妒忌会扼杀财富与创业Politics of envy will kill wealth creation

Is envy a helpful motivator for those who want to succeed? I rather think not. It strikes me as a negative, destructive emotion, usually possessed by small-minded individuals who see economics as a zero-sum equation. Entrepreneurs I meet very rarely covet another's possessions: what they want to build is their own business, independent, better than the competition.	对那些渴望成功的人而言，妒忌是一种有益的动力吗？我不这么认为。在我看来，妒忌是一种消极有害的情绪，常见于那些心胸狭隘、视经济活动为一种零和博弈的人。我所遇到的企业家中，极少有人觊觎他人的财富：他们希望建立自己的公司，自力更生，且比竞争对手做得更出色。
Politicians all too often pander to the envious tendencies among the electorate. As George Bernard Shaw said: “A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on Paul's support.” Socialism, or “progressive” politics as it is now called, essentially encourages envy under bogus intellectual arguments about equality and egalitarianism. As Sir John Rose, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, put it in this newspaper last week: the proponents of redistribution programmes are so obsessed about how the cake is sliced they forget about enlarging the cake – to everyone's detriment.	政客们常常会迎合选民的妒忌倾向。萧伯纳(George Bernard Shaw)曾说过：“拆东墙补西墙的政府总能指望得到受补那方的支持。”本质上，社会主义（现在被称为“进步的”政治信仰）是鼓励妒忌的，它关于平等和平均主义的论点是伪知性的。正如罗尔斯•罗伊斯(Rolls-Royce)首席执行官约翰•罗斯爵士(Sir John Rose) 4月19日为本报撰稿时所形容的：再分配计划的倡导者们如此痴迷于如何切分蛋糕，以至于忘了去“做大”蛋糕，这对任何人都没好处。
The pessimistic, leftwing view of the world sees it as a place of rapidly shrinking resources, where any elites should be levelled down so that we can all be immiserated together. Thus the Liberal Democrat cure for unemployment and a fiscal deficit is to increase capital gains tax in Britain to 50 per cent, the highest rate in the world. In almost all countries it is half that, or less – in rapidly growing economies like Singapore, Hong Kong, Brazil, Russia and India it is 15 per cent or zero. But their Treasury spokesman Vince Cable, who claims to be an expert in finance and business, (although he has never actually dealt with a payroll in his life) expects entrepreneurs to take all the risk, and the government to take half the reward. At a stroke they would kill initiative, and send a massive signal to wealth-creators: do not invest here.	悲观、左翼的世界观认为，地球上的资源正迅速萎缩，精英阶层应降低生活水准，从而与我们大家一起受穷。因此，英国自由民主党(Liberal Democrat)提出的、解决失业问题和财政赤字的方案，是将英国的资本利得税率提高至50%这一全球最高水平。在几乎所有国家，资本利得税率都只是这一数字的一半，甚至更低——在新加坡、香港、巴西、俄罗斯和印度等发展迅速的经济体，这一税率仅为15%，或者是零。但该党财政事务发言人文斯•凯布尔(Vince Cable)——此人自诩为金融和商业专家，尽管他实际上从未给人发过薪水——预计，企业家将承担此举的全部风险，而政府则会获得一半的回报。他们这样做会一举扼杀创业精神，还会向那些财富创造者们传递一个明确的信号：别来这儿投资。
Almost trebling capital gains tax in the UK would be especially stupid. It would probably raise no extra revenue for the state, and would drive talent and capital elsewhere. Research shows that most job creation in the private sector in recent decades has taken place in companies less than five years old. In sensible economies they cherish start-ups – not burden them. Founders of new ventures make considerable sacrifices to realise their dreams.	把英国的资本利得税率提高几乎两倍，真可谓蠢到家了。这很可能不会为政府增加任何额外收入，反而会将人才和资金赶到别处去。研究显示，近几十年来，私营部门创造的工作岗位，大都来自那些成立不足五年的公司。明智的经济体会爱护这些初创企业，而不是让它们背负重担。为了实现梦想，新公司的创始人们是做出了巨大牺牲的。
Recently I met the chief executive of a dynamic business who has certainly struggled. Five years ago he sold his flat to fund his business, and slept on the sofa in his office for two years. Now his creation is booming and he has a real home again. Building a company from scratch is a perilous task – but the west desperately needs such heroism if it is to generate the surpluses to pay down debt and provide work.	最近，我遇到了一家充满活力的公司的首席执行官。他无疑历经过一番艰苦奋斗。五年前，他卖了自己的公寓，创立了这家公司，并在办公室的沙发上睡了两年。现在，业务做起来了，他也再次有了新家。从零开始创建一家公司是件冒险的事儿，但西方国家若想创造出盈余来偿还债务、提供就业，是极需这种英雄气概的。
The issues facing the west are straightforward. Possibly the biggest change to impact society in recent decades has been the growth in the number of full participants in the global economy from 700m to 3bn. The arrival of China and India and other developing nations alters everything. India alone graduates 350,000 qualified engineers a year. These young, hungry workers are competing for jobs, wealth and commodities with 21-year-olds from Europe and the US. Average wages in China are less than 5 per cent of average wages in Britain. Investment in education and infrastructure means these emerging superpowers are rapidly catching up with the west in terms of productivity.	摆在西方人面前的问题很简单。近几十年来影响社会的最重大改变，可能当属参与全球经济的总人数从7亿增至30亿。中国、印度及其它发展中国家的参与改变了一切。仅印度一国，每年就毕业35万名合格的工程师。这些跃跃欲试的年轻人，正与欧美21岁的年轻人争夺工作岗位、财富和商品。中国的平均工资不及英国的5%。这些新兴超级大国在教育和基础设施方面的投资意味着，它们的生产力将快速赶上西方。
If we do not genuinely encourage entrepreneurs to invent and invest here, to search for competitive advantages and to boost productivity, then I can see no alternative but relentless decline – certainly relative, but perhaps even in absolute terms. Big government and a culture of dependency and entitlement is a recipe for disaster. Instead we must grow the private sector, which is the engine for innovation and exports, and the only cure for unemployment. But if we elect amateurs to high office who stimulate jealousy and punish dynamism, they will foster a society rank with stagnation, underinvestment, worklessness and despair. A sense of grievance and adoption of the victimhood complex – all ailments promoted by certain politicians – are the opposite of what is needed. When will they ever learn?	如果我们不诚心诚意鼓励企业家来英国创新和投资、寻找竞争优势、并提高生产力，那么英国将别无出路，只会一路衰落下去——这种衰落当然是相对的，但绝对衰落也不是没有可能。大政府以及“靠”、“要”之风会导致灾难。我们必须发展私营部门，它是创新和出口的引擎，也是解决失业问题的唯一出路。但如果我们选择一些鼓励妒忌、压制活力的外行担任政府要职，他们会让整个社会被经济停滞、投资不足、失业和绝望情绪主导。我们所需要的，决不是不满情绪和受害者情结——这些毛病正是某些政客的惯出来的。他们到底何时才能明白这一点？