2014年12月20日 星期六

官商同謀

看完了顧汝德的《官商同謀》,因為今天就夠期還,大略地講講。

本書主要是討論殖民地與商界代表及專業精英聯手的情況,也多少討論後殖民政府的缺失。香港殖民地政府拒絕政治改革,加上中方施壓阻止,故此以商界及專業人士為伙伴統治。

殖民地政府選擇自由放任主義為官方意識形態,令政策趨於權宜行事,經濟與社會基建不符發展要求。作者指60年代政府才考慮提供普及房屋及醫療,70年代才考慮普及教育,90年代才出現中央銀行性質的金融管理局,2000年才有法定退休保障計劃(按︰當然這個計劃也很跛腳),都反映經濟與社會基建「仍有大量流弊」。

作者提到殖民地政府外籍官員享有特權, 言語不通,有自己生活圈子,隔絕於華人社會之外,受文化阻隔影響而懼怕與民眾接觸,因而「減低了殖民地政府為社會提供優質行政、司法和公共服務的能力」。這種恐懼亦令殖民地政府選擇與本地出身的精英階層合作,扮演「華人觀點」的中間人,將平民百姓隔絕於外籍官員之外。對華人恐懼亦令本地公務員難以與外籍同事平起平坐,直至殖民地後期依然如此。

香港殖民地政府與其他英國殖民地相比擁有較大自主權,這是因為香港位置遠離英國,鄰近中國,人口多數由華人組成,英國亞洲殖民地減少,英國政府較難直接影響殖民地政策。另一方面,這也是香港殖民地政府在與英國政府有衝突時堅持己見的結果,書中提及的例子有1961年英國要求香港電力有限公司公營化不果、中電以美資埃索取代英資硯殼為合作夥伴、違背英鎊區政策、默許違反外匯管制、拒絕英國政府提供更多社會福利的要求、說服英國放棄香港政治改革、金融政策自主、不惜犧牲英國工人也要維護本土紡織業等。當然,英國在殖民中也不是毫無所得,如較早期香港財政盈餘需儲於倫敦、英國國營企業在香港具壟斷地位及英航控制香港著陸權。

基於1950年代中英外交關係未明,殖民地政府在與中國關係中比英國外交部更為重要,中共亦傾向在有衝突時與香港接觸以尋求實際解決方法,並默許英國繼續殖民香港。到文化大革命期間,英國外交部認為應對中國讓步,釋放在港因騷亂被捕入獄的人,但殖民地政府堅持他們只是在執法。六七暴動令英國外交官員以為英國管治香港只是中方容忍,卻看不到中方利用殖民地在冷戰時期的經濟優勢,書中指1963-67年中國購買入口貨品所需外匯30%由香港提供。

接近1980年代,中英關係日漸正常,英國外交部主導對中國的交涉。作者指外交官出身的麥理浩在1979年獲倫敦支持向中方提出香港前途問題,「只能算是不顧後果的冒進行為」,回港後也沒有向行政局交代會面內容。繼任的尤德認為港人必須參與中英談判,但他對政治改革及公民權利並不堅持,英國外交部及以商界為主的香港行政局也不支持民主,加上中方不滿,令《聯合聲明》的民主發展方案變得空泛。及後英國外交部發現,他們對鄧小平否定西方民主與拒絕香港加快政治改革無力改變,為避免與中國公開衝突,英國外交部以「諮詢把戲」拖延選舉改革,確保中方可監控政治改革步伐。然而香港社會對選舉改革由1988年延後至1991年反應激烈,殖民地政府被指扭曲民意,令其不再讓外交部主導中港關係。1989年中方鎮壓國內民主運動後,英國外交部仍只希望迎合中方,相反,時任港督衛奕信成功說服中共在1991年立法局選舉增加直選議席。繼任港督彭定康一開始本希望製造和諧,礙於香港政治現實亦不得不尊重社會意見,將大量北京問題工作交由港府公務員團隊執行。自回歸後,中國收回香港主權、香港官員處理問題時畏首畏尾、中港經濟相對地位倒轉,都令香港人認為港人治港受到威脅。

