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America is no stranger to corporate scandals. In the 19th century abattoirs sold rotten meat.
美國對企業丑聞并不陌生。在19世紀，屠宰場出售腐爛的肉。
In the 1960s Detroit made cars that were "unsafe at any speed", in the words of Ralph Nader, a consumer-rights crusader.
20世紀60年代，用消費者權益改革者拉爾夫·納德的話來說，底特律出產的汽車“用哪個速度來開都不安全”。
In the 1990s tobacco and asbestos claims led to legal settlements that have cost shareholders over $150bn.
20世紀90年代，煙草和石棉訴訟導致的訴訟和解讓股東們的損失超過1500億美元。
Accounting scandals erupted at WorldCom, Enron and Tyco in the early 2000s, and by the mid-2000s mortgage fraud was endemic.
21世紀初期，世界通訊公司、安然公司和泰科爆出會計丑聞，21世紀中期，抵押貸款欺詐極為普遍。
Today's crises are diverse but have common elements. The firms tend to be established, with dominant market positions.
如今的危機雖然變化多樣，但都有著共同的要素。這些公司都占市場支配地位。
Outrage infuses social media and Congress. And yet the financial cost has been limited.
瘋狂的注入社交媒體和議會。但財務成本已被限制。
Take a sample of ten big American listed firms involved in controversial episodes:
以涉及爭議事件的10家大型美國上市公司為例：
their median share price has lagged behind the stockmarket by a bearable 11% since the event, after adjusting for dividends.
股息調整后，自事件爆發以來，他們的股價中值落后于股票市場11%。
Although Boeing's shares have lost 8% since the crash in Ethiopia, they are above their level in January.
雖然波音的股價自埃塞俄比亞墜機后下跌8%，但仍高于一月水平。
The crises have caused bosses to stand down in only two of the ten cases: Wells Fargo and Equifax.
這些危機導致公司老板離職的情況僅發生在10家公司中的2家：富國銀行和Equifax。
Some adjustments to bosses' pay have been made. Goldman says that some ex-executives' share awards
一些公司對老板的薪資做出了調整。高盛投資公司表示一些前高管的股票獎勵
could be clawed back depending on the probe into the Malaysia incident. Equifax says cyber-security is now factored into its pay schemes.
可根據對馬來西亞事件的調查而被收回。Equifax表示現在會將網絡安全作為薪酬方案的考慮因素。
Nonetheless, for the ten firms the total pool of senior executive pay has risen over the four most recent years, to almost $600m, according to Bloomberg.
盡管如此，根據Bloomberg，這10家公司高管的總薪酬在近四年都增加到了近6億美元。
For critics of capitalism none of this will be a surprise. They argue that firms controlled by private shareholders are especially unethical.
對資本主義的批評者來說，這并不驚奇。他們認為由私人股東控制的公司都是尤其缺乏職業道德的。
Yet it is easy to poke holes in this. Volkwagen cheated on emissions tests even though it is part-owned by the German state and has workers on its board.
但很容易在其中找茬。大眾汽車在尾氣測試中作弊，即便它是一家部分國有的德國公司且其董事會中也有其員工。
Despite Sweden's cuddly "stakeholder" capitalism, Swedbank faces a criminal investigation for money-laundering.
雖然瑞典的“股東”資本主義令人羨慕，但瑞典銀行面臨著洗錢的刑事調查。
An alternative explanation is that American capitalism has got out of kilter. It has always been restless and dynamic.
一種替換解釋是，美國資本主義失去了平衡。它總是那么焦躁且充滿活力。
Companies test the boundaries of what is possible—and permissible.
公司對可能性的邊界和許可范圍進行試探。
Tech firms are just the latest to "move fast and break things", to use Facebook's unofficial slogan.
用Facebook的非官方標語來說，科技公司僅僅是最近“快速行動，打破局面”的公司。
But three forces have long constrained corporate conduct: regulation, litigation and competition.
但是長期以來，有三股力量約束著企業的行為：法規、訴訟和競爭。
The aftermath of the financial crisis saw a storm of lawsuits and fines on banks.
金融危機的后果是各種訴訟案和對銀行的罰款。
But since then each of the three forces may have weakened, increasing the incentive for firms to take risks.
但自那時起，三股力量都被削弱了，這增加了公司冒險的動機。
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