American society--All for one 

Robert Putnam and Michael Sandel diagnose America

Mr Sandel’s focus is tighter. His target is meritocratic society and the ideal it aims to realise, equality of opportunity. For true egalitarians, who want fairer outcomes, a uniform starting line has always seemed a fudge. To some rugged conservatives, promising equal opportunity is necessary lip-service to unmeetable popular demands. Mr Sandel, a political philosopher, ends up on the fence. He is not an out-and-out egalitarian, but nor does he dismiss hopes for some degree of genuine civic equality.

Egalitarian  adj. /iˌɡælɪˈteəriən/ 主张人人平等的；平等主义的

fudge /fʌdʒ/  1.法奇软糖，乳脂软糖（用糖、黄油和牛奶制成）；2. a fudge 敷衍，装模作样（没有真正解决问题）动词：~ (on) sth 含糊其辞；回避 •Politicians are often very clever at fudging the issue . 从政者都常常巧妙地回避问题。

Rugged  adj. /ˈrʌɡɪd/  1.(地形) 崎岖的；凹凸不平的；多岩石的 •rugged cliffs 岩石突兀的悬崖绝壁；2.(男人的脸 ) 强健而富有魅力的；粗犷的 3.(人) 坚强的；坚毅的 •a rugged individualist 坚定的个人主义者 4.(设备、衣服等 ) 结实的；耐用的

lip-service 空口的应酬话；口惠       Unmeetable  adj. 难以达到的，无法实现的

out-and-out  /ˌaʊt ən ˈaʊt/ 十足的；完全的；彻头彻尾的 • What she said was an out-and-out lie. 她说的是个弥天大谎。

on the fence 保持中立；抱观望态度

He recognises that gauges of performance and success often measure the wrong things or measure the right things badly. His critique of over-reliance on paper credentials in hiring and university placements is telling. (Similar flaws of ranking mania in medicine, policing, schooling and the armed forces were expertly exposed in Jerry Muller ‘s ” The Tyranny of Metrics”.) Mr Sandel’s larger concern, however, is not whether achievement is properly calibrated but whether its rewards are rightly merited. As he says, that ethical question runs back to theological disputes about the arbitrariness or earnability of God’s grace. These days, free-marketeers and redistributionists tussle over whether and how to offset the lottery of talent and energy that underlies supposedly merited rewards.

critique  /krɪˈtiːk/ n. 批评；评论文章 vt. 批判；评论

over-reliance  /əʊvərɪˈlaɪəns/过度信赖          paper credential：纸质凭证

Tyranny  n. /ˈtɪrəni/  

1.暴虐；专横；苛政；专政 •The children had no protection against the tyranny of their father. 孩子们无法抵御其父的虐待。•the tyrannies of Nazi rule 纳粹统治的暴行 2.暴君统治；暴君统治的国家

Mania  /ˈmeɪniə/  1.~ (for sth/for doing sth)（通常指许多人共有的）强烈的欲望，狂热，极大的热情 •He had a mania for fast cars. 他是个飞车狂。2. 躁狂症

Flaw  n. /flɔː/  1.~ (in sth) 错误；缺点 • The argument is full of fundamental flaws. 这段论述充满根本性的错误。2.~ (in sth)  裂痕；裂隙；瑕疵 3.~ (in sb/sth)（性格上的）弱点，缺点 •There is always a flaw in the character of a tragic hero. 悲剧主角总有性格上的缺点。

calibrate v.   /ˈkælɪbreɪt/  标定，校准（刻度，以使测量准确）

theological /ˌθiːəˈlɒdʒɪkl/ adj. 神学的，神学上的

arbitrariness /ˈɑːbɪtrərinəs; ˈɑːbɪtrinəs/  n. 任意，恣意；专断；霸道

redistributionist  财富重分论者，福利国家鼓吹者

tussle  /ˈtʌsl/ 名词： ~ (for/over sth) 扭打，争斗，争执（尤指为了争得物品）•He was injured during a tussle for the ball. 他在争球时受了伤。动词： 扭打，争斗（尤指为了争夺物品） •The children were tussling with one another for the ball. 孩子们在你抢我夺地争球。

Like Mr Putnam’s, the solutions Mr Sandel suggests call for profound changes in prevailing attitudes: acknowledgment of luck in the share-out of rewards, recognition that all work has dignity, new commitment to the public good, and readiness to argue such matters out in a healthier, more deliberative democracy. A sceptic may share the pair’s concerns about American society yet wonder if, in such a vigorously competitive, capitalist place, those profound changes in thinking are probable.And whether, given how long the arguments over unmerited disadvantage have lasted, they are likely to end soon.