提到殖民地政府吸納商界精英參與行政,作者指私營部門專門人才在公共行政方面只有業餘水平,例如未能及時督促政府提供房屋,也沒有在銀行及證券業出現市場失效前提醒政府。自1960年代起,社會漸趨分層,精英生活脫離民眾,越來越沒有能力提出有用的建議,新一代精英已沒有上一代的傳統人脈,以前由富人提供的社會福利組織亦由政府機構取代,精英反過來要依靠政府的委任在權力架構中佔一席位。臨近殖民統治結束,精英看不到跟隨殖民地政府對個人利益有何幫助,紛紛向中國靠攏。後殖民政府嘗試以「部長制」(即問責局長制)取代諮詢式政府,希望回應公眾對高層官員的要求,但實際上「部長」並不向公眾負責。作者認為,「在21世紀,政府顯然再不能無限期延續這種英國人用以取代民主的政治安排」。

精英加入殖民地政府的原因主要是有機會左右政策制訂,以便為商界謀利,例如在紡織業等技術行業掌握政策主導權,瓜分配額獲利;否決影響其商業利益的草案,如穩定樓價;拉攏官員支持限制進口、提供工業發展資金等。後殖民政府經歷久逢的經濟衰退、在數碼港等項目疑似利益輸送、不再是殖民政府後市民期望政府直接面對群眾等,都令官商關係密切備受質疑。

外籍官員對民眾生活缺乏了解,加上官員與商界精英的傳統關係,令殖民地政府充斥貪污行為。作者描述,葛量洪對處理政府貪污問題消極悲觀,柏立基爵士嘗試成立特別部門清除貪污,但高層官員不願處理,戴麟趾爵士年代情況類似,麥理浩爵士到任時並不視貪污為重要問題,也不想廉政問題引起社會討論。直至葛柏醜聞爆發,麥理浩為政治現實成位廉政公署,卻限制懲處範圍。後來因發現廉潔政府形象能賺取政治籌碼,廉潔政府才成為公務員文化一部份。受限於傳統自由放任主義「小政府」的迷思,殖民地政府對私營部門貪污打擊不力,在製造業工作環境、金融業市場失效、地產與建築業偷工減料方面尤其明顯。

作者用兩章回顧四間英資公司滙豐、怡和、太古及中電在殖民地的興衰。1970年中期外資在香港開始衰退,華商開始收購外資,怡和的凱瑟克家族因擔心遭華商收購,卻在資產市場暴跌後損失慘重,加上遷離總部影響與中國關係,在後殖民年代影響力更低。太古則緊守香港市場,願意與英國商界競爭,並與中國關係良好,順利過渡至後殖民時期。中電掌握壟斷行業利益,1950年代與華廠商抗衡卻失敗收場,在後殖民時期,民眾對其壟斷地位亦日益不滿。

滙豐在英資公司中比較著重員工個人表現,是各銀行交易的結算中心,在香港銀行業長期享有壟斷特權。1965年收購恆生銀行,得以用華資身份交易。1970年代開始進軍大眾市場,以較保守的貸款策略贏得大眾支持存款。至1980年代國際金融機構開始在香港擴張,滙豐影響力減退,並於1993年將總部遷至倫敦,滙豐步向全球性銀行,不再局限於香港。

上海商人是殖民地政府選擇的得力伙伴,也是後殖民政府的權力繼承者。雖然有說上海移民令香港成為現代化的工業經濟體系,但作者認為以人口比例計上海人所佔甚少,而且並非所有上海來港人士都是社會或工業精英人才。香港早在十九世紀已出現製造業,戰前1945年二戰結束後已快速工業化。

總結一章討論香港在後殖民時期的困難,作者再次指出香港人質素良好,值得讓他們參與政府事務︰

統治者實在無需要拒香港人於千里之外,或拒絕他們參與政府事務。他們猶如模範公民般,值得官員和商界領袖的尊重,因為實在難以找到一個地區的人民是如此有社會責任、寬容、政治成熟及依靠自己,同時又如此容易滿足和管治的。香港人是理想的選民,即使曾經歷20世紀後半葉的經濟騷亂和政治不穩,他們仍是香港成功的穩健基礎。由英治時期到新特別行政區的交接,他們仍保存個人特長。1997年,英治結束,香港統治者的挑戰沒有改變,就是如何服務這群擁有優良質素的香港人,讓他們協助建構最好的政府(p. 358)。


