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资本主义与社会主义：哪个更好❓

Capitalism vs. Socialism: Which Works Better?

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关于“资本主义&社会主义”：

资本主义（英语：capitalism）是一种生产方式为私有制、其寻求利润之行为构成的经济体系。资本主义的核心特征包括资本积累、竞争市场、价格体系、私有财产、财产权、自由交易和雇佣劳动。尽管被称为市场经济的事物在历史上的不同时期存在着，但是诱发工业革命的资本主义的出现则较为晚近，有着不同程度政府干预的资本主义在西方世界处于支配性地位并在全世界扩张，经济增长乃资本主义一大特征。绝大多数的政治经济学家都将私人产权视为资本主义的最重要特色，而对于资本主义下的雇佣关系、经济权力、阶级、以及历史发展等则有不同看法。市场的自由程度、私人财产的法规，则是政治、政策上争论的主要议题。

社会主义（英语：socialism）是一种政治、社会、经济哲学，包括各种以社会共有生产资料为特点的经济与社会体系。其中，社会共有生产资料可以透过国家拥有、集体拥有、工人自治、劳工合作甚至公民持股达成。虽然社会主义种类千千万万，没有一种定义可以概括，但是每一种都认为应该由社会控制生产资料。

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There are two ways in which we can organize ourselves in a society: Capitalism and Socialism.

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我们可以通过两种方式来组织我们的社会：资本主义和社会主义。

cap·it·al·ism /ˈkæpɪtəlɪzəm/ an economic system in which a country's businesses and industry are controlled and run for profit by private owners rather than by the government 资本主义

so·cial·ism /ˈsoʊʃəlɪz(ə)m/ a set of political and economic theories based on the belief that everyone has an equal right to a share of a country's wealth and that the government should own and control the main industries 社会主义

Capitalism is a system in which people own stuff and run things. You decide which goods to make, who to work with, what services to offer, and how much to charge.

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资本主义是一种由个人拥有资源和运营事务的制度。在资本主义体系中，你决定生产什么商品、与谁合作、提供什么服务，以及如何定价。

own /oʊn/ v. to have sth that belongs to you, especially because you have bought it 拥有，有（尤指买来的东西）

拓展例句：

Do you own your house or do you rent it? 你的房子是自己的，还是租的？

run /rʌn/ v. to be in charge of a business, etc. 管理；经营

拓展例句：

He has no idea how to run a business. 他丝毫不懂企业管理。

goods /ɡʊdz/ things that are produced to be sold 商品；货品

To do this effectively, we form groups, call them companies, and compete with each other.

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为了有效地做这些事情，我们形成了团队，称为公司，进行竞争。

form /fɔːrm/ to start a group of people, such as an organization, a committee, etc.; to come together in a group of this kind 组织；建立

拓展例句：

They hope to form the new government. 他们希望组建新政府。

compete with each other 互相竞争

Capitalists believe that these groups create lots of wealth for their founders, their partners, their employees, and society as a whole.

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资本主义者认为，这些团队为创始人、合伙人、员工和整个社会创造了大量财富。

as a whole 总的来说

拓展例句：

His abilities are not reflective of the team as a whole. 他的能力并不代表整个队的水平。

Socialism relies on government officials to get things done. There are different ideas about how to create such a system, but most socialists agree that the state should own some property, regulate what we can or can't do, and offer social services.

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社会主义则依赖政府官员来推动社会进程。虽然不同的社会主义者有不同的观点，但大多数社会主义者认为国家应该拥有一些财产，规范我们可以或不能做的事情，并提供社会服务。

government official 政府官员

prop·erty /ˈprɑːpərti/ a thing or things that are owned by sb; a possession or possessions 所有物；财产；财物

regu·late /ˈreɡjuleɪt/ to control sth by means of rules（用规则条例）约束，控制，管理

social service 社会服务：一种旨在促进社会福祉的活动，具体包括组织的慈善援助（如咨询、职业培训或经济支持）

Socialists believe that political leaders can establish rules to share a nation's wealth fairly which then makes all people better off.

