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

dangerous shifts

These changes carry two dangers.As the state becomes more involved in business, however well-meaning?its motives, companies'?focus tends to shift from satisfying consumers towards currying favour with political leaders.Preferred firms grow flabbier?and less innovative. Regulations dampen?animal spirits.?Cronyism rears its head.?A chosen few win big.? Everybody else loses.

這些改變帶來兩個風(fēng)險。一旦政府更深入?yún)⑴c到商業(yè)活動，不論它的動機(jī)是多么好，企業(yè)也會從取悅消費(fèi)者轉(zhuǎn)向迎逢政治領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的喜好。更合（領(lǐng)導(dǎo)）喜好的公司變得臃腫肥胖、缺乏創(chuàng)新精神。規(guī)章制度壓制（企業(yè)）的動物精神。任人唯親的現(xiàn)象抬頭。被選中的幾個企業(yè)暴富流油，其他參與者都損失慘重。

well-meaning：善意的，好心的

curry favour：拍馬屁；curry favour with the boss 向老板賣好

flabby /?fl?bi/adj. 1.（肌肉）松弛的；肥胖的??flabby thighs 肥胖的大腿；2.軟弱的；無力的??a flabby grip 無力的一握

dampen /?d?mp?n/v. 1.弄濕；使潮濕??He dampened his hair to make it lie flat. 他把頭發(fā)弄濕，梳得平平的。2.抑制，控制，減弱（感情、反應(yīng)等）?None of the setbacks could dampen his enthusiasm for the project. 任何挫折都不能減弱他對這個項(xiàng)目的熱情。

cronyism /?kr??ni?z?m/n.任人唯親；任用親信

rear /r??(r)/名詞：后部，屁股；臀部；adj：后面的；后部的；v：撫養(yǎng)；養(yǎng)育；培養(yǎng)；飼養(yǎng)；用后腿直立；（尤指可怖地）巍然聳立

sth rears its (ugly) ?head：if sth unpleasant rears its head or rears its ugly head , it appears or happens （討厭的事情）出現(xiàn)，發(fā)生

The second danger is?subtler.?As some firms and governments become chummier, others may conclude that they have no choice but to do the same —especially if cosiness?seems to work. This could lead to a soft,?self-imposed decoupling,?even as traditional trade barriers also go up."You are seeing flows of people,technology, capital?all being curtailed,"observes Hank Paulson, America's former treasury secretary. One European industrialist predicts,"The era of shortage will drive more egotism".

第二個危險就比較微妙。隨著一些企業(yè)與政府關(guān)系變得更加親密，其他企業(yè)可能認(rèn)為自己也不得不迎合政府，尤其是這種迎合看起來有效果的時候。這可能導(dǎo)致一種安靜的，自我施加的脫鉤，甚至傳統(tǒng)貿(mào)易壁壘也會增長。Hank Paulson, 美國前財(cái)政部長觀察到“ 你看見人才、科技和資本的流動都被削弱。一位歐盟的實(shí)業(yè)家預(yù)測到“這個物資短缺的時代將會帶來更多的利己主義”。

Subtle /?s?tl/adj.1.不易察覺的；不明顯的；微妙的??subtle colours/flavours/smells, etc. 淡淡的色彩、味道、氣味等；2.(人或其行為) 機(jī)智的；機(jī)巧的；狡猾的?I decided to try a more subtle approach. 我決定智取；3.巧妙的?a subtle plan 巧妙的計(jì)劃；4.敏銳的；頭腦靈活的?The job required a subtle mind. 那項(xiàng)工作需要一個頭腦敏銳的人去做。

Chummy /?t??mi/adj.非常友好的；親密的

Cosiness/?k??zin?s/n. 舒適

curtail /k??te?l/ v.限制；縮短；減縮?? Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 購書開支已被大大削減。

egotism/?eg?t?z(?)m; ?i-/ n. 自負(fù)；自我中心

treasury secretary:財(cái)政部長

industrialist ：實(shí)業(yè)家，產(chǎn)業(yè)家

China is not?doomed to?failure as the Soviet Union was.?Its economy is more sophisticated and,?in pockets,?genuinely innovative: look at Alibaba and Tencent, its digital titans. Yet its model is not a superior form of capitalism.?For all its progress, China is poor?by Western standards, leaving room for state-directed catch-up growth. The most impressive Chinese businesses,?including in big tech, have thrived in markets that the state until recently kept mostly at arm's length.?In focusing attention on China's top-down policy?making rather than its bottom-up entrepreneurial?effervescence, some?in the West draw the wrong?lessons.

doom to：注定要

at arm's length：敬而遠(yuǎn)之，在手臂伸得到的地方，保持安全距離

entrepreneurial /??ntr?pr??n??ri?l/ adj. 具有企業(yè)家素質(zhì)的，富于企業(yè)家精神的

Effervescence /?ef??ves(?)ns/ 冒泡,活潑,激情,起泡沫,泡騰,沸騰,發(fā)泡

China's course seems set for the?foreseeable future.But a swing away from today's interventionist mood remains possible?in the West.The Tories may rekindle?their inner Thatcher. As a club governed by consensus, the EU may listen more to Nordic?liberals when they say "strategic autonomy"is little more than a cloak for protectionism. Clintonian small government may seem a lost cause?among Democrats, but Republicans'?pro-market memory may kick in if they can only disavow?Trumpian?populism.

a swing away from：擺脫**

interventionist mood ：干涉主義情緒

The Tories：英國托利派；王黨保守黨

rekindle /?ri??k?ndl/v.使重新活躍；使復(fù)蘇 ? to rekindle feelings/hopes 再次引發(fā)感情；重新點(diǎn)燃希望

lost cause 業(yè)已失敗的事情；沒有希望的事情

pro-market：親市場，pro這個前綴指的是“親，偏好某某的意思”

disavow /?d?s??va?/v.不承認(rèn)；否認(rèn)；拒絕對…承擔(dān)責(zé)任 ? They disavowed claims of a split in the party. 他們否認(rèn)了黨內(nèi)出現(xiàn)分裂的說法。

populism /?p?pj?l?z?m/n.平民政治；民粹主義；民意論

The broad liberal principles rediscovered in the 1980s remain as powerful as they were 40 years ago.For that reason alone, political and business leaders mess with them at their?peril. The precepts are also valuable in themselves, as expressions of freedom: for entrepreneurs to invent, consumers to choose and citizens to live as they see fit.That is why it is essential to defend them against attacks from populists, opportunistic cronies?in the private sector and those who have lost faith in free markets.?For all its imperfections,liberal capitalism remains a vital force for good.

peril /?per?l/n. 1. 嚴(yán)重危險??The country's economy is now in grave peril. 現(xiàn)在，這個國家的經(jīng)濟(jì)陷入了嚴(yán)重危機(jī)。2.禍害；險情?a warning about the perils of drug abuse 對吸毒之害的警告；3. DO STH AT YOUR (OWN) ?PERIL?（警告對方）自冒風(fēng)險

precept /?pri?sept/n.（思想、行為的）準(zhǔn)則，規(guī)范

opportunistic cronies：機(jī)會主義的拉幫結(jié)派

英文原文出自《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人商論》2022年1月刊