評論
打印
Leaders
社論
The uses of nostalgia
懷舊的打開方式
How to get the best from an outbreak of reminiscence
如何從懷舊爆發中掇菁擷華
Politicians have always exploited the past. But just now, rich countries and emerging economies are experiencing an outbreak of nostalgia. Right and left, democracies and autocracies, all are harking back to the glories of yesteryear. Even as President Donald Trump vows to “Make America great again”, President Xi Jinping is using his “Chinese dream” to banish a century of humiliation and return China to its golden age. Mexico’s new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has a mission to withstand global capitalism and restore his country’s economic sovereignty. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the most powerful politician in Poland, wants to purge the last traces of Soviet communism to bring about a renaissance of old-fashioned Polish values.
政客們總會充分從過去汲取經驗。但眼下，富裕國家和新興經濟體正經歷一場懷舊情緒的爆發。左翼和右翼、民主和專制政體，都在重溫昔日輝煌。正如美國總統唐納德·特朗普發誓要“讓美國再次強大”（競選口號），中國國家主席習近平正在用其“中國夢”驅散一個世紀的屈辱，讓中國回到黃金時代。墨西哥新總統安德烈斯•曼紐爾•洛佩茲•奧夫拉多爾肩負著抵御全球資本主義、恢復墨西哥經濟主權的使命。波蘭最有權勢的政治家雅羅斯瓦夫•卡欽斯基希望清除蘇聯共產主義的最后一絲痕跡，實現波蘭傳統價值觀的復興。
This orgy of reminiscence has different causes in different countries. In emerging markets past glories are often a foretaste of future triumphs. China, which has enjoyed 40 years of transformative growth, senses that it is on the threshold of something great. Under Narendra Modi, India has been celebrating its growing geopolitical heft with a Hindu-nationalist revival.
這種懷舊熱潮在不同的國家有不同原因。在新興市場，舊日輝煌往往預示著明日成功。中國已經經歷了40年的轉型發展，并意識到正立于偉大事業起點。印度，在納倫德拉•莫迪領導下，一直在用印度教民族主義復興來慶祝其日益增長的地緣政治影響力。
In the rich world, by contrast, nostalgia usually stems from what Sophia Gaston, of the Henry Jackson Society, calls “an omnipresent, menacing feeling of decline”. Almost two-thirds of Britons think that life used to be better. A similar share of the French do not feel at home in the present. This year’s UN World Happiness Report found that Americans are becoming less content. Large majorities in rich and developing countries believe that robots and automation will increase inequality and harm employment. A poll of 28 countries in 2017 found that over half of respondents expected their living conditions to stagnate or worsen. Only 15% of Japanese think their children will be richer than their parents.
相比之下，在富裕國家，懷舊通常源自亨利•杰克遜協會的索菲婭•加斯頓所說的“無處不在、令人生畏的衰落感”。近三分之二的英國人認為過去的生活更好。而近三分之二的法國人在現在的年代感覺不自在。今年的聯合國世界幸福報告發現，美國人越來越不滿足。在富裕國家和發展中國家，絕大多數人認為機器人和自動化將加劇不平等，損害就業。2017年一項針對28個國家的調查發現，超過半數的受訪者預計自己的生活條件將停滯不前或惡化。只有15%的日本人認為他們的孩子會比他們的父母更富有。
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