Name: 切斯特頓柵欄不要破壞你不瞭解的東西 (Chesterton Fence: Don’t Destroy What You Don’t Understand!)
Uploaded: 2025-07-26T17:50:00.000Z
Duration: 4 min 24 s

基礎被動語態

Chesterton's fence is a simple rule of thumb that suggests that you should never destroy a fence, change a rule, or do away with a tradition until you understand why it's there in the first place.  The principle assumes that fences have a purpose, were carefully planned, and cost time and money to erect.

切斯特頓的柵欄是一條簡單的經驗法則，它建議在瞭解柵欄存在的初衷之前，永遠不要破壞柵欄、改變規則或廢除傳統。  這一原則假定柵欄是有目的的，是經過精心策劃的，是花費時間和金錢建立起來的。

程度副詞

Someone must have had a reason for thinking that a fence would be a good idea.  So what if we just take them down?

一定有人有理由認為圍欄是個好主意。  那如果我們把它們拆掉呢？

情態副詞

Entrepreneur Steve Blank likes to point out that when startups get their first chief financial officer, the newly hired often wants to show that they are proactive and can cut costs.  Some go as far as calculating the expense of the free snacks offered to employees and then start charging the staff a small fee.

企業家史蒂夫-布蘭克（Steve Blank）喜歡指出，當初創企業獲得他們的第一位首席財務官時，新聘用的首席財務官往往希望表明他們是積極主動的，能夠削減成本。  有些人甚至會計算為員工提供免費零食的費用，然後開始向員工收取小額費用。

People can, of course, pay, but they don't like this change in company culture, and many may quit.  As a result, the firm makes pennies on the nuts but spends thousands hiring new engineers, all because the reformer didn't understand the purpose of the policy he axed.  A more tragic example of misguided reform was China's so-called Great Leap Forward, which lasted from 1958 to 1962.

人們當然可以付錢，但他們不喜歡公司文化的這種改變，許多人可能會辭職。  結果，公司的堅果只賺幾分錢，卻要花費幾千美元去招聘新的工程師，而這一切都是因為改革者不理解他所廢除的政策的目的。  中國從 1958 年到 1962 年的所謂 "大躍進 "就是一個誤導改革的悲劇性例子。

One of its initiatives was the Four Pests campaign to eliminate all mosquitoes, flies, rats, and even sparrows that were suspected of stealing grain from the fields.  And so millions of people hit noisy pots and pans to prevent sparrows from resting, with the goal of causing them to drop dead from exhaustion.

其舉措之一是開展 "除四害 "運動，消滅所有蚊子、蒼蠅、老鼠，甚至是被懷疑偷吃田裡糧食的麻雀。  於是，數百萬人敲打嘈雜的鍋碗瓢盆，阻止麻雀休息，目的是讓麻雀累死。

Some simply shot the birds down from the sky;

有些人乾脆把鳥從天上打下來；

others destroyed their nests and broke their eggs.  The campaign worked and pushed the Chinese sparrow population to near extinction.

還有人搗毀它們的巢穴，打碎它們的蛋。  這場運動取得了成效，使中國麻雀的數量瀕臨滅絕。

So what about the unintended consequences?

With no sparrows to eat them, locust populations ballooned, swarming the country and compounding the problems caused by other reforms.  The consequence was the Great Chinese Famine, one of the largest man-made disasters in human history, with a death toll in the tens of millions.  Perhaps all those who want to break with traditions or reform norms should learn to recite this short line from philosopher F.K.

由於沒有麻雀吃，蝗蟲數量激增，蜂擁而至，加劇了其他改革帶來的問題。  其後果就是中國大饑荒，這是人類歷史上最大的人為災難之一，死亡人數高達數千萬。  也許，所有想要打破傳統或改革規範的人都應該學會背誦哲學家 F.K. 的這句簡短的話。

Chesterton's original 1929 writing.  In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle.

切斯特頓 1929 年的原作。  在改造事物而不是使其變形的問題上，有一個簡單明瞭的原則。

Let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate is erected across a road.  The more modern type of reformer goes up to it and says, "I don't see the use of this;

為了簡單起見，我們假設在一條道路上豎起了一道柵欄或一道門。  比較現代的改革者走過去說："我看不出這有什麼用；

let us clear it away." To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer, "If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away.

"。對此，比較聰明的改革者會很好地回答："如果你們不覺得它有什麼用，我當然不會讓你們清除它。

Go away and think.  Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it."  What do you think?

你走吧，好好想想。  然後，當你回來告訴我，你確實看到了它的用途時，我可能會允許你毀掉它。"  你覺得怎麼樣？

Is Chesterton's defense of conservatism a good rule to live by?

切斯特頓為保守主義所做的辯護是一個很好的生活準則嗎？

Or do you also need people to break down old structures even if they don't fully understand why they were built in the first place?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

或者，你是否也需要人們去打破舊的結構，即使他們並不完全理解當初為什麼要建造這些結構？  請在下面的評論中分享您的想法。

Learn how it works and what's in it for you.

瞭解它是如何工作的，以及有什麼好處。

We hope to see you there.  And if you are a parent or educator, check out our website, sproutschools.com.

我們希望在那裡見到您。  如果您是家長或教育工作者，請訪問我們的網站 sproutschools.com。

There you can find this and other video lessons, additional resources, and classroom activities.

在那裡，您可以找到本課和其他視頻課程、其他資源以及課堂活動。

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切斯特頓柵欄不要破壞你不瞭解的東西 (Chesterton Fence: Don’t Destroy What You Don’t Understand!)

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