However justified, more government intervention risks being counterproductive，It is time to reassert the case for less state intrusion

ON THE SURFACE business has seldom had it so good. Profits and share prices are near record levels. Pandemic-relief packages have involved little arm-twisting?by governments, and lots of corporate welfare. Mega?deals are at an all-time high in America and plentiful elsewhere. What’s not to like?

從表面上看，生意從來(lái)沒有這么好過(guò)。利潤(rùn)和股價(jià)都接近歷史最高水平。大流行救援計(jì)劃幾乎沒有涉及政府施加的壓力，而是涉及大量的企業(yè)福利。超級(jí)交易在美國(guó)達(dá)到了歷史最高點(diǎn)，在其他地方也很多。有什么不喜歡的呢?

counterproductive ?/?ka?nt?pr??d?kt?v/ adj. 產(chǎn)生相反效果；事與愿違；適得其反

arm-twisting：強(qiáng)迫、施壓

As this special report has argued, quite a bit. Today may turn out to be a high-water mark for business. Almost everywhere people are becoming more mistrustful of it. So are their political representatives. The?upshot?is that the state wants a greater say over what firms do, where they operate and how they are run. The anti-corporate sentiment makes it harder for businesses to defy calls for new rules or higher taxes.

正如這個(gè)專題報(bào)道所主張，如今相當(dāng)多的貿(mào)易證明是歷史最高水平。但幾乎任何地方的人民群眾都對(duì)商貿(mào)失去了信任，包括他們的政治代表人。這個(gè)結(jié)果就是政府希望在企業(yè)設(shè)立地點(diǎn)和運(yùn)營(yíng)方式方面有更大的話語(yǔ)權(quán)。反企業(yè)情緒讓商業(yè)活動(dòng)雪上加霜，難以抵擋對(duì)企業(yè)出臺(tái)的新政策和更高稅收的呼聲。

high-water mark（HWM）：直譯為“高水位線”，也可意譯為“歷史最高水平”?

詳細(xì)解釋可參考https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/75410775

Upshot：最后結(jié)果；結(jié)局

Some of these are reasonable enough. Profit-seeking enterprises cannot be expected to volunteer to pay more tax or to deal by themselves with such huge challenges as climate change and income inequality,?still less geopolitical squabbles.Milton Friedman is reputed to have said that the business of business is business. Companies may need incentives to do the right thing.

有些理由充分。（政府）不能奢望追逐利潤(rùn)的企業(yè)自愿交更多的稅或者自己處理宏大的挑戰(zhàn)如氣候變暖、收入不平衡，更不用說(shuō)地緣政治糾紛。Milton Friedman說(shuō)過(guò)一句名句：在商言商。企業(yè)可能需要激勵(lì)去做正確的事情。

Squabble??v. /?skw?bl/ [ V ] ~ (with sb) (about/over sth) （為瑣事）爭(zhēng)吵，發(fā)生口角?? My sisters were squabbling over what to watch on TV. 我的姐妹正為看哪個(gè)電視節(jié)目爭(zhēng)吵。

But the incentives must spurn?favouritism,?spur?dynamism and maintain openness.?And many now being?bandied about or?enacted?do not. Having buried the age of big government under Bill Clinton, Democrats are enthusiastically exhuming?it, with even some Republicans cheering them on. Britain's ruling Conservatives have lost their?Thatcherite moorings.The EU, a project with a strong interventionist reflex from its inception,is giving in to it.China has moved decisively away from liberalising its economy into a new?era of overt?state guidance and control of business.