不過總是有人把簡單問題弄得越來越複雜就是,一複雜了,就回不了頭。

2014年12月14日 星期日

狂熱份子

看完了賀佛爾的《狂熱份子》,討論群眾運動的特質,作者指︰

本書探討的主要是群眾運動的一個階段︰積極階段(acive phase)。這個階段的群眾運動是由「忠實信徒」(true believer)所控制,而所謂的「忠實信徒」,是指具有狂熱信仰,準備好隨時為一件神聖偉業犧牲的人。本書會嘗試追溯這類人的起源和他們的人格特質。為了幫助實現這個目的,我們會採行一些假設。基於所有群眾運動的初期追隨者都以失意者(the frustrated)居多,以及失意者一般都是自願參加群眾運動的事實,我們提出兩個假定︰(一) 即使沒有外來的煽動遊說力量,失意感本身即足以產生「忠實信徒」所特有的大部份人格特徵;(二) 煽動遊說技巧是否奏效,端視其能否誘發和強化失意者所特有的那些心理和行為傾向(pp. 13-14)。


我說各種群眾運動有很多相似特徵,並非暗示它們都同樣有益或有害。本書既不作價值判斷,也不會表現愛惡。本書只嘗試去解釋,而這些解釋——它們全都是理論——是以建議和論證的方式提出來的,哪怕我的口吻有時看似斬釘截鐵(p. 15)。


作者認為成功與失敗會影響世界是否應該改變的態度︰

失敗者會喜歡把他們的失敗歸咎於世界,這是不難理解的。較不易理解的是,成功者內心深處同樣相信——不管他們有多麼以自己的遠見、堅忍、勤儉和其他美德自詡——他們的成功是環境中各種偶然因素加在一起造就的。哪怕他一直成功,他的自信仍然不會是百分百的。他不敢斷言自己知道造就他成功的一切因素。在他眼中,世界是一個勉強取得平衡的天平,而只要這種平衡對他們有利,他們就不會敢去擾亂它。因此,抗拒變革和熱望變革事實是同源的,前者的激烈程度也可以不亞於後者(pp. 7-8)。


對未來的信仰為群眾運動帶來勇氣︰

有權力的人如果對未來沒有信仰,就會用他的權力來排斥新事物,以保持現狀。另一方面,極不切實際的夢想即使沒有實際權力作為後盾,一樣可以讓人產生最大無畏的膽氣。這是因為,懷有大希望者的力量可以來自最荒謬的力量來源︰一個口號,一句話或一枚徽章。沒有信仰是有力量的——除非它也是一種對未來的信仰,除非它含有千福年的成份。任何教義主張也是如此︰如果想要成為一種力量的來源,它必須宣稱自己是打開未來之書的鑰匙(pp. 10-11)。


參與群眾運動令失意者可以無需面對自我,沈浸於神聖義務之中︰

群眾運動的吸引力和實務組織的吸引力有一個基本不同處。實務組織可以提供人自我改善的機會,故其吸引力來自它可以滿足個人利益。反之,一個群眾運動,特別是當它還處於生氣勃勃的積極階段時,吸引到的不是那些珍愛「自我」的人。一個群眾運動會吸引到一群追隨者,不在於它可以滿足人們追求自我改善的渴望,而在於可以滿足他們自我否定的熱望(p. 15)。


對失意者來說,群眾運動是一種替代品︰要不是可以替代他的整個「自我」,就是可以替代一些能讓他的生活可以勉強忍受的元素(p. 16)。


熱烈相信我們對別人負有神聖義務,往往是我們遇溺「自我」攀住一艘流經的木筏的方法。我們看似伸手助人一臂之力,實則在拯救自己。若把神聖義務拿掉,我們的生命即陷於貧乏和無意義。毫無疑問,在把自我中心的生活換成無私的生活以後,我們會得到的自尊是龐大的。無私者的虛榮心是無邊無際的(p. 19)。


