I was walking along the street in Riga.

我在里加的大街上走著。

I remember the winter was slowly coming to an end.

我記得冬天已經慢慢結束了。

There was still some snow around here and there,

周圍還有一些雪，這裡和那裡。

but the pavement was already clear and dry.

但人行道上已經是乾乾淨淨的了。

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,

你會知道春天的第一個跡象所帶來的那種輕鬆感。

and you no longer have to trudge through that slushy mix

而你也不必再苦苦掙扎在那泥濘的混合體中了。

of snow and mud on the streets.

的雪和街道上的泥濘。

So there I am, enjoying my stroll,

所以，我在那裡，享受我的散步。

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

因為我突然發現前面的人行道上有一個模板。

a graffiti:

塗鴉。

white letters painted on these dark grey bricks.

在這些深灰色的磚上畫著白色的字。

It says,

它說：

"Where is your responsibility?"

"你的責任在哪裡？"

The question stopped me in my tracks.

這個問題讓我停下了腳步。

As I'm standing there considering its meaning,

當我站在那裡考慮它的意義時。

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

我注意到我正站在里加市社會福利局外面。

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

如此看來，這幅塗鴉的作者，不管是誰。

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

正在向前來申請社會救助的人提出這個問題。

That winter,

那年冬天。

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

我一直在研究拉脫維亞金融危機的後果。

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

2008年全球金融危機爆發時，拉脫維亞受到了沉重的打擊。

as a small, open economy.

作為一個小型的開放型經濟。

To balance the books,

為了平衡賬目。

the Latvian government chose a strategy of internal devaluation.

拉脫維亞政府選擇了內部貶值的策略。

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

現在，從本質上講，這意味著大幅削減公共預算支出。

so, slashing public sector workers' wages,

所以，削減公營部門工人的工資。

shrinking civil service,

萎縮的公務員隊伍；

cutting unemployment benefits and other social assistance,

削減失業福利和其他社會援助；

raising taxes.

增加稅收；

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

我母親一輩子都在做歷史老師。

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

對她來說，緊縮意味著她的工資被削減30%。

all of a sudden.

突然間。

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

像她這樣情況的人很多，甚至更多。

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

危機的代價由普通拉脫維亞人承擔。

As a result of the crisis and the austerity,

由於危機和緊縮。

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

拉脫維亞經濟在兩年內萎縮了25%。

Only Greece suffered an economic contraction

只有希臘出現了經濟萎縮

of a comparable scale.

規模相當的。

Yet, while Greeks were out in the streets for months

然而，當希臘人在街頭流浪數月之久的時候

staging continuous, often violent protests in Athens,

在雅典舉行持續的、經常是暴力的抗議活動，

all was quiet in Riga.

在里加，一切都很平靜。

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

著名的經濟學家在 "紐約時報 "的專欄中爭論不休。

about this curious extreme Latvian experiment

關於這個奇怪的極端拉脫維亞實驗

of this austerity regime,

這種緊縮制度的。

and they were watching on in disbelief

旁觀者清

how the Latvian society was putting up with it.

拉脫維亞社會是如何忍受的。

I was studying in London at the time,

當時我在倫敦讀書。

and I remember the Occupy movement there

我還記得那裡的佔領運動

and how it was spreading from city to city,

以及它是如何從一個城市蔓延到另一個城市的。

from Madrid to New York to London,

從馬德里到紐約再到倫敦。

the 99 percent against the one percent.

99%的人對1%的人。

You know the story.

你知道這個故事。

Yet when I arrived in Riga,

然而當我到達里加時。

there were no echoes of the Occupy here.

這裡沒有回聲的佔領。

Latvians were just putting up with it.

拉脫維亞人只是在忍受著。

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

當地俗話說，他們 "吞了蛤蟆"。

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

我想研究拉脫維亞的國家與公民的關係是如何變化的。

in the post-Soviet era,

在後蘇聯時代。

and I had chosen the unemployment office

而我選擇了失業辦公室

as my research site.

作為我的研究網站。

And as I arrived there in that autumn of 2011,

而當我在2011年的那個秋天到達那裡時。

I realized, "I am actually witnessing firsthand

我意識到："我其實是在親眼目睹。

how the effects of crises are playing out,

危機的影響是如何發生的。

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

以及受影響最嚴重的人，即失去工作的人如何。

are reacting to it."

正在對它作出反應。"

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

於是我開始面試我在失業辦公室遇到的人。

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

他們都是登記在冊的求職者，希望得到國家的一些幫助。

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

然而，我很快發現，這種幫助是一種特殊的幫助。

There was some cash benefit,

有一些現金利益。

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

但大部分國家援助是以各種社會計劃的形式出現的。

and one of the biggest of these programs was called

而其中最大的一個項目叫做

"Competitiveness-Raising Activities."

"提高競爭力的活動"。

It was, in essence, a series of seminars

這實質上是一系列的研討會

that all of the unemployed were encouraged to attend.