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社会主义者相信，政治领导人可以制定规则来公平地分配国家财富，从而使所有人都受益。

political leader 政治领导人

establish rules 制定规则：建立一套规则或制度，以指导行为或管理某个组织或团体。

fair·ly /ˈferli/ in a fair and reasonable way; honestly 公平合理地；公正地

better off 处于更好的境地，比过去更有钱，或比大多数人更有钱

So both, the socialist and the capitalist, want to maximize well being for all of us, but have inherently different ideas of how to do that, and are afraid of each other.

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因此，资本主义者和社会主义者都希望最大化大家的福祉，但他们有着根本不同的理念，并且彼此担心。

maxi·mize /ˈmæksɪmaɪz/ to make the best use of sth 充分利用；最大限度地利用

well being 健康幸福：指身体健康、心理愉悦或经济繁荣的状态；福祉。

in·her·ent·ly /ɪnˈherəntli/ adv. 内在地，固有地

be afraid of each other 害怕彼此

To maximize wellbeing, capitalists support the freedom of the individual. They want a world where Simple Joe can sell his own apples, in front of his house, at the price he chooses, hire anyone interested to help for the money he is willing to pay, and keep most of his profits.

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为了最大化福祉，资本主义者支持个人自由。他们希望创造一个世界，在这个世界里，Simple Joe可以在他家门口卖自己的苹果，按照自己选择的价格出售，雇佣任何愿意帮助的人，支付他们他愿意支付的工资，并保留大部分利润。

freedom of the individual 个人的自由

In an anarcho-capitalist utopia, there would not even be a state, all schools would be private, and police, courts and military would only exist if they could be formed on a voluntary basis.

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在一个无政府资本主义的乌托邦中，甚至不会有国家存在，所有学校都将是私立的，警察、法院和军队只有在自愿的基础上成立。

anarcho- 来自“anarchic /əˈnɑːrkɪk/ adj. 无政府的；无政府主义的”

anarcho-capitalist 无政府资本主义者：主张将政府的职能最小化，以实现个人自由和财产权的最大化的人。无政府资本主义者认为，市场竞争和自愿交换是解决社会问题的最佳途径。

uto·pia /juːˈtoʊpiə/ an imaginary place or state in which everything is perfect 乌托邦；空想的完美境界

on a voluntary basis 自愿地，志愿地，在自愿的基础上

The capitalist fears the socialist, because they have reason to believe that once we transfer money, property and power to the collective, it will be those who control us who will first help themselves, then limit individual freedoms and make us dependent on welfare programs, and finally impoverish society.

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资本主义者害怕社会主义者，因为他们有理由相信，一旦我们将金钱、财产和权力转交给集体，那么首先得到帮助的将是那些控制我们的人，他们会先帮助自己，然后限制个人自由，让我们依赖福利项目，最终让社会变得贫困。

have reason to believe that...有理由相信...

col·lect·ive /kəˈlektɪv/ a group of people who own a business or a farm and run it together; the business that they run 企业集团；合作农场；集体企业

limit individual freedom 限制个人自由

welfare program 福利计划，福利项目

im·pov·er·ish /ɪmˈpɑːvərɪʃ/ to make sb poor 使贫穷

Socialists want to maximize well being by regulating our behavior.

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社会主义者希望通过规范我们的行为来最大化福祉。

They prefer a world in which Simple Joe only sells apples of a certain type, does so only in designated areas, pays his helpers a minimum wage, charges affordable prices, and shares most of his profits with those who have less.

