當地最大的銀行正在接受政府的救助，

and the costs of this bailout are shifted onto the shoulders of the population,

而這些救助的成本 都轉嫁由老百姓承擔，

we are sitting in a circle and learning how to breathe deeply

此時我們卻圍成一個圈圈坐著，

學習如何在感到壓力時深呼吸。

when feeling stressed.

(Breathes deeply)

(深呼吸)

As home mortgages are being foreclosed

當住家房屋的抵押贖回權被撤銷

and thousands of people are emigrating,

和數千人都在移民時，

we are told to dream big and to follow our dreams.

我們被告知要有夢想、要追求夢想。

As a sociologist,

身為社會學家，

I know that social policies are an important form of communication

我知道社會政策是政府和人民之間

between the state and the citizen.

一種重要的溝通方式。

The message of this program was,

而這種政策想要表達的，

to put it in the words of one of the trainers,

用一位教練的話來說，

"Just do it."

是「只管去做」；

She was, of course, citing Nike.

她當然是在引用 Nike 的品牌標語。

So symbolically, the state was sending a message to people out of work

所以政府是在象徵性地 向失業民眾傳達，

that you need to be more active, you need to work harder,

你們需要更積極、更努力，

you need to work on yourself, you need to overcome your inner demons,

你們需要提升自己， 你們需要克服心魔，

you need to be more confident --

你們需要更有自信，

好像失業都要歸咎於自己的失敗。

that somehow, being out of work was their own personal failure.

政府將這場危機為人民帶來的苦難

The suffering of the crisis

was treated as this individual experience of stress

當作個人的情緒壓力來處理，

to be managed in one's own body

以為透過正念的深呼吸練習 來調整自身的狀況

through deep and mindful breathing.

就能克服。

這些強調個人責任的社會計畫

These types of social programs that emphasize individual responsibility

在世界各地越來越普遍。

have become increasingly common across the world.

They are part of the rise of what sociologist Loïc Wacquant calls

他們成為社會學家華康德所謂的

the "neoliberal Centaur state."

「新自由主義半人馬國家」。

Now, the centaur, as you might recall,

半人馬是古希臘神話中

is this mythical creature in ancient Greek culture,

一種半人半獸的動物。

half human, half beast.

It has this upper part of a human and the lower part of a horse.

他的上半身是人，下半身是馬。

So the Centaur state is a state

所以一個半人馬社會是那種

that turns its human face to those at the top of the social ladder

對於社會高層的人們露出人臉，

while those at the bottom are being trampled over,

而對那些在社會基層的人踐踏、

stampeded.

踩壓。

So top income earners and large businesses

所以，當高收入人士及大企業

can enjoy tax cuts and other supportive policies,

享用減稅和其他友善的政策時，

while the unemployed, the poor

那些失業、 貧困的人

are made to prove themselves worthy for the state's help,

則需要證明自己值得接受國家的幫助，

are morally disciplined,

並受到道德上的追究，

are stigmatized as irresponsible or passive or lazy

還要被扣上不負責任、 不積極和懶惰的罵名

or often criminalized.

甚至被當作罪犯。

在拉脫維亞，自九十年代以來，

In Latvia, we've had such a Centaur state model

firmly in place since the '90s.

我們的社會一直都是「半人馬」。

Take, for example, the flat income tax that we had in place up until this year

比如說，我們均一所得稅的受益者

that has been benefiting the highest earners,

至今一直都是高薪人士，

while one quarter of the population keeps living in poverty.

而有四分之一的人口卻無法逃脫貧困。

And the crisis and the austerity has made these kinds of social inequalities worse.

而這場危機和經濟緊縮 使這種社會不平等的情況惡化。

當銀行的資本和富人被保護著，

So while the capital of the banks and the wealthy has been protected,

those who lost the most

那些失去最多的人

were taught lessons in individual responsibility.

卻要為自己的生存負責。

Now, as I was talking to people who I met at these seminars,

當我與在講座上認識的人交流時，

I was expecting them to be angry.

我本來以他們會生氣。

I was expecting them

我以為他們會反抗 這些為自己負責的課程內容。

to be resisting these lessons in individual responsibility.

After all, the crisis was not their fault, yet they were bearing the brunt of it.

