評論
打印
As I have mentioned, culturally we have been taught by those in power to be humble. That their teachings have been largely accepted when what they advocate is so obviously self-serving is a tribute to how effective they have been in getting their message across. But also, because we want power so badly, we often support those who are stronger in the hope that they will share a little of what they have with us. And if they are wise, they do. Successful politicians are masters of this approach and the same expertise is not unknown in business, higher education and even religion.
正如我所說的，在文化上那些掌權的人已經向我們灌輸了謙卑的美德。雖然他們宣揚的東西顯然是為了滿足他們自身的利益，但其學說已被大眾廣泛接受，這一事實證明了他們對自己觀點的宣揚是多么有效。由于我們也迫切地需要權力，我們常常支持那些較強的人，希望他們會與我分享一點他們的權力。如果他們明智的話，他們會這樣做。成功的政治家熟練地掌握了這一方法，在商界、高等教育界甚至是宗教界也不乏類似的伎倆。
If you look around in any society, you cannot fail to see the all-pervasive effect of this need. Families band together for power, but if they succeed in becoming very powerful, they tend in almost all cases to fight among themselves for the lion's share of what they have. Rather than go over what seems so obvious, just ask yourself one question: Who do you know is so completely satisfied with his life that he can go a week without complaining that someone has gotten in the way of what he wanted to do? Most of us cannot get through a day without complaint; to be satisfied with how others have treated us for a week would seem like an eternity.
如果你環顧周圍，你就會發現，不管在哪個社會，這種需求造成的影響無處不在。皇族為爭取權力而結合在一起，但是一旦他們成功了并變得有權勢，家庭成員之間幾乎毫無例外地會去爭奪他們所擁有的最大份額。暫不去回顧那些看上去顯而易見的事，先問你自己這樣一個問題：你認識這樣一個人嗎？他對生活感到十分滿意，能夠在一個星期里都不抱怨有人阻礙他做他想做的事。大多數人沒有一天不在抱怨：連續一個星期都對別人對待我們的方式感到滿意，這似乎像永生一樣不可能。
We are intensely competitive. If we think that we have any chance at all to move beyond bare survival, we are almost all ambitious.
我們處在激烈的競爭狀態下。如果我們認為自己有機會過更好的生活的話，那么我們都會變得雄心勃勃。
