When we say this, we mean something very particular:

當我們說到這時，特別指的是：

not just that it’s nice to have a lot of money but that our income is the source of information, crucial, decisive information, about our character, our intelligence, our moral fiber.

有錢不只是很好，我們的收入變成了很關鍵且決定性的資訊，能讓人知道我們的特質、才能及品德。

In short, money is the key indicator of our worth in human and not just financial terms.

簡單來說，錢代表了我們生而為人的價值，而不僅僅是金融貨幣而已。

The more money we make, the more we deserve to exist.

賺得越多，越有資格生存在這世上。

By extension, it feels impossible to imagine ourselves as good, decent – and still poor.

更進一步地說，很難想像我們條件很好、體面的同時很貧窮。

But can all this really be true?

但這些一定是對的嗎？

Must we hate and deem ourselves despicable beings because our salary is not elevated?

我們一定要討厭自己，認為自己次人一等就因為薪水不夠高？

For an answer, we must look to economics and in particular, to the technical way that salary is determined.

為了尋找答案，我們從經濟層面來看，特別來討論薪水的定義是甚麼。

Here we find something striking: wages are not decided by the extent of someone’s human worth or social contribution per se.

我們發現了件驚人的事情：薪水不是由個人的人生價值或是對於社會的貢獻所定下的。。

Wages are simply the result of the intensity with which certain people want a job done relative to the number of people who happen to be able to do it.

薪水是依照資方有多大意願想完成一份工作以及多少人能做到的比例所給予的。

If many people can complete a task, however humanly important it might be, holding a hand on a cancer ward for example, little money will be offered for it.

如果很多人能做的事，就算是具有人道主義的工作（例如在癌症病房提供幫助），也只會領到微薄的薪水。

And if there are very few people able to do it, however trivial it might be (kicking a ball 60 metres into a goal), if there’s intense demand, salaries will be elevated.

如果只有極少數人能做，再細小的事（例如 60 米進球）有很多的需求的話，薪水自然就會提高。

Money is in fact no accurate measure of the human worth of the work in question; the determinant of wages is just the strength of demand in relation to supply.

錢其實無法實際測量出人們在工作裡的價值；薪水是依照市場供需所決定的。

We may not be able easily to change how much people earn, but we can change how we judge earnings.

我們或許無法輕易的改變人們的薪資水平，但我們可以改變大眾對於薪水的態度。

This isn’t an issue of politics; it’s an issue of appreciation.

這不是政治議題，這跟我們如何看待每份工作有關。

We can change how we assess what a modest wage means.

我們可以改變決定合適薪資的依據。

We can use our imaginations to remember and hold in mind all that is not quantified in a salary – in our lives and in those of others

我們可以運用想像力牢記那些不被薪水量化的事物，無論是在我們自己的生活中還是別人的生活中，

all the degrees of intelligence, care, dedication, empathy and creativity that may be present, undetected by the blunt aggregated marker of a wage.

所有智慧、關懷、奉獻、同理心和創造力的層面，可能存在但被薪資這個粗糙的綜合指標所忽視。

However tempting it might be to settle the question of the value of human beings in stark financial terms, the truth remains beautifully and redemptively more complicated.

雖然把人的價值問題用鮮明的財務術語來定位很誘人，但事實卻更為美麗和複雜，也帶有救贖意味。

As we must realise, as soon as we’ve spent some time around a person at work and got to know what sides of their character their labours will call on through an average day,

正如我們必須意識到的那樣，當我們在工作中花了一些時間，了解了一個人在平常工作中需要發揮哪些性格特質，

we’ll then have no option but to reach a dauntingly complex conclusion: we are not what we earn.

然後，我們不得不做出一個令人生畏的複雜結論：我們並非由我們所賺取的收入所定義。

We publish new, thought provoking, films every week.

我們每週都會發布全新且發人深省的影片。

Be sure to subscribe to our channel and take a look at more of what we have to offer at the link on your screen now.

請務必訂閱我們的頻道，並點擊畫面上的連結，查看更多我們提供的影片。