畢竟這場危機並不是他們的錯， 但他們卻首當其衝。

But as people were sharing their stories with me,

這些人在分享他們的經歷時，

I was struck again and again

我一次又一次地

by the power of the idea of responsibility.

被責任這個概念的力量所震撼。

One of the people I met was Žanete.

在他們之中，我遇見了桑內妲。

She had been working for 23 years

她在里加的職業學校裡

teaching sewing and other crafts at the vocational school in Riga.

教了 23 年的縫紉。

And now the crisis hits,

在這場危機中

and the school is closed as part of the austerity measures.

學校因為經濟緊縮的措施而關閉了。

The educational system restructuring was part of a way of saving public money.

教育系統的重整 是為了節省公共經費的開支。

And 10,000 teachers across the country lose their jobs,

全國大概有一萬名老師失業，

and Žanete is one of them.

桑內妲就是其中一位。

And I know from what she's been telling me

從她的分享中，

我了解到失去工作 使她的處境十分艱難。

that losing her job has put her in a desperate situation;

she's divorced, she has two teenage children that she's the sole provider for.

她離婚了，需要獨立撫養兩個青少年。

And yet, as we are talking,

但是，在我們的交談中，

she says to me that the crisis is really an opportunity.

她跟我說這次的危機其實是機會。

She says, "I turn 50 this year.

她說:「我今年50歲了。

我覺得生活真的給了我一個機會 去好好觀察、停下腳步，

I guess life has really given me this chance to look around, to stop,

because all these years I've been working nonstop,

因為這些年我不斷地工作，

had no time to pause.

沒有時間停下來。

And now I have stopped,

而現在我停止工作，

and I've been given an opportunity to look at everything and to decide

讓我有機會觀察這一切，

what it is that I want

想想自己要什麼、

and what it is that I don't want.

不要什麼。

All this time, sewing, sewing, some kind of exhaustion."

這些年，我不停地縫紉，是有點累」

So Žanete is made redundant after 23 years.

所以桑內妲在工作 23 年後被裁員。

But she's not thinking about protesting.

但她並沒有想要抗議。

She's not talking about the 99 percent against the one percent.

她並沒有「99% 對抗 1%」的想法。

She is analyzing herself.

她在審視自己，

And she was thinking pragmatically of starting a small business

而且從現實的角度考慮

在自己的房間裡做個小生意，

out of her bedroom

making these little souvenir dolls to sell to tourists.

做一些娃娃當作紀念品賣給遊客。

I also met Aivars at the unemployment office.

我也在失業中心遇見了艾瓦斯

Aivars was in his late 40s,

艾瓦斯年近五十

he had lost a job at the government agency overseeing road construction.

他失去了在政府部門 監督道路工程的工作。

To one of our meetings, Aivars brings a book he's been reading.

在一次會面中， 他帶了一 本自己正在讀的書。

It's called "Vaccination against Stress, or Psycho-energetic Aikido."

書名是

《抗壓的預防針：精神能量合氣道》

Now, some of you might know that aikido is a form of martial art,

你們有些人可能知道 合氣道是一種武術，

所以，你們大概猜得到 精神能量合氣道是什麼。

so, psycho-energetic aikido.

And Aivars tells me that after several months

而且艾瓦斯也告訴我，

在這幾個月的閱讀、思考 和反省之後，

of reading and thinking and reflecting while being out of work,

he has understood that his current difficulties are really his own doing.

他明白這次遭受的困境是他咎由自取。

He says to me,

他說:

"I created it myself.

「是我自作自受。

I was in a psychological state that was not good for me.

我處於對自己不利的精神狀態。

If a person is afraid to lose their money, to lose their job,

如果一個人擔心失去錢財和工作，

they start getting more stressed, more unsettled, more fearful.

他會開始越來越感到 壓力、焦慮和害怕。

That's what they get."

這是他自找的。」

As I ask him to explain,

當我請他進一步解釋時，

he compares his thoughts poetically to wild horses running in all directions,

他將自己的思考很有詩意地形容為 四散的野馬漫無目的地奔馳

and he says, "You need to be a shepherd of your thoughts.

他說：「你需要成為 自己思想的牧羊人。

To get things in order in the material world,

為了在物質世界中創造秩序，

你需要成為自己思想的牧羊人，

you need to be a shepherd of your thoughts,

因為只有控制自己的思想， 才能使其他事情都有條有理。

because it's through your thoughts that everything else gets orderly."