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他们更喜欢一个世界，在这个世界里，Simple Joe 只能卖某种类型的苹果，只能在指定区域售卖，支付助手最低工资，收取合理的价格，并将大部分利润与贫困者分享。

designated area 指定区域：被指定用于特定目的的区域，通常有明确的标识和规定的使用方式。

wage /weɪdʒ/ a regular amount of money that you earn, usually every week, for work or services（通常指按周领的）工资，工钱

minimum wage 最低工资

affordable price 实惠的价格：指价格合理、经济实惠的价格。

In a socialist utopia, all of us would get to have equal access to education, enjoy the same standard of living, and benefit from plenty of state-funded services, including an unconditional basic income.

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在社会主义的乌托邦中，我们每个人都能平等地接受教育，享有相同的生活水平，受益于大量国家资助的服务，包括无条件的基本收入。

have equal access to... 获得…的平等机会

standard of living the amount of money and level of comfort that a particular person or group has 生活水平

plenty of 很多的，大量的

state-funded 国有的，国家资助的，国立的

un·con·di·tion·al /ˌʌnkənˈdɪʃən(ə)l/ without any conditions or limits 无条件的；无限制的；绝对的

basic income 基本收入：一种政府向所有公民或居民提供的无条件的、定期的现金支付，旨在确保每个人都能满足基本生活需求。

The socialist fears the capitalist, because they have reason to believe that if people are allowed to keep all their money, property and liberties, they would act immoral, pollute the environment, or abuse their power and eventually make living conditions worse for everyone—except the very rich.

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社会主义者害怕资本主义者，因为他们有理由认为，如果人们被允许保留所有的金钱、财产和自由，他们将会做出不道德的行为，污染环境或滥用权力，最终使每个人的生活条件变得更差——除了极少数富人。

im·moral /ɪˈmɔːrəl/ ( of people and their behaviour人及行为 ) not considered to be good or honest by most people 不道德的；邪恶的

pollute the environment 污染环境：指通过排放有害物质、破坏自然生态系统等行为对环境造成损害和污染。

abuse the power 滥用职权

living condition 生活条件；居住环境

What most people don't know is that both socialists and capitalists fear big business.

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大多数人不知道的是，资本主义者和社会主义者都害怕大企业。

Capitalists fear big companies because they use their power to influence the government to create laws that restrict the success of smaller businesses. Capitalists are hence not pro-business, they are pro-market.

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资本家害怕大公司，因为他们利用自己的权力影响政府，制定限制小企业成功的法律。因此，资本家不支持商业，他们支持市场。

re·strict /rɪˈstrɪkt/ to stop sb/sth from moving or acting freely 束缚；妨碍；阻碍

hence /hens/ ( formal )for this reason 因此；由此

pro- ( in adjectives构成形容词) in favour of; supporting 拥护；支持；亲

Socialists fear large corporations, because they use their power to establish regulations that benefit themselves but make everyone else worse off. Socialists are not pro-business, they are pro-state.

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社会主义者则害怕大公司，因为这些公司利用它们的权力制定有利于自己的法规，但让其他人处于更糟糕的境地。社会主义者并不支持企业，而是支持国家。

worse off 愈加贫穷的；每况愈下的

Now to understand which of the two is better, we can study people who live along a spectrum of the two extremes by looking at wealth, the key promise of capitalists, equality, the main promise of socialists, and levels of happiness.

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那么，怎样才能了解哪种制度更好呢？我们可以通过研究那些生活在两种极端之间的国家，观察财富——资本主义的关键承诺，平等——社会主义的主要承诺，以及幸福感的差异来分析。

live along a spectrum of 生活在……的范围内

spec·trum /ˈspektrəm/ a complete or wide range of related qualities, ideas, etc. 范围；各层次；系列；幅度

词汇拓展：

a broad spectrum of interests 广泛的兴趣范围

key promise 关键承诺 main promise 主要的承诺

level of happiness 幸福感水平：一个人在某个时间点或某个时期内所感受到的幸福程度。

Let’s first examine economic freedom around the world.