但這些激勵(lì)措施必須摒棄偏袒，激發(fā)活力并保持開放。而現(xiàn)在被散播或頒布的許多激勵(lì)措施卻沒有以上特點(diǎn)。在比爾?克林頓(Bill Clinton)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下的大政府時(shí)代被埋葬之后，民主黨人正熱情地將其挖掘出來(lái)，甚至一些共和黨人也在為他們喝彩。英國(guó)執(zhí)政的保守黨已經(jīng)失去了撒切爾主義的根基。歐盟，一個(gè)從一開始就具有強(qiáng)烈干涉注意本能的組織，正在向它讓步。中國(guó)已果斷放棄經(jīng)濟(jì)自由化，進(jìn)入一個(gè)由政府公開指導(dǎo)和控制企業(yè)的新時(shí)代。

spurn v. /sp?:n/[ VN ]（尤指傲慢地）拒絕?? Eve spurned Mark's invitation. 伊夫一口回絕了馬克的邀請(qǐng)。

favouritism n. /?fe?v?r?t?z?m/ [ U ] ( disapproving )偏愛；偏袒

spur /sp??(r)/名詞：1.馬刺；靴刺；2.~ (to sth) 鞭策；激勵(lì)；刺激；鼓舞；3.山嘴；尖坡；支脈；4.（公路或鐵路的）支線，岔線5. on the ?spur of the ?moment 一時(shí)沖動(dòng)之下；心血來(lái)潮?I phoned him up on the spur of the moment. 我一時(shí)心動(dòng)，給他打了電話。 2. win/earn your ?spurs獲得名望；取得成功。

動(dòng)詞：[ VN ]?1.~ sb/sth (on) (to sth/to do sth)鞭策；激勵(lì)；刺激；鼓舞?Her difficult childhood spurred her on to succeed. 她艱辛的童年激勵(lì)她取得成功。2.促進(jìn)，加速，刺激（某事發(fā)生）?The agreement is essential to spurring economic growth around the world. 這項(xiàng)協(xié)議對(duì)于促進(jìn)世界經(jīng)濟(jì)的增長(zhǎng)是至關(guān)重要的。3.策（馬）前進(jìn)；（尤指用馬刺）策（馬）加速

dynamism /?da?n?m?z?m/n. 精力；活力；勁頭

bandy about：隨意傳播; 八卦；隨意擺布

enact /??n?kt/ v. 制定，通過(guò)；扮演，表演；使發(fā)生，付諸實(shí)際

exhume /eks?hju?m/?/?ɡ?zju?m/v.（為檢查死因）掘出（尸首）

Thatcherite/?θ?t??ra?t/ ?adj.（支持）英國(guó)前首相撒切爾夫人政策的；（支持）右翼政策的

mooring /?m??r??/n. 下錨；停泊處；系船具；v. 停泊（moor 的ing形式）

Reflex?/?ri?fleks/ n.反射動(dòng)作；本能反應(yīng)；反射作用

inception /?n?sep?n/ ?n.（機(jī)構(gòu)、組織等的）開端，創(chuàng)始

overt /???v??t/ /???v??t/ adj. 公開的；明顯的；不隱瞞的?? There was little overt support for the project. 對(duì)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目公開表示支持的很少。

Political leaders again believe they can pick winners, and some bosses are only too happy to be chosen. Regulators are introducing ever more rules, and using those designed for one goal(promoting competition or good corporate governance) to achieve others (data privacy or workforce diversity). Governments see friendless corporations as a handy?piggy-bank.?And countries are turning inward,?giving international trade the cold shoulder.

政治領(lǐng)袖再一次相信自己可以挑選贏家，一些企業(yè)家也非常樂意被選中。監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)正在引入越來(lái)越多的規(guī)則，并利用規(guī)則為一個(gè)目標(biāo)(促進(jìn)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)或良好的公司治理)設(shè)計(jì)的規(guī)則來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)其他目標(biāo)(數(shù)據(jù)隱私或員工多樣性)。政府將沒有朋友的公司視為方便的存錢罐。各國(guó)也開始轉(zhuǎn)向國(guó)內(nèi)，冷落國(guó)際貿(mào)易。

piggy bank ?n. 豬形儲(chǔ)錢罐

英文來(lái)自：《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人·商論》1月刊