Profound /prəˈfaʊnd/ adj. 深厚的；意义深远的；渊博的

Prevailing  adj. /prɪˈveɪlɪŋ/  1.普遍的；盛行的；流行的 •the prevailing economic conditions 普遍的经济状况 2.（指风）一地区常刮的，盛行的

share-out 分配，分摊             sceptic  /ˈskeptɪk/惯持怀疑态度的人；怀疑论者

vigorously /ˈvɪɡərəsli/ adv. 精神旺盛地，活泼地

译文

Mr Sandel’s focus is tighter. His target is meritocratic society and the ideal it aims to realise, equality of opportunity. For true egalitarians, who want fairer outcomes, a uniform starting line has always seemed a fudge. To some rugged conservatives, promising equal opportunity is necessary lip-service to unmeetable popular demands. Mr Sandel, a political philosopher, ends up on the fence. He is not an out-and-out egalitarian, but nor does he dismiss hopes for some degree of genuine civic equality.

Sandel先生关注领域相对窄一些。他关注精英社会及其理想--机会公平。对于追求更公平结果的真正平均主义者来说，统一的起跑线就是敷衍做法。对于坚定的保守派来说，承诺机会平等是针对无法实现的大众需求必要的口头支票。Sandel先生作为一位政治哲学家最终持观望态度。虽然他不是彻底的平均主义者，但他也希望实现某种程度上的真正公民平等。

He recognises that gauges of performance and success often measure the wrong things or measure the right things badly. His critique of over-reliance on paper credentials in hiring and university placements is telling. (Similar flaws of ranking mania in medicine, policing, schooling and the armed forces were expertly exposed in Jerry Muller ‘s ” The Tyranny of Metrics”.) Mr Sandel’s larger concern, however, is not whether achievement is properly calibrated but whether its rewards are rightly merited. As he says, that ethical question runs back to theological disputes about the arbitrariness or earnability of God’s grace. These days, free-marketeers and redistributionists tussle over whether and how to offset the lottery of talent and energy that underlies supposedly merited rewards.

他意识到用绩效和成就的衡量尺度衡量好坏事物结果很差。他对雇佣和大学中过度依赖纸质凭证的批判很能说明他的观点。相似的问题也体现在医疗、治安、教育与武装力量的排名狂热，被Jerry Muller 在《指标陷阱》中一针见血地揭露。Sandel先生更关注的不是成就是否被妥善校准，而是其回报是否应得。如同他所说，这个伦理道德问题可追溯到神学关于上帝恩典的任意性或可获利性的分歧。现今，自由市场主义者与财富再分配主义者为是否及如何抵消才能与精力的天生性差异。而这种运气因素是应得收益的基础。

Like Mr Putnam’s, the solutions Mr Sandel suggests call for profound changes in prevailing attitudes: acknowledgment of luck in the share-out of rewards, recognition that all work has dignity, new commitment to the public good, and readiness to argue such matters out in a healthier, more deliberative democracy. A sceptic may share the pair’s concerns about American society yet wonder if, in such a vigorously competitive, capitalist place, those profound changes in thinking are probable.And whether, given how long the arguments over unmerited disadvantage have lasted, they are likely to end soon.

如同 Putnam一样， Sandel先生解决方案是当前社会的普遍观念需要一次深远的改变：承认分配财富时存在运气，承认所有工作都有尊严，对公众利益作出新承诺，并准备在一个更健康，更慎重的民主制度下讨论这些问题。一位怀疑论者可能与这两位学者一样担忧美国社会，也在好奇在这样竞争激烈，资本主义发达的地方，这些深远的思想变革会发生吗？而且，关于“不当劣势”已经争论很长时间，不知道能否很快结束。

经济学人11月刊