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?

从表面上看，生意从来没有这么好过。利润和股价都接近历史最高水平。大流行救援计划几乎没有涉及政府施加的压力，而是涉及大量的企业福利。超级交易在美国达到了历史最高点，在其他地方也很多。有什么不喜欢的呢?

counterproductive  /ˌkaʊntəprəˈdʌktɪv/ adj. 产生相反效果；事与愿违；适得其反

arm-twisting：强迫、施压

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.

正如这个专题报道所主张，如今相当多的贸易证明是历史最高水平。但几乎任何地方的人民群众都对商贸失去了信任，包括他们的政治代表人。这个结果就是政府希望在企业设立地点和运营方式方面有更大的话语权。反企业情绪让商业活动雪上加霜，难以抵挡对企业出台的新政策和更高税收的呼声。

high-water mark（HWM）：直译为“高水位线”，也可意译为“历史最高水平” 

详细解释可参考https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/75410775

Upshot：最后结果；结局

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）不能奢望追逐利润的企业自愿交更多的税或者自己处理宏大的挑战如气候变暖、收入不平衡，更不用说地缘政治纠纷。Milton Friedman说过一句名句：在商言商。企业可能需要激励去做正确的事情。

Squabble  v. /ˈskwɒbl/ [ V ] ~ (with sb) (about/over sth) （为琐事）争吵，发生口角 • My sisters were squabbling over what to watch on TV. 我的姐妹正为看哪个电视节目争吵。

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.

但这些激励措施必须摒弃偏袒，激发活力并保持开放。而现在被散播或颁布的许多激励措施却没有以上特点。在比尔•克林顿(Bill Clinton)领导下的大政府时代被埋葬之后，民主党人正热情地将其挖掘出来，甚至一些共和党人也在为他们喝彩。英国执政的保守党已经失去了撒切尔主义的根基。欧盟，一个从一开始就具有强烈干涉注意本能的组织，正在向它让步。中国已果断放弃经济自由化，进入一个由政府公开指导和控制企业的新时代。

spurn v. /spɜ:n/[ VN ]（尤指傲慢地）拒绝 • Eve spurned Mark's invitation. 伊夫一口回绝了马克的邀请。

favouritism n. /ˈfeɪvərɪtɪzəm/ [ U ] ( disapproving )偏爱；偏袒

spur /spɜː(r)/名词：1.马刺；靴刺；2.~ (to sth) 鞭策；激励；刺激；鼓舞；3.山嘴；尖坡；支脉；4.（公路或铁路的）支线，岔线5. on the ˌspur of the ˈmoment 一时冲动之下；心血来潮•I phoned him up on the spur of the moment. 我一时心动，给他打了电话。 2. win/earn your ˈspurs获得名望；取得成功。

动词：[ VN ] 1.~ sb/sth (on) (to sth/to do sth)鞭策；激励；刺激；鼓舞•Her difficult childhood spurred her on to succeed. 她艰辛的童年激励她取得成功。2.促进，加速，刺激（某事发生）•The agreement is essential to spurring economic growth around the world. 这项协议对于促进世界经济的增长是至关重要的。3.策（马）前进；（尤指用马刺）策（马）加速

dynamism /ˈdaɪnəmɪzəm/n. 精力；活力；劲头

bandy about：随意传播; 八卦；随意摆布

enact /ɪˈnækt/ v. 制定，通过；扮演，表演；使发生，付诸实际

exhume /eksˈhjuːm/ /ɪɡˈzjuːm/v.（为检查死因）掘出（尸首）

Thatcherite/ˈθætʃəraɪt/  adj.（支持）英国前首相撒切尔夫人政策的；（支持）右翼政策的

mooring /ˈmɔːrɪŋ/n. 下锚；停泊处；系船具；v. 停泊（moor 的ing形式）

Reflex /ˈriːfleks/ n.反射动作；本能反应；反射作用

inception /ɪnˈsepʃn/  n.（机构、组织等的）开端，创始

overt /əʊˈvɜːt/ /ˈəʊvɜːt/ adj. 公开的；明显的；不隐瞒的 • There was little overt support for the project. 对这个项目公开表示支持的很少。

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.

政治领袖再一次相信自己可以挑选赢家，一些企业家也非常乐意被选中。监管机构正在引入越来越多的规则，并利用规则为一个目标(促进竞争或良好的公司治理)设计的规则来实现其他目标(数据隐私或员工多样性)。政府将没有朋友的公司视为方便的存钱罐。各国也开始转向国内，冷落国际贸易。

piggy bank  n. 猪形储钱罐

英文来自：《经济学人·商论》1月刊