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首先，让我们看看世界各国的经济自由度。

economic freedom 经济自由：指个人和企业在生产、分配和消费财富时所享有的自由，包括财产权、自由贸易、自由竞争等方面。

around the world 全世界

Capitalist countries have higher levels of economic freedom. When countries offer less freedom, it's often due to socialism. But may also be thanks to religious fanaticism, civil war, or other factors.

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资本主义国家通常具有更高的经济自由度。当一个国家自由度较低时，通常是因为社会主义因素，但也可能与宗教狂热、内战或其他因素有关。

thanks to 由于；因为

religious fanaticism /rɪˈlɪdʒəs fəˈnætɪsɪzəm/ 宗教狂热

civil war 内战

If we look at 15 specific states, we see that Singapore ranks top in economic freedom, Switzerland 2nd, the US ranks 25th, and North Korea is last.

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如果我们观察15个特定国家，我们会看到，新加坡在经济自由度上排名第一，瑞士第二，美国排第25，朝鲜位居倒数第一。

If we plot the data from 177 countries along the spectrum ranging from low to high levels of freedom, we see that we can divide them into three types: highly free, more mixed, and not so free societies, and can then make the following observations: There is no pure capitalist country.

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如果我们将177个国家的数据绘制成图表，从低到高的自由度进行排序，我们会发现可以将这些国家分为三类：高度自由、较为混合、不太自由的社会。根据这些观察，我们可以得出以下结论：没有哪个国家是纯粹的资本主义国家。

plot the data 绘制数据：将数据以图形的方式表示出来，以便更直观地观察数据的分布、趋势等特点。

ob·ser·va·tion /ˌɑːbzərˈveɪʃ(ə)n/ ~ (about/on sth) a comment, especially based on sth you have seen, heard or read（尤指据所见、所闻、所读而作的）评论

The Swiss restrict some forms of voluntary exchange, offer some public services, and collect taxes to pay for all of that.

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瑞士在某些方面限制了自愿交换，提供了一些公共服务，并征收税收来支付这些服务。

And 5% of all people in Singapore, the most capitalist place of all, work for the government, the state builds public housing, and if you take the liberty to chew gum, you might get fined.

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新加坡是最资本主义的地方，但5%的人在政府工作，国家建设了公共住房，如果你在公共场所嚼口香糖，你可能会被罚款。

take the liberty 擅自行动：指在没有得到允许或许可的情况下采取行动。

chew gum 嚼口香糖

get fined 被罚款：因违反规定或法律而被处以罚款。

Mixed market economies are normal.

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混合市场经济是常见现象。

mixed market economy 混合市场经济

In the United States, businesses are privately owned, which is clearly capitalist.

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在美国，企业是私有的，显然是资本主义。

However, the government controls education and health care, and hands out subsidies to specific groups, such as chip makers, bankers, and farmers. And around 15% of all americans work in the public sector.

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但政府控制教育和医疗，向特定群体提供补贴，例如半导体制造商、银行家和农民。约15%的美国人也在公共部门工作。

hand out 分发：将物品分发给人们。

sub·sidy /ˈsʌbsədi/ money that is paid by a government or an organization to reduce the costs of services or of producing goods so that their prices can be kept low 补贴；补助金；津贴

hand out subsidy 发放补贴

chip /tʃɪp/ = microchip 芯片

public sector ( economics 经) the part of the economy of a country that is owned or controlled by the government 公营部门；公共部门

In Russia, 1 out of 4 people serve the state, the rest are working in private firms. Many of which however are highly regulated.

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在俄罗斯，四分之一的人在政府工作，剩余的人在私营企业中工作，尽管这些私营企业也受到政府的严格监管。

Highly socialist states are rare.

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高度社会主义的国家也比较少。

In Venezuela, which is one, state officials control what people can and cannot charge for their products, which tends to lead to notoriously long queues.

