This makes nostalgia dangerous. Protesters do not necessarily expect to put back the clock—they may just be seeking to slow it down. And yet such sclerosis may only aggravate the sense of decline. In addition, the self-esteem that nostalgists crave often seems to feed xenophobia. India’s Hindu-nationalist revival has seen an increase in reported hate crimes towards Muslims. In the West people on the right remember a whiter past, with fewer cultures, even as the hard left condemns the machinations of global business. It is no accident that there has been a resurgence of anti-Semitism, not least in Britain’s Labour Party under the backward-looking Jeremy Corbyn.
而折中方案會(huì)使得懷舊情緒變得危險(xiǎn)。反對(duì)者并不一定期望時(shí)光倒流——而僅是希望其放慢速度。然而這種僵化可能只是會(huì)放慢衰退速度。此外，懷舊者常常渴望的自尊似乎助長(zhǎng)了仇外情緒。據(jù)報(bào)道，在印度，印度教民族主義復(fù)興導(dǎo)致增加了針對(duì)穆斯林的仇恨犯罪。在西方，右翼人士仍在回憶白人更多、文化更少的過(guò)去，而與此同時(shí)，強(qiáng)硬左派正巧在強(qiáng)烈譴責(zé)全球商業(yè)的陰謀詭計(jì)。反猶太主義的復(fù)興并非偶然，尤其是在英國(guó)工黨領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人杰里米·科爾賓的保守領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下。
Because of the taint of xenophobia, progressives are quick to treat all nostalgia as prejudice, leading them to dismiss the fears of whole sections of society. That sweeping judgment is one more reason why populists have been able to exploit nostalgia so successfully.
由于排外情緒影響，進(jìn)步派很快對(duì)所有的懷舊情緒產(chǎn)生偏見(jiàn)，這會(huì)引導(dǎo)他們消除社會(huì)各階層的恐懼。民粹主義者能夠如此成功地利用懷舊情緒，這種全面判斷是另一個(gè)原因。
They are having it too easy. Nostalgia can be harnessed for good. At the start of the 20th century, Europe and America were nostalgic, too, buffeted by a similar confluence of technological, geopolitical and cultural change. Then a period of conflict and social upheaval led to universal suffrage and education for all. Today’s politicians can learn from that time. They must avoid war, obviously, by preserving and enhancing the institutions that enable countries to work together. But they should also find bold ways to deal with insecurity and alienation. That will involve the state working harder for the citizen by making education available throughout people’s lives, by overhauling taxation, devolving power to cities and regions, averting climate catastrophe, and wise management of immigration.
民粹主義者利用懷舊情緒太容易了。懷舊情緒可以被永久利用。20世紀(jì)初，歐洲和美國(guó)也很懷舊，且伴有類(lèi)似的技術(shù)、地緣政治和文化變革的沖擊。隨后，一段沖突和社會(huì)動(dòng)蕩時(shí)期帶來(lái)了普選和全民教育。今天的政客們可以從那段時(shí)期吸取教訓(xùn)。顯而易見(jiàn)，政客們一定要避免戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，這就需要維護(hù)和加強(qiáng)能使各國(guó)合作的機(jī)構(gòu)。但也應(yīng)該大膽尋找處理不安全感和疏離感的方式。這就涉及到國(guó)家要致力于給公民提供終身教育、改革稅收、下放權(quán)力至城市和地區(qū)、避免氣候?yàn)?zāi)難、明智管理移民。
The nostalgists are on to something. When one way of running the world seems to be exhausted, but the next has yet to come into being, the past holds important lessons. When nothing seems to make sense, history becomes the supreme discipline. Knowing who you are and where you came from matters.
懷舊主義者有其道理。當(dāng)管理世界的一種方式似乎消耗殆盡，下一個(gè)似乎還未形成時(shí)，我們可以從歷史汲取重要經(jīng)驗(yàn)。當(dāng)一切似乎毫無(wú)意義時(shí)，歷史成為最高教條。知道你是誰(shuí)、你從哪里來(lái)很重要。
The best way to harness the past demolishes prejudice and opens horizons. A proper sense of history helps you grasp that progress depends on facing up to hard choices. Sometimes it can inspire, too. Fifty years ago Apollo 8 took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. On December 24th it captured a photograph of Earth, a half-shrouded blue-white planet, seemingly united.
好好利用過(guò)去來(lái)破除偏見(jiàn)、開(kāi)拓視野。對(duì)歷史正確認(rèn)識(shí)有助于理解進(jìn)步取決于面對(duì)艱難選擇這個(gè)道理。有時(shí)也能激發(fā)靈感。50年前，阿波羅8號(hào)從佛羅里達(dá)州卡納維拉爾角起飛。12月24日，它拍下了一幅地球照片：一顆半透明的藍(lán)白色行星，儼然渾然一體。
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