他說：「最近，我清楚地領悟了

"Lately," he says, "I have clearly understood

that the world around me, what happens to me,

我周遭的世界、 所有在我身上發生的事、

people that enter in my life ... it all depends directly on myself."

所有闖進我生活裡人， 都直接取決於自己。

So as Latvia is going through this extreme economic experiment,

所以當拉脫維亞正在經歷 這場極端經濟實驗時，

Aivars says it's his way of thinking that has to change.

艾瓦斯說是他自己的 思維方式需要改變。

He's blaming himself for what he's going through at the moment.

他覺得當時經歷的一切都是自己的錯。

So taking responsibility is, of course, a good thing, right?

所以承擔責任是一件好事，不是嗎？

It is especially meaningful

這在後蘇聯社會顯得意義特別深長，

and morally charged in a post-Soviet society,

並帶有濃重的道德觀，

where reliance on the state is seen as this unfortunate heritage

被視為蘇聯時期遺留的不良傳統。

of the Soviet past.

But when I listen to Žanete and Aivars and to others,

而當我聆聽桑內妲，艾瓦斯 和其他人的想法時

I also thought how cruel this question is --

我也在想

「你的責任感在哪？」這個問題

"Where is your responsibility?" --

多麼像是一種殘忍的懲罰。

how punishing.

Because, it was working as a way of blaming and pacifying people

因為這是政府逃避責任的手段:

怪罪那些在這場危機中 經歷最多困難的人，

who were hit worst by the crisis.

使他們默然承受。

So while Greeks were out in the streets, Latvians swallowed the toad,

所以希臘人都在街上遊行時， 拉脫維亞人則將蛤蟆給吞了。

and many tens of thousands emigrated,

好幾萬人選擇了移民，

which is another way of taking responsibility.

這是他們承擔責任的另一種方法。

So the language, the language of individual responsibility,

所以這個說法， 這個關於個人責任的說法，

has become a form of collective denial.

成了一種對社會問題的集體否定；

As long as we have social policies that treat unemployment

只要我們有社會政策讓人民把失業

as individual failure

當作個人的失敗

but we don't have enough funding for programs that give people real skills

卻缺乏資金來為人民施行

發展技能和創造就業機會的政策，

or create workplaces,

we are blind of the policymakers' responsibility.

政府的責任就因而被忽略了。

只要我們一直都對窮人有偏見， 認為他們不積極和懶惰，

As long as we stigmatize the poor as somehow passive or lazy

but don't give people real means to get out of poverty

而除了移民之外，

不提供脫離貧困的方法，

other than emigrating,

我們就是在逃避貧困的真正因素。

we are in denial of the true causes of poverty.

And in the meantime,

而在此期間，

we all suffer,

所有人都在受苦，

because social scientists have shown with detailed statistical data

因為社會科學家 已經用詳細的數據證實了

that there are more people with both mental and physical health problems

在經濟極其不平等的社會裡，

更多人會有心理上 和身體上的健康問題。

in societies with higher levels of economic inequality.

所以，社會不平等不只是對 那些擁有極少資源的人們不利

So social inequality is apparently bad for not only those with least resources

but for all of us,

而是對我們所有人不利。

because living in a society with high inequality

因為生活在一個極度不平等的社會裡

means living in a society with low social trust and high anxiety.

意味著生活在一個缺乏信任 和極為焦慮的社會裡。

So there we are.

我們的處境就是如此。

我們都在閱讀自助書籍，

We're all reading self-help books,

都在嘗試改變自己的習慣，

we try to hack our habits,

we try to rewire our brains,

改變自己的大腦，

we meditate.

我們冥想。

And it helps, of course, in a way.

這些當然都會在某種程度上有所幫助。

Self-help books help us feel more upbeat.

自助書籍能讓我們更有動力，

Meditation can help us feel more connected to others spiritually.

冥想能讓我們和他人在性靈上更靠近，

What I think we need

但我覺得，

我們需要意識到我們 與他人之間的社會關係，

is as much awareness of what connects us to one another socially,

because social inequality hurts us all.

因為社會不平等對我們都不利。

So we need more compassionate social policies

因此我們需要更多具有同情心的政策，

that are aimed less at moral education

不再過於注重道德教育，

and more at promotion of social justice and equality.

而是要推廣社會正義和平等的政策。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）