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在委内瑞拉，国家官员控制人们能否及如何定价商品，导致了著名的排队现象。

tend to 倾向于：指某人或某事有偏向或倾向于做某事或具有某种特征。

lead to 导致：指导致某种结果或情况发生。

no·tori·ous·ly /noʊˈtɔːriəsli/ adv. 众所周知地，声名狼藉地

long queue 指人或车辆排成的长长的队列，通常是等待某种服务或进入某个地方的人群。

In North Korea, a socialist dictatorship, private property is illegal and 9 out of 10 citizens work for the state.

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朝鲜是一个社会主义独裁国家，私人财产是非法的，90%的人为国家工作。

dic·ta·tor·ship /ˌdɪkˈteɪtərʃɪp/ government by a dictator 独裁；专政

So how do people in these countries compare when we look at wealth, happiness, and equality?

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那么，在这些国家之间，财富、幸福和公平的情况如何呢？

If we look at GDP per capita, as a measure of wealth, we see that again Singapore ranks top, Switzerland 7th, the US 14th, and North Korea is again last. Note that GDP figures usually include public services, such as free schooling and public healthcare.

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如果我们看一下人均GDP，作为衡量财富的标准，我们发现新加坡排名第一，瑞士第七，美国第14，朝鲜仍然排在倒数第一。需要注意的是，GDP数据通常包括公共服务，如免费教育和公共卫生。

GDP per capita 人均国内生产总值

as a measure of wealth 作为衡量财富的标准

A comparison of GDP with economic freedom shows that countries with higher freedom are also richer, with some reaching a gross domestic product of close to $200,000 per person.

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如果我们将GDP与经济自由度进行比较，会发现自由度较高的国家通常也更富裕，一些国家的人均GDP接近200,000美元。

gross domestic product = GDP 国民生产总值

Looking at this distribution, it's important to note that wealth and freedom correlate with better education and longer life expectancy.

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通过这个分布，我们可以注意到，财富和自由度通常与更好的教育和更长的预期寿命相关。

correlate with 相互关联影响；相互依赖

longer life expectancy 更长的预期寿命：指人们在特定时期内预计能够活着的时间更长。

They might however not cause it. Natural resources, conflicts, a history of colonialism, and the prevalence of natural disasters can reduce wealth and restrict certain freedoms, independent of people's political ideology.

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然而，它们可能不是造成这种情况的原因。自然资源、冲突、殖民主义的历史和自然灾害的普遍存在可以减少财富和限制某些自由，独立于人们的政治意识形态。

co·lo·ni·al·ism /kəˈloʊniəlɪzəm/ the practice by which a powerful country controls another country or other countries 殖民主义

prevalence /ˈprevələns/ n. 流行，盛行

political ideology 政治意识形态

Happiness around the world looks a lot like the previous maps, with the difference that quite a few rather poor countries also show a decent level of self-reported well being.

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世界各地的幸福指数与之前的地图很相似，不同之处在于，相当多的贫穷国家也表现出了不错的自我幸福感水平。

de·cent /ˈdiːsnt/ of a good enough standard or quality 像样的；相当不错的；尚好的

self-reported 自述的

Switzerland, which is economically free and rich, ranks 4th. Singapore, which is even richer, only 27th. And people in Brazil, which is relatively poor, are surprisingly happy.

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经济自由、富裕的瑞士排名第四。新加坡更富有，仅排在第27位。而在相对贫穷的巴西，人们却出奇地幸福。

rela·tive·ly /ˈrelətɪvli/ to a fairly large degree, especially in comparison to sth else 相当程度上；相当地；相对地

sur·pris·ing·ly /sərˈpraɪzɪŋli/ adv. 惊人地，出人意料地

Lithuania is the country where young people say they are the happiest. The most miserable place for those below age 30 seems to be Afghanistan, which is extremely restrictive.

