What went wrong?

我們所有人都應該要問這個問題：

Not just with the pandemic

到底哪裡出錯了？

but with our civic life.

不是只有疫情大爆發而已，

What brought us to this polarized, rancorous political moment?

還有我們的公民生活。

In recent decades,

是什麼原因把我們帶到這個兩極化 而且充滿怨恨的政治時局？

the divide between winners and losers has been deepening,

近幾十年來，

poisoning our politics,

成功者與失敗者之間的鴻溝深化了，

setting us apart.

毒害了政治環境，

This divide is partly about inequality.

分裂了我們。

But it's also about the attitudes toward winning and losing

這樣的鴻溝一部分是不平等所造成，

that have come with it.

但這也牽涉到

Those who landed on top

我們對於隨之而來的 輸贏的態度有關。

came to believe that their success was their own doing,

那些在頂層的人

a measure of their merit,

認為自己的成功 都是自己努力的成果，

and that those who lost out had no one to blame but themselves.

這是一種衡量價值的方式，

This way of thinking about success

而那些失敗者不應歸咎任何人 只能責怪他們自己。

arises from a seemingly attractive principle.

這種對於成功的想法

If everyone has an equal chance,

來自一種看似吸引人的原則。

the winners deserve their winnings.

如果每個人都有平等的機會，

This is the heart of the meritocratic ideal.

那麼成功者就應該獲得獎賞。

In practice, of course, we fall far short.

這是功績體制理想的核心。

Not everybody has an equal chance to rise.

當然在實際面上， 我們離這樣的理想還很遙遠。

Children born to poor families tend to stay poor when they grow up.

不是所有人都有平等的機會能往上。

Affluent parents are able to pass their advantages onto their kids.

出身貧窮家庭的孩童 往往在長大後依然貧困。

At Ivy League universities, for example,

富裕的父母可以 將自己的優勢傳遞給孩子。

there are more students from the top one percent

舉例來說，在常春藤聯盟大學中，

than from the entire bottom half of the country combined.

來自金字塔頂端 1% 家庭的學生人數

But the problem isn't only that we fail to live up

比來自金字塔後 50% 家庭的 學生加總起來還多。

to the meritocratic principles we proclaim.

但是問題不僅在於我們未能達到

The ideal itself is flawed.

我們所宣稱的功績體制原則。

It has a dark side.

而是這樣的理想本身就有缺陷。

Meritocracy is corrosive of the common good.

它有一個黑暗面。

It leads to hubris among the winners

功績主義會侵蝕公共利益。

and humiliation among those who lose out.

這會導致成功者的傲慢，

It encourages the successful to inhale too deeply of their success,

而使失敗者蒙羞。

to forget the luck and good fortune that helped them on their way.

它鼓勵成功者去深信他們成功的事實，

And it leads them to look down on those less fortunate,

忘記幫助他們前進的運氣和好運。

less credentialed than themselves.

而且讓他們開始輕視 那些運氣比他們差、

This matters for politics.

資格條件比他們差的人。

One of the most potent sources of the populous backlash

這對政治來說很重要。

is the sense among many working people that elites look down on them.

其中一個最強烈的群眾反彈來源就是

It's a legitimate complaint.

許多勞動者感受到菁英的鄙視。

Even as globalization brought deepening inequality

這是合理的抱怨。

and stagnant wages,

即使全球化加劇了不平等

its proponents offered workers some bracing advice.

以及停滯的薪資，

"If you want to compete and win in the global economy,

全球化的支持者為勞動者 提供了一些令人振奮的建議。

go to college."

「如果你想在全球的經濟中 競爭並且獲得勝利，

"What you earn depends on what you learn."

那麼就去念大學。」

"You can make it if you try."

「你賺多少錢取決於你學習什麼。」

These elites miss the insult implicit in this advice.

「如果你嘗試就可以成功。」

If you don't go to college,

這些菁英忽略了這當中隱含的羞辱。

if you don't flourish in the new economy,

如果你不去念大學，

your failure is your fault.

如果你沒在這個新經濟中發展，

That's the implication.

那麼你的失敗就是你自己造成的。

It's no wonder many working people turned against meritocratic elites.

這就是其中的隱含之意。

So what should we do?

難怪許多勞動者反對功績體制下的菁英。

We need to rethink three aspects of our civic life.

所以我們應該怎麼做？

The role of college,

我們需要重新思考 公民生活的三個層面。

the dignity of work

大學所扮演的角色、

and the meaning of success.

工作的尊嚴，

We should begin by rethinking the role of universities

以及成功的意義。

as arbiters of opportunity.

我們應該開始重新思考， 將大學所扮演的角色

For those of us who spend our days in the company of the credentialed,

看成是機會仲裁者。

it's easy to forget a simple fact:

對於那些在證書陪伴下 過日子的人來說，

Most people don't have a four-year college degree.

相當容易忘記一個簡單的事實：

In fact, nearly two-thirds of Americans don't.

大多數人並沒有四年的大學學位。

So it is folly to create an economy

事實上，將近三分之二的 美國人並沒有大學學歷。

that makes a university diploma a necessary condition

因此，創造一個經濟體

of dignified work and a decent life.