批評者往往指責群眾運動用未來的希望麻醉其信徒,剝奪他們對「現在」的享受。可是,在失意者看來,他們的「現在」已是敗壞得無可救藥,再多的享受與快樂都不能使其恢復完整。除卻對未來的希望以外,他們不可能有真正的滿足或安慰(p. 20)。


作者提出群眾運動與移民有相似之處,也就是提供失意者脫離當下的機會︰

移民可以提供失意者一些他們想從群眾運動得到的東西,也就是轉變和一個重新開始的機會。那些在一個群眾運動初起時會急急投效的人,往往也是樂於得到移民機會的人(p. 27)。


每一個群眾運動在某種意義下都是一場移民︰追隨者會覺得他們正向一片應許之地邁進(p. 28)。


作者列出各種較有可能參與群眾運動的失意者,包括窮人、畸零人、被遺棄的人、少數民族、青春期的少年、有野心的人、被某些惡德或偏報挾制的人、無能者、極度自私的人、對生活厭煩的人及罪犯(p. 34)。

作者認為自由反而會加深失意感︰

自由對失意感的加深作用不亞於紓緩作用。選擇的自由讓個人得把失敗的責任一肩扛。自由鼓勵多種多樣的嘗試,也無可避免會帶來多種多樣的失敗與失意感。


一個人除非善於用腦子,否則自由就會成為他一種討厭的負擔。自我若是軟弱無力,再多的自由又有何用?我們參加群眾運動,是為了逃避個人責任或為了得到——用一個熱情洋溢年輕納粹黨員的造說——「免於自由的自由」(pp. 44-45)。


已經處於緊密團體,如部落、關係親密的家族、宗教團體等的人,比較難受群眾運動吸引︰

一個人愈是不把自己看成能夠決定自己現狀與前途的獨立自主個體,就愈不會把自己的貧困歸因於自己的拙劣。一個緊密團體的成員,其「革命燃點」要比獨立自主的人高。需要更悲慘與更屈辱的際遇,才能讓他揭竿而起。在一個極權社會中,革命會爆發,一般都不是因為人們對壓迫和困苦的怒火趨於沸騰,而是因為極權架構發生鬆動所導致(p. 50)。


由此可見,一個群眾運動想要贏得大量信徒,必須拆散所有既有團體的紐帶。理想中的潛在信徒,應該是個獨來獨往的人,他不屬於任何集體,沒有泯滅自我的方法,無法靠團體來掩蓋自己的渺小、無意義和寒酸(p. 51)。


鞏固群眾運動有賴將參與者緊密組織︰

一個新興群眾運動賴以吸引和維繫追隨者的,不是主義與承諾,而是能不能提供人們一個避難所,讓他們可以逃離焦慮、空虛和無意義的生活。它能夠治療嚴重的失意者,不在於提供一種絕對真理,或是解決他們生活上的困難,而在於能讓他們擺脫無能的「自我」。而它之所以做到這一點,靠的是把失意者融化到一個緊密無間的集體中。


因此,一個群眾運動想要取得成功,必須從最早階段就發展出緊密的組織和一種把加盟者整合起來的能力。依主義的真確性和承諾的可實現性去判斷一個群眾運動的存活能力是徒勞的。真正有效的判準是看看它的組織是不是能迅速和完全把失意者融合起來(pp. 58-59)。


談及少數民族︰

在一個行將被同化的少數民族中間,最有成就和最沒成就的兩類人又比成就中庸的人感到更大的失意感。失敗者本來就易於自視為邊緣人,而如果他又是少數民族身份,他的失敗會讓他的無歸屬感更形濃烈。同樣感受也會出現在少數民族的成功者身上。他們儘管有名有利,卻往往難以打入多數民族的圈子,這使得他們格外意識到自己是個外人。另外,他們因為成功而自感優越,所以痛恨暗示他們低人一等的同化過程(p. 71)。


煩悶與群眾運動︰

社會大氣候是否已成熟得讓群眾運動萌芽,最可靠的指標莫過於是否有一股濃厚的煩悶氣氛彌漫。幾乎所有有關群眾運動發生前一段時間的敘述,都會提到普遍的厭煩情緒。當一個群眾運動開始的時候,它得自煩悶者的同情和支持,往往要多於被剝削者與被壓迫者(p. 72)。