鼓勵所有失業人員參加。

So I started attending these seminars with them.

於是我開始和他們一起參加這些研討會。

And a number of paradoxes struck me.

而一些悖論讓我覺得很奇怪。

So, imagine:

所以，想象一下。

the crisis is still ongoing,

危機仍在繼續。

the Latvian economy is contracting,

拉脫維亞經濟正在收縮；

hardly anyone is hiring,

幾乎沒有人在招聘。

and there we are,

我們在這裡。

in this small, brightly lit classroom,

在這個狹小而明亮的教室裡。

a group of 15 people,

一組15人。

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

編制我們個人的優缺點清單，我們內心的惡魔。

that we are told are preventing us from being more successful

我們被告知是阻礙我們更成功的因素。

in the labor market.

在勞動力市場上。

As the largest local bank is being bailed out

作為當地最大的銀行被救助的時候

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

並將這種救助的成本轉嫁到民眾的肩上。

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

我們圍坐一圈，學習如何深呼吸。

when feeling stressed.

感到壓力時。

(Breathes deeply)

(深呼吸)

As home mortgages are being foreclosed

由於房屋抵押貸款被取消了。

and thousands of people are emigrating,

和成千上萬的人移民。

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

我們被告知要做大夢，要追夢。

As a sociologist,

作為一個社會學家。

I know that social policies are an important form of communication

我知道，社會政策是一種重要的溝通方式。

between the state and the citizen.

國家和公民之間的。

The message of this program was,

這個節目的資訊是：

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

用一位培訓師的話說：

"Just do it."

"就這麼做吧。"

She was, of course, citing Nike.

當然，她是以耐克為例。

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

所以從象徵性的意義上來說，國家是在向失業的人傳遞一個資訊。

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

你需要更積極，你需要更努力。

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

你需要在自己身上下功夫，你需要克服你內心的惡魔。

you need to be more confident --

你需要更多的信心 -

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

某種程度上，失業是他們個人的失敗。

The suffering of the crisis

危機的痛苦

was treated as this individual experience of stress

被視為這種個人的壓力體驗

to be managed in one's own body

本身管理

through deep and mindful breathing.

通過深呼吸和心呼吸。

These types of social programs that emphasize individual responsibility

這類強調個人責任的社會方案。

have become increasingly common across the world.

已在全世界範圍內變得越來越普遍。

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

他們是社會學家Loïc Wacquant所謂的 "崛起 "的一部分。

the "neoliberal Centaur state."

的 "新自由主義人馬國"。

Now, the centaur, as you might recall,

現在，半人馬，你可能還記得。

is this mythical creature in ancient Greek culture,

是古希臘文化中的這種神話生物。

half human, half beast.

半人半獸。

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

它有這個人的上半身和馬的下半身。

So the Centaur state is a state

所以人馬國是一個國家

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

人面獸心

while those at the bottom are being trampled over,

而那些在底層的人卻被踩在腳下。

stampeded.

蓋章的。

So top income earners and large businesses

所以最高收入者和大企業

can enjoy tax cuts and other supportive policies,

可以享受減稅和其他扶持政策。

while the unemployed, the poor

而失業者、貧困者

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

是為了證明自己值得得到國家的幫助。

are morally disciplined,

是道德上的約束。

are stigmatized as irresponsible or passive or lazy

被指責為不負責任、被動或懶惰。

or often criminalized.

或經常被定為犯罪。

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

在拉脫維亞，我們已經有了這樣一個半人馬國家的模式。

firmly in place since the '90s.

自上世紀90年代以來，堅定不移地。

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

以今年之前我們實行的統一所得稅為例。

that has been benefiting the highest earners,

一直在讓最高收入者受益。

while one quarter of the population keeps living in poverty.

而四分之一的人口仍然生活在貧困之中；

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

而危機和緊縮政策使這些社會不平等現象更加嚴重。

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

所以，雖然銀行和富人的資本得到了保護。

those who lost the most

敗家子

were taught lessons in individual responsibility.

上了個人責任課。

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

現在，當我和我在這些研討會上認識的人交談時。

I was expecting them to be angry.

我還以為他們會生氣呢。

I was expecting them

我正等著他們呢

to be resisting these lessons in individual responsibility.

以抵制這些個人責任的教訓。

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

畢竟，危機不是他們的錯，但他們卻首當其衝。

But as people were sharing their stories with me,

但當人們在和我分享他們的故事時。

I was struck again and again

我一次又一次地被打動

by the power of the idea of responsibility.

由責任理念的力量。

One of the people I met was Žanete.

我遇到的其中一個人是Žanete。

She had been working for 23 years

她已經工作了23年

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

在里加的職業學校教授縫紉和其他手工藝；

And now the crisis hits,

而現在危機來了。

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

和學校關閉作為緊縮措施的一部分。

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

教育體制改革是節約公款的一種方式。

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

而全國有一萬名教師失去工作。

and Žanete is one of them.

