2018考博英语阅读经济学人文章每日精析：民主的不满

　　Geopolitics：地缘政治

　　Hegemony:支配权，霸权，文化霸权

　　Unequaled:无双的，极好的，不等同的，

　　无与伦比的

　　Flawed:有错误的，有缺点的，瑕疵百出的。

　　A final brief chapter, “Half Life”, suggests lines of defence and restoration for liberal democracy. People’s trust in politics and government must be recovered, he argues. A combination of stagnant living standards for the broad middle of society and an accumulation of unusable extra wealth by the rich has pushed fairness to the top of public argument. Parties of the right should aim to rationalise and improve, not slash, welfare. Parties of the left should fuss less about identity politics or “personal liberation” and return to their old position as defenders of those struggling to make ends meet. Mr Luce likes the idea of a “universal basic income”, paid to all citizens with no strings attached, but notes that governments would need to be tough about not extending it to all comers from across the world, drawn by its promises. He notes, too, that despite the hostile caricature of the welfare scrounger, most people want not a handout, even a comfortable handout, but meaningful work, the kind that gives a sense of purpose.

　　最后简短的总结篇《半衰期》暗示了反抗战线和自由民主的恢复。他强调说，必须恢复人们对政治和政府的信任。社会中层人士生活水平的停滞和富人积累的额外财富将公平问题推到了社会舆论的顶端。右翼党派应该致力于合理化和提高而非大幅度的削减福利。而左翼党派则不该再对个体政治即“个人自由”小题大做了，而应该重新成为那些努力让收支相抵的人的捍卫者。卢斯先生非常喜欢“普遍基本收入”的理念，认为其应该无附加条件的支付给民众，但是他也声明政府应该态度强硬，对来自世界各地的被其吸引的外来者严格拒绝支付。同时他也表明，尽管有对福利乞讨者的讽刺漫画，但是大部分人想要的不是施舍，哪怕是舒适的施舍，而是一种有意义的工作，是那种有目标感的工作。

　　Restoration：n.恢复，复位，归还

　　Rationalise：v.合理的说明

　　Fuss：v.小题大做，忙乱，焦乱

　　with no strings attached：不加附带条件

　　hostile：adj.敌对的

　　caricature：n.漫画，讽刺漫画

　　scrounger：n.乞讨者 handout：施舍物

　　Mr Luce is a shrewd observer who has worked in Asia as well as the West. As an intern at the European Union in Brussels and speechwriter for the treasury secretary in Washington during Bill Clinton’s administration, he has seen government from the inside. He believes in liberal democracy and cares about its future. Despite its title, “The Retreat of Western Liberalism” is not bleak or elegiac. Mr Luce is not suggesting that liberalism is done for. He says sensibly that liberal democracy cannot be shored up without a “clear-eyed grasp of what has gone wrong”. A more analytical book might have spelled out further what exactly liberal democracy is, how to tell when it is going right and how it differs from capitalist competitors across the globe. At rapid pace and with telling statistics, Mr Luce nevertheless gives a knowledgeable tour through the unmapped terrain in which Western politicians and governments must now operate.

　　卢斯先生是一位在亚洲和西方都工作过的精明的观察者。他曾在布鲁塞尔的欧盟总部实习，也曾经在比尔·克林顿执政时期在华盛顿担任财政部长的演讲稿撰写人，因此他从内部观察过政府。他相信自由民主也非常关心它的未来。尽管名字叫做《西方自由主义的撤退》，但这本书并非是没有希望、满是哀伤的。卢斯先生并不认为自由主义已经破灭。他理智地说，没有“明确抓住什么做错了”这个问题自由民主主义就无法支撑下去。一本更加深入解析的书或许会将什么是自由民主主义，如何辨别什么时候是对的和它与世界上的资本主义竞争者有什么不同这几个问题讲明白。Shrewd：adj.精明的，机灵的

　　Treasury：n.国库，金库

　　Bleak：adj.阴冷的，无希望的，单调的

　　Elegiac：adj.挽歌的，哀伤的

　　Shore up：支撑，加固

　　Terrain：n.地形，地势

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