失意者某些特徵會促進群眾運動團結與自我犧牲︰

「失意者」的苦惱何在?在於他意識到自己的自我已敗壞得無可補救。他們的主要渴望是逃避自我——正是這種渴望讓他們傾向於集體行動和自我犧牲。厭惡有缺點的自我、遺忘它、擺脫它的衝動,同時會讓人願意隨時自我犧牲和把自己掩埋在一個緊密的集體中。換言之,失意感不但會讓人產生團體和勇於犧牲的渴望,甚至會創造出讓這樣的事情事現的機制。如下所示,鄙視「現在」、易於仇恨、模仿、輕信等等縈繞強烈失意者的性向情緒,乃是團結的催化劑和無所顧忌行動的促成者(p. 83)。


書中談及促進成員自我犧牲的竅門,在於將成員從其血肉之我(flesh-and-blood self)分離,包括將其同化至緊密團體、賦予他假想的自我、灌輸他一種貶抑「現在」的態度、在他與現實間架設帷幕,以及透過激情阻止他建立自我穩定的平衡。

提及群眾運動的戲劇元素︰

若是作為儀式、典禮、戲劇表演或遊戲的一部份,捐軀或殺人都顯得不難。所以,為了讓人面對死亡而不皺眉頭,就有必要加入一些戲劇元素。在我們的小我看來,天上地下沒有一樣東西是值得它為之效死的。只有當我們自視為舞台上的演員,死亡才會失去其恐怖性和終極性,而成為一種模擬行為和戲劇姿態。一個能幹領袖的主要職責之一,是為他的追隨者製造一種幻想,讓他們覺得自己是從事什麼了不得的大事,是在進行某種肅穆或輕鬆的表演,從而忘了生死問題的嚴重性(p. 93)。


過去、現在與未來對群眾運動的重要︰

群眾運動之所以常常會給自己設定很多不切實際的目標,乃是其對抗「現在」的策略的一部份。大凡行得通的或有可行性的事都是「現在」的一部份。標榜一些可能達到的目標,等於是肯定「現在」的價值,並與之妥協。反之,相信奇蹟則是意味著否定和睥睨「現在」(pp. 97-98)。


沒有對美好的「未來」抱有深信不疑的信仰,對「現在」的貶抑就不會徹底。因為不管把「現在」描繪得有多麼不堪,如果未來在預期中只會更走下坡或把「現在」不變地維持下去,那我們就必然會和我們的環境妥協——不管這樣做有多艱難和會讓我們覺得自己有多卑劣(p. 99)。


謳歌「過去」可以作為貶低「現在」的一種方法。但除非同時抬出一個燦爛美好的「未來」,否則美化「過去」將會使一個群眾運動行事趨於謹慎,不會再肆無忌憚,勇往直前。另一方面,又沒有一種矮化「現在」的方法,比把它視為光榮「過去」與燦爛「未來」的中間環節更有力。因此,儘管群眾運動一開始會厭棄過去,但最後卻會熱烈強調(往往是假惺惺的)一個遙遠而光榮的「過去」(p. 101)。


日常事務不濟的失意者更需要不切實際的任務,以掩飾其無能︰

群眾運動喜歡鼓吹不切實際和不可能的任務,這也正對失意者的胃口。那些一般事情都做不好的人喜歡去做不可能的事。那是他們掩飾自己無能的手段。因為要是我們從事可能之事而失敗,失敗之責就得完全自己承擔;但如果從事不可能之事而失敗,我們就可以把責任歸咎於事情的困難。從事不可能之事比從究可能之事少一點丟臉的危險。因此,愈做不好一般事情的人就愈膽大妄為。


可以說,失意者從群眾運動所使用的手段得到的滿足感,並不亞於鼓吹的目標所得到者(pp. 107-108)。


作者認為團體領袖不諳實務也有好處︰

夢想、願景和奢望都是有力的武器和最實質的工具。一個貨真價實的領袖一定擁有務實的心靈,而他們也會體認到上述工具的價值。然而這種體認往往來自對「現在」的藐視,而他們會藐視「現在」,則源於不諳實務。成功的商人通常都是不稱職的團體領袖,因為他們滿腦都是「已有的東西」,心思都放在時代已成就的事情上。因此,不善處理實際事務看來是管理公共事務者的必要資格。有些天性自小的人在實務世界中失敗後沒有一蹶不振,反而異想天開,認定自己有領導一個國家的大才能,可說是誤打誤中(p. 110)。


