彭博社：無法遏制不平等現象加劇，英國面臨「資本主義危機」

Britain Risks `Crisis of Capitalism" Due to Rising Inequality

由於不平等現象加劇，英國面臨著「資本主義危機」

來源：彭博社 翻譯：世界播

Britain risks following the U.S. in terms of declining life expectancy and stagnant wages for the less-educated portion of the population if the causes of inequality go unchecked, according to a report.

一份報告顯示，如果不遏制社會財富不平等（貧富差距）現象的日益加劇趨勢，英國可能會步美國的後塵，導致受教育程度較低的人群預期壽命下降，工資水平停滯不前。

The research, published Tuesday, forms the first part of a review into inequality chaired by Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton, which will ultimately provide a set of policy proposals to tackle inequality in Britain. The findings are bound to fuel the debate over wealth disparities in the U.K., an issue that both Prime Minister Theresa May and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn have pledged to redress after years of austerity and meager income growth.

周二發表的這項報告是諾貝爾獎得主安格斯?迪頓領導的一項關於貧富差距研究調查的第一部分。該研究最終將提供一套解決英國不平等問題的政策建議。這一調查結果勢必會引發有關英國貧富差距的爭論，在多年的緊縮和微薄的收入增長之後，英國首相特雷莎?梅和反對黨領袖傑里米?科爾賓都承諾要糾正這個問題。

「The deepening economic and social divides have led some to question whether inequality will lead to a crisis of capitalism,」 the report, commissioned by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said. 「With support for populist candidates rising on both sides of the Atlantic, and on both sides of the political spectrum, some question whether inequality may pose a threat not just to capitalism but also to our democratic system.」

這份由英國財政研究所委託撰寫的報告稱：「經濟和社會分化的加深，已導致一些人質疑，不平等是否會導致資本主義危機。隨著大西洋兩岸和政治派別對民粹主義候選人的支持日益增加，也有一些人質疑，不平等是否不僅僅會對資本主義構成威脅，而且也會對我們的民主制度構成威脅。」

The share of income going to the top 1% of households in the U.K. has nearly tripled in the last four decades, while adjusting for inflation, the lowest-earning working households today earn little more than they would have in the mid-1990s. Figures also show that 「deaths of despair」 -- those from suicide, drug and alcohol abuse -- are rising among the middle-aged, while residents of less affluent parts of England have lower life expectancy

在過去的四十年里，英國收入最高的1%家庭所佔的收入份額幾乎增長了近三倍。儘管依通貨膨脹作出了調整，但目前收入最低的工薪家庭的收入仍只比上世紀90年代中期高了一點點。數據還顯示，「由失去希望引發的死亡」在中年人中呈上升趨勢，這些死亡原因包含自殺、吸毒和酗酒，而英國較不富裕地區的居民預期壽命普遍較低。

Declining membership in trade unions and growth in the gig economy are likely reducing workers』 bargaining power, the report said. Technological change and globalization are also driving forces of inequalities, according to the report, which also looked at disparities in geography, generations, and gender.

該報告稱，工會成員數量的下降和零工經濟的增長很可能會降低工人的議價能力。報告指出，技術變革和全球化也是造成財富不平等的驅動因素。報告還考察了地理、代際之間和性別方面的差異。

「I think that people getting rich is a good thing, especially when it brings prosperity to others,」 Deaton said. 「But the other kind of getting rich, 『taking』 rather than 『making,』 rent-seeking rather than creating, enriching the few at the expense of the many, taking the free out of free markets, is making a mockery of democracy.」

迪頓表示：「我認為人們變得富有是一件好事，尤其是當它給他人帶來富足的時候。但現在普遍的一種致富方式是『索取佔有』而不是『積累』，是尋租而不是創造，是以犧牲多數人的利益為代價讓少數人富起來，是把自由從自由市場中拉出來，這完全就是對民主的嘲弄。」

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