讓大學文憑被看作獲得有尊嚴的工作 與體面生活的必要條件，

Encouraging people to go to college is a good thing.

這想法是相當愚蠢的。

Broadening access for those who can't afford it

鼓勵人們去念大學是件好事。

is even better.

為那些負擔不起的人提供更多的機會，

But this is not a solution to inequality.

這麼做會更好。

We should focus less on arming people for meritocratic combat,

但是這並不是解決不平等的方法。

and focus more on making life better

應該少放些心力去叫大家武裝自己 僅是為了功績體制下的鬥爭。

for people who lack a diploma

而是放更多心力創造更好的生活，

but who make essential contributions to our society.

為了那些沒有文憑，

We should renew the dignity of work

但對我們的社會做出貢獻的人。

and place it at the center of our politics.

我們應該恢復工作的尊嚴，

We should remember that work is not only about making a living,

而且把它放在我們的政治核心中。

it's also about contributing to the common good

我們應該記住工作不僅是溫飽而已，

and winning recognition for doing so.

這也是在為公共利益做出貢獻，

Robert F. Kennedy put it well half a century ago.

並且因為這麼做而得到認同。

Fellowship, community, shared patriotism.

羅伯特·法蘭西斯·甘迺迪 在半世紀前說得很好：

These essential values do not come

共同參與、共同社會、 共同的愛國主義。

from just buying and consuming goods together.

這些不可或缺的價值

They come from dignified employment,

不僅是大家一起購買和消費產品而已。

at decent pay.

它們是來自有尊嚴的工作，

The kind of employment that enables us to say,

以及正當的收入。

"I helped to build this country.

這樣的工作讓我們可以說，

I am a participant in its great public ventures."

「我有幫忙建造這個國家。」

This civic sentiment

「我有參與偉大的公共事務。」

is largely missing from our public life today.

這種公民情感

We often assume that the money people make

卻在當今的公共生活中大量流失。

is the measure of their contribution to the common good.

我們經常假設大家賺到的錢

But this is a mistake.

是用來衡量一個人 對公共利益做出多少貢獻的方法。

Martin Luther King Jr. explained why.

但這是一個錯誤的想法。

Reflecting on a strike by sanitation workers

馬丁·路德·金恩 解釋了為什麼這是錯誤的。

in Memphis, Tennessee,

他回想起在田納西州曼菲斯

shortly before he was assassinated,

清潔工人所發起的罷工事件，

King said,

那就發生在他被刺殺前不久。

"The person who picks up our garbage is, in the final analysis,

金恩說：

as significant as the physician,

「歸根究柢，撿垃圾的人

for if he doesn't do his job,

和醫生一樣重要，

diseases are rampant.

因為如果他不工作，

All labor has dignity."

疾病就會蔓延。

Today's pandemic makes this clear.

所有工作都有其尊嚴。」

It reveals how deeply we rely

當今的疫情讓這個道理更清楚。

on workers we often overlook.

這揭示了我們有多麼依賴

Delivery workers,

那些經常被我們忽視的勞動者。

maintenance workers,

送貨員、

grocery store clerks,

維修工人、

warehouse workers,

雜貨店員工、

truckers,

倉庫工人、

nurse assistants,

貨車司機、

childcare workers,

護理師助理、

home health care providers.

育兒員、

These are not the best-paid or most honored workers.

居家照護業者。

But now, we see them as essential workers.

這些並不是薪資最好 或是最光榮的工作者。

This is a moment for a public debate

但現在，我們將他們視為 不可或缺的工作者。

about how to bring their pay and recognition

這是一個開啟公共辯論的時刻，

into better alignment with the importance of their work.

討論如何使他們的薪水 以及所獲得的認同

It is also time for a moral, even spiritual, turning,

能夠與其工作的重要性保持一致。

questioning our meritocratic hubris.

這也是一個道德與精神轉變的時刻，

Do I morally deserve the talents that enable me to flourish?

質疑功績體制傲慢的時刻。

Is it my doing

我在道德上應該得到 使我蓬勃發展的才能嗎？

that I live in a society that prizes the talents

我的成就是否源自於

I happen to have?

我活在一個獎勵才華的社會中，

Or is that my good luck?

而這個才華是我正好所擁有的？

Insisting that my success is my due

還是只因為我很幸運而已？

makes it hard to see myself in other people's shoes.

堅信成功是因為自身的緣故，

Appreciating the role of luck in life

讓我很難設身處地感受他人的困境。

can prompt a certain humility.

意識到運氣在生活中扮演的角色

There but for the accident of birth, or the grace of God,

會促使我們變得謙卑。

or the mystery of fate,

或許是出於偶然的緣故， 或者神的恩典，

go I.

或者命運的奧秘，

This spirit of humility

所以我才能到達某個高度。

is the civic virtue we need now.

這種謙卑的精神

It's the beginning of a way back

是我們目前所需要的公民素養。

from the harsh ethic of success that drives us apart.

這個契機讓我們可以

It points us beyond the tyranny of merit

從分裂彼此的成功道德觀走回正軌，

to a less rancorous, more generous public life.

引領我們超越獨裁的功績體制，