The book ends on an optimistic note. Populist demagogues eventually lose power because they are hopeless at governing. Four in ten wind up being indicted for corruption, by one count. Citizens get used to change: today American Muslims are as tolerant of homosexuals as the country was overall in 2006. The open society “may yet be saved”, Mr Norberg concludes.
這本書以樂觀的口吻結(jié)束。民粹主義的煽動者們最終下臺，因為他們治理無能。數(shù)下來，其中有十分之四最終被指控犯有貪污罪。公民習(xí)慣了改變，今天的美國穆斯林對同性戀的寬容程度與2006年美國的總體水平一樣。諾伯格總結(jié)說，開放的社會“可能會被拯救”。
Mr Yglesias makes a bold case for openness in his own country. If America made both child-rearing and immigration easier, its population could in time swell to 1bn. It would thus remain the pre-eminent power, outstripping China and India. A bigger America would make for a more innovative and democratic world, he argues.
伊格萊西亞斯大膽地提出了自己的國家實行開放的理由。如果在美國，撫養(yǎng)子女和移民變得更容易，那么美國人口最終可能會膨脹到10億。這樣的情況下，美國將繼續(xù)保持領(lǐng)先地位，超越中國和印度。他認為，更龐大的美國將有助于建設(shè)一個更加創(chuàng)新和民主的世界。
But wouldn’t an America of 1bn people be horribly crowded? No, it would be as sparsely populated as France is now. Even popular cities could accommodate many more residents if building codes were less restrictive. Enlightened visa rules could revive declining towns. Congestion could be eased with policies that have worked elsewhere, from road pricing to better railways.
但是，擁有10億人口的美國不會非常擁擠嗎？不，那時的美國會像現(xiàn)在的法國一樣地廣人稀。如果房屋建筑規(guī)則的限制變少，那即使是熱門城市也能容納更多的居民。開明的簽證規(guī)則可能會重振衰敗的城鎮(zhèn)。從公路收費到改善鐵路等其他方面的政策，可能有助于緩解交通堵塞。
Mr Yglesias is swimming against the tide, and knows it. He notes that a recent immigration bill backed by Donald Trump is so restrictive that it would not let Kazuo Ishiguro, a British Nobel prizewinner, apply for a work visa unless his job paid $240,000 or more. Yet as Mr Norberg shows, political tides can change.
伊格萊西亞斯深知自己是在逆水行舟。他指出，最近一項有唐納德·特朗普支持的移民法案限制性非常強，除非英國諾貝爾獎得主石黑一雄的工資高于或等于24萬美元，否則他無法申請美國工作簽證。然而，就像諾伯格顯示的那樣，政治潮流是可以改變的。
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