而Žanete就是其中之一。

And I know from what she's been telling me

我從她告訴我的事情中瞭解到...

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

失業讓她陷入了絕望的境地。

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

她離婚了，她有兩個十幾歲的孩子，她是唯一的供養人。

And yet, as we are talking,

然而，當我們在談論。

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

她對我說，危機其實是一個機會。

She says, "I turn 50 this year.

她說："今年我50歲。

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

我想，生活真的給了我這個機會，讓我看一看，停一停。

because all these years I've been working nonstop,

因為這些年我一直在不停地工作。

had no time to pause.

沒有時間暫停。

And now I have stopped,

而現在我已經停止了。

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

我已經得到了一個機會來審視一切，並決定。

what it is that I want

吾意何在

and what it is that I don't want.

以及我不想要的是什麼。

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

這段時間，縫縫補補，縫縫補補，有些疲憊。"

So Žanete is made redundant after 23 years.

所以Žanete在23年後被裁員。

But she's not thinking about protesting.

但她並沒有想過要抗議。

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

她說的不是99%的人反對1%的人。

She is analyzing herself.

她在分析自己。

And she was thinking pragmatically of starting a small business

而她也在實事求是地想著做小生意

out of her bedroom

出她的臥室

making these little souvenir dolls to sell to tourists.

製作這些小紀念娃娃賣給遊客。

I also met Aivars at the unemployment office.

我還在失業辦公室見到了艾瓦爾斯。

Aivars was in his late 40s,

艾瓦爾斯當時40多歲。

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

他失去了在監督道路建設的政府機構的工作。

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

在我們的一次會議上，艾瓦爾斯帶來了一本他正在讀的書。

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

這就是所謂的 "壓力疫苗，或心理能量合氣道"。

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

現在，你們中的一些人可能知道合氣道是國術的一種形式。

so, psycho-energetic aikido.

所以，心理能量合氣道。

And Aivars tells me that after several months

而艾華斯告訴我，幾個月後。

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

的閱讀和思考，並在工作之餘進行反思。

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

他已經明白，自己現在的困難其實是自己造成的。

He says to me,

他對我說。

"I created it myself.

"我自己創造的。

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

我當時的心理狀態對我很不利。

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

如果一個人害怕失去錢財，失去工作。

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

他們開始變得更加緊張，更加不安，更加恐懼。

That's what they get."

這就是他們所得到的。"

As I ask him to explain,

當我要求他解釋。

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

他把自己的思想詩意地比作四面奔騰的野馬。

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

他說："你要做一個思想的牧者。

To get things in order in the material world,

要把物質世界的事情安排好。

you need to be a shepherd of your thoughts,

你需要成為你思想的牧羊人。

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

因為通過你的思想，其他一切都變得有條不紊。"

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

"最近，"他說，"我已經清楚地明白了

that the world around me, what happens to me,

我周圍的世界，發生在我身上的事。

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

進入我生命的人......這一切都直接取決於我自己。"

So as Latvia is going through this extreme economic experiment,

所以，當拉脫維亞正在進行這種極端的經濟實驗時。

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

艾瓦爾斯說，是他的思維方式必須改變。

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

他在為自己此刻的遭遇而自責。

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

所以，承擔責任當然是一件好事，對吧？

It is especially meaningful

它的意義尤其在於

and morally charged in a post-Soviet society,

並在後蘇聯社會中充滿了道德感。

where reliance on the state is seen as this unfortunate heritage

在那裡，對國家的依賴被看作是這種不幸的遺產。

of the Soviet past.

蘇聯的過去。

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

但是，當我聽了Žanete和Aivars以及其他人。

I also thought how cruel this question is --

我也覺得這個問題是多麼的殘酷------。

"Where is your responsibility?" --

"你的責任在哪裡？"--

how punishing.

多麼可怕的懲罰。

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

因為，它是作為一種指責和安撫人們的方式在起作用。

who were hit worst by the crisis.

受危機打擊最嚴重的人。

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

所以，當希臘人在街上的時候，拉脫維亞人卻吞下了蛤蟆。

and many tens of thousands emigrated,

並有數萬人移民。

which is another way of taking responsibility.

這是另一種承擔責任的方式。

So the language, the language of individual responsibility,

所以語言，是個人責任的語言。

has become a form of collective denial.

已經成為一種集體否定的形式。

As long as we have social policies that treat unemployment

只要我們有對待失業的社會政策

as individual failure

一敗塗地

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

但我們沒有足夠的資金用於給人們提供真正的技能的項目上

or create workplaces,

或創建工作場所。

we are blind of the policymakers' responsibility.

我們對政策制定者的責任視而不見。

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

只要我們把窮人汙名化，認為他們是被動的或懶惰的

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

但卻不給人們真正的脫貧手段。

other than emigrating,

除了移民之外，

we are in denial of the true causes of poverty.

我們否認貧窮的真正原因。