忠實信徒都有自行扭曲現實的能力︰

但凡「忠實信徒」都有「閉眼摀耳」的能力,對「不值得看或聽」的事不屑一顧,而他們所以能夠無比堅定不移,力量亦是源自於此。他不會因為危險卻步,不會因為障礙重重氣餒,不會因為有反面證據而困惑,因為他根本否定有危險、障礙和反面證據的存在(p. 114)。


陷入狂熱者並非認為神聖事業正確無誤,而是他需要有所依附︰

你無法用理性或道德上的理由去說服一個狂熱者拋棄他的大業。他害怕妥協,因此你不可能讓他相信他信奉的主義並不可靠。但他卻不難突然從一件神聖偉業轉投另一件神聖偉業的懷抱。他無法被說服,只能被煽動。對他而言,真正重要的不是他所依附的大業的本質,而是他需要有所依附的情感需要(p. 123)。


在他看來,寬容是一種軟弱、輕浮和愚昧的象徵。他渴盼那種來自完成順服的心安理得感,渴盼全心全意依附於一種信仰和主義。對他來說重要的不是一個運動的主張目標,而是它可以讓他完全獻身,並與一個集體發生聯繫。他甚至會願意去參加一個反對他前一個信仰的群眾運動,但前提是那必須是個真正兇猛的運動——不妥協,不寬容,聲稱佔有唯一和獨一的真理(p. 125)。


仇恨令群眾團結︰

在所有團結的催化劑中,最容易運用和理解的一項,就是仇恨。仇恨可以把人從他的自我快速捲走,使他忘記自己的幸福和前途,不去妒忌人也不會只顧自己。他會變成一顆匿名的粒子,渴望跟同類匯聚融合,形成一個發光發熱的集體(p. 131)。


哪怕是在有合理悲憤的情況下,我們的恨意主要仍然不是來自別人對我們的傷害,而是來自我們意識到自己的無能和懦弱——換言之是源於自卑。當我們自感比傷害我們的人優越,我們更可能的反應是鄙夷他們,甚至可憐他們,而不是恨他們。悲憤與恨意的關係並不是簡單直接這一點,還可以從一個事實反映出來︰我們釋放出恨意並不總是指向那些傷害我們的人。往往,被一個人傷害之後,我們會恨的是一個完全不相干的人(p. 137)。


作者認為這種自卑引起的恨意令失意者渴望破壞與混亂︰

當我們因意識到自己一無是處而深感沮喪時,並不會把自己視為比某些人低劣但比另一些人高強,而是會認為自己比世界上最低劣的人還要低劣。於是我們會恨全世界,會把狂怒傾瀉到天地萬物。


失意者看到有錢人走下坡和正直者受辱時,會深感安慰。他們在普遍的沒落中看到人類平等的前景。在他們看來,大混亂就像墳墓一樣,是平等的溫床。他們熾烈地深信,一個新秩序必然會來臨,但在新秩序能建立起來以前,舊的一切必須連根剷除(p. 143)。


同樣,團結也會加劇仇恨︰

當我們拋棄自我,成為一個緊密團體的一部份時,我們不僅拋開了個人利益,同時也拋開了個人責任。一個人如果沒有了恐懼、猶豫、懷疑和是非感,他會變得有多殘暴,令人不敢想像。當我們在群眾運動中喪失了自我獨立性,我們就會得到一種新自由——一種無愧無疚地去恨、去恫嚇、去撒謊、去凌虐、去背叛的自由。這毫無疑問是群眾運動的部份吸引力之所寄(p. 146)。


宣傳的力量在於呼應群眾「已知」的事情︰

宣傳單靠自身的力量,是無法叫那些不願接受的人接受的。它既不能創造全新事物,也無法保證那些相信它的人一直相信到底。它只能打入那些本來就打開的心扉,或是把某些已經為人們所接受的主張強固化。高明宣傳家所做的事只是把聽眾心中已徐徐成熟的意見和情緒引發至沸騰翻滾的程度而已。他呼應了他們內心深處的感情。在意見並非透過強制手段強加的時候,宣傳家只能使群眾信仰他們「已知」的事情(pp. 154-155)。