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立陶宛是年轻人认为自己最幸福的国家。对30岁以下的人来说，最悲惨的地方似乎是阿富汗，那里的限制极其严格。

mis·er·able /ˈmɪzrəb(ə)l/ very unhappy or uncomfortable 痛苦的；非常难受的；可怜的

re·strict·ive /rɪˈstrɪktɪv/ preventing people from doing what they want 限制性的；约束的

If we look at HAPPINESS vs ECONOMIC FREEDOM we can see that countries with higher freedom tend to have higher levels of happiness, while those with lower freedom generally report lower levels. Although people in Venezuela seem relatively content.

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如果我们看一下幸福与经济自由的对比，我们可以看到，自由度较高的国家往往有更高的幸福水平，而自由度较低的国家通常报告的幸福水平较低——尽管委内瑞拉的人民似乎相对满意。

con·tent /kənˈtent/ ~ (with sth) happy and satisfied with what you have 满意；满足

Comparing economic freedom, GDP, and happiness, it looks as if freedom correlates with wealth but neither necessarily coincides with wellbeing.

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比较经济自由、GDP和幸福，自由似乎与财富相关，但两者都不一定与幸福一致。

coincide with 与某事物相符合、相一致，或者与某事物同时发生。

Lastly, let's look at inequality around the world with data from the Gini index, which measures how much wealth belongs to the richest people in a country.

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最后，让我们用基尼指数的数据来看看世界各地的不平等。基尼指数衡量的是一个国家最富有的人拥有多少财富。

Gini index 基尼系数：是用来衡量一个国家或地区收入分配不平等程度的指标，由意大利统计学家科拉多·基尼（Corrado Gini）于1912年提出。

Doing so we see that the picture looks mixed.

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这样做，我们看到的情况看起来很复杂。

Rich, capitalist countries, like Singapore and the United States, seem quite unequal. But so do socialist societies, like Venezuela and China.

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富裕的资本主义国家，如新加坡和美国，似乎相当不平等。但像委内瑞拉和中国这样的社会主义社会也是如此。

The country where wealth is distributed most equally is Slovakia, which is moderately free.

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财富分配最平均的国家是斯洛伐克，它是中等自由的国家。

mod·er·ate·ly /ˈmɑːdərətli/ to an average extent; fairly but not very 一般地；勉强地

The most unequal society is South Africa, a place that is rather unfree, but also has a history of racial segregation.

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最不平等的社会是南非——一个相当不自由的地方，但也有种族隔离的历史。

ra·cial /ˈreɪʃ(ə)l/ happening or existing between people of different races 种族的；种族间的

seg·re·ga·tion /ˌseɡrɪˈɡeɪʃ(ə)n/ the act or policy of separating people of different races, religions or sexes and treating them in a different way（对不同种族、宗教或性别的人所采取的）隔离并区别对待，隔离政策

racial segregation 种族隔离：在日常生活中，将人们系统地分隔成种族或其他民族群体。

And if we plot both inequality and economic freedom on the same chart, we can't see a clear trend.

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如果我们把不平等和经济自由画在同一张图表上，我们看不到一个明显的趋势。

It seems as if neither socialism nor capitalism is very good at creating equality.

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社会主义和资本主义似乎都不擅长创造平等。

But now you tell us which system you prefer and where you are from. And if you can't make up your mind, consider looking at more data, like, the Human Development Index, the PISA ranking on education, or the World Migration Report, to learn where people actually want to live.

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但现在你告诉我们你更喜欢哪种制度，以及你来自哪里。如果你拿不定主意，可以考虑看更多的数据，比如人类发展指数、国际学生评估项目（PISA）的教育排名，或者世界移民报告——来了解人们真正想住在哪里。

human development index 人类发展指数：衡量一个国家发展水平的指标，基于该国居民的健康状况、教育水平和生活水平等因素进行评估。

PISA Programme for International Student Assessment 国际学生能力评估计划：由经济合作与发展组织（OECD）主导。它是一项全球性的大规模教育评估项目，旨在测量15岁学生在学校教育中所掌握的核心能力，尤其是他们如何将这些知识和技能应用到现实生活中的能力。