宣傳的目的與其說是為了說服別人,不如說是為了說服自己;我們愈有理由內疚,我們的宣傳就愈狂熱(p. 157)。


最熱衷於宣傳的理念往往與現實矛盾︰

傳道或傳揚一種主義,乃是尋找一種尚未找到之物的激情,而不是把已有之物帶給世界的渴望。它是為了尋找一個終極和不容反駁的證明,以證明我們擁有的真理是唯一和獨一的真理。狂熱的傳道者是要透過轉化別人強化自己的信心。愈是容易受質疑的教條,其傳教的衝動就愈強盜。一個不是宣揚某種荒謬或非理性主張的群眾運動,能否具有「不贏得人心就毀滅世界」的狂熱驅力,讓人存疑(p. 163)。


作者指群眾運動領袖最重要是厚顏無恥、狂熱相信自己從事神聖事業、意識到緊密集體生活的重要,並且能爭取到一小群能幹助手狂熱奉獻,隨時準備模仿朋友及敵人的做法。

群眾運動的殘暴並不代表其個體成員殘暴,他們基本上是服從的人︰

由於群眾運動往往帶來失序、流血和破獲,我們很容易會認為,群眾運動的追隨者都是天生粗暴和無法無天。事實上,群體的殘暴並不總是個體殘暴的總和。個人的殘暴會妨礙聯合行動。殘暴的個性也會讓人起而為己謀。它可以使人成為拓荒者、冒險家和盜匪。相反的,「忠實信徒」的行為不管多麼粗暴,他基本上都是一個恭順服從的人(pp. 173-174)。


失意者之所以追隨一個領袖,與其說是因為他相信他可以把他們帶到一片應許之地,不如說是因為領袖可以把他們帶離開他們不想要的自我。順服於一個領袖不是實現目的的手段,而是目的的實現本身。至於領袖會把他們帶到何處去,只是次要的問題(p. 176)。


行動是團結群眾運動的手段,但也可能會令群眾熱情減少︰

一個鼓勵行動的群眾運動可以喚起失意者的熱烈反應。因為失意者把行動視為醫治他們煩惱痛苦的良方。行動可以讓他們遺忘自我,讓他們有一種目的感和價值感。事實上,失意者的失意感看來主要是源於缺乏行動的機會,而失意感最深重的就是那些才具與性情都足以過一種行動性生活,卻為環境所囿,只能在閒散中虛耗人生的人(p. 181)。


「忠實信徒」特別適合行動生活,對一個群眾運動來說有利也有弊。群眾運動會打開寬廣的行動領域,但也有可能反過來加速群眾運動的結束。成功的行動往往會帶來自身的終結。它會讓所有精力和熱情得到宣洩,變得乾涸。這時候,信仰與神聖偉業不會再是最高目的,而變成只是行動機器的潤滑劑。另外,「忠實信徒」會因為所作所為無不成功而獲得自信,因而與「自我」和「現在」取得和解。他不再會視救贖端賴把自己掩埋在一個集體和化身為一顆沒有意志、判斷和責任的粒子。代之以他會在行動中尋求救贖,以行動證明自己的價值和優秀。雖然行動不能帶給他自我實現,但他卻期待可以從中找到存在的理由(pp. 182-183)。


群眾運動會以猜疑來統合群眾︰

因為深諳自己的瑕疵與缺點,失意者對別人的歹意與惡念總是特別眼尖。一個有自卑感的人特別容易看出別人的短處。如果別人身上有我們自己竭力隱藏的那種瑕疵,我們總是不遺餘力去加以揭發。所以,當一群失意者因一個群眾運動結合在一起時,總是會瀰漫出強烈的猜疑氣氛。值得驚異的是這種同儕間的病態互不信任不但不會帶來分裂,反而會帶來強固性。這是因為知道自己不斷被監視,群體中每一個成員會熱烈遵守行為與思想守則,以避免受到猜疑。因之,互相猜疑對維持嚴格正統所起的作用並不亞於熱烈的信仰(p. 184)。


作者認為言辭人、狂熱者和務實行動人在群眾運動不同階段有不同角色︰

能為一個群眾運動做好鋪路工作的,是那些善於使用語言和文字的人;但一個群眾運動要能實際誕生出來和茁壯,卻必須藉助狂熱者的氣質和才幹;而最後可以讓一個群眾運動獲得鞏固的,大半是靠務實的行動人(p. 202)。


言辭人怎樣動搖體制︰

每當我們看到一個體制明明無能已極卻能夠苟延殘存時,就可以斷言,這個體制要不是完全沒有讀書人階級,就是當權者已經與言辭人結成緊密同盟(p. 207)。


總而言之,那些好鬥的言辭人會透過以下幾種方式為群眾運動鋪平道路︰(一) 攻擊既有的信條和制度,使之威信盡失,不再受人民擁護;(二) 在沒有信仰就不能活的群眾中創造一種信仰真空,以致一個群眾運動起而宣揚某種新信仰時,幻滅了的群眾會振臂相迎;(三) 為新信仰提供主義與口號;(四) 動搖「優秀者」——就是沒有信仰也可以活下去的人——的信念,讓他們在面對狂熱新信仰的興起時,沒有抵抗能力——因為看不出為任何信念與原則捐軀是有意義的,他們會不戰就向新秩序投降(pp. 215-216)。


然而言辭人在群眾運動出現後就會變得格格不入︰

催生群眾運動的知識份子的悲劇根源在於,不管他們有多麼謳歌群體行動,本質上都是些個人主義者。他們相信有個人幸福可言,相信個人判斷和原動力的重要性。但一個群眾運動一旦成形,權力就會落入那些不相信也不尊重個人者之手。他們會得勢,主要不是因為漠視個人讓他們敢於冷酷無情,而是因為他們的態度和群眾的激情是完全一致的(p. 218)。


有創造力的言辭人會覺得自己跟一個激烈運動的氣氛格格不入。讓人頭暈目眩的變遷會腐蝕他的創造力。只要他的才華還沒有枯竭,他就不會把滿足感寄託在領導百萬人和取得勝利上。結果就是,當一個運動全速開動以後,他不是會自動退出就是會被推到一旁。再者,由於真正的言辭人是不會願意長時間壓抑自己的批判意識,日子一久,他無可避免會扮演起異端角色。因此,除非他能適時與操實權的行動人聯合起來或早早壽終正寢,他的最後下場很可能是引退、被放逐或遭到槍決(pp. 222-223)。


狂熱者在群眾運動已取得成功後也會成為問題︰

對一個群眾運動的發展來說,狂熱者的危險處在於他永遠靜不下來。一旦取得勝利,新秩序開始成形,狂熱者就可能會成為一個亂源。強烈情緒的滋味會驅策他去尋找尚未揭示的奧秘和尚未打開的神秘門戶。他會不斷走向極端。因此,大部份群眾運動在取得勝利的第二天,就會發現自己出現內部傾軋。前一天在與外部敵人生死鬥爭中獲得發洩的激情,現在會透過鬥爭自己人來宣洩。憎恨成了一種習慣。沒有外敵可以摧毀時,同一陣營的狂熱者就會以彼此為敵(p. 224)。


行動人能夠令群眾運動再度面向「現在」,這也代表群眾運動積極階段過去,改以折衷的方法行事︰

行動人可以把群眾運動從自取滅亡的分裂和狂熱者魯莽的行動中挽救回來。但他的出現,往往標誌著一個群眾運動活力期的終結。與「現在」的戰爭過去了。真正的行動人意不在更新世界,而在擁有它。活力階段的生命力來自對抗和徹底改革的渴望,但最後階段關心的主要是制度化和維繫業已贏得的權力(p. 228)。


行動人用以鞏固和維繫新秩序的方法是折衷性的。他取法的對象不論遠近,無分友敵。他甚至會向舊秩序取經,抄襲很多舊秩序用以維持穩定的方法,因而不知不覺地建立起與過去的連貫性。這階段的一大特徵是會出現一個絕對的獨裁者,但之所以會這樣,並不純粹是當權者嗜權,也是一種蓄意採用的策略。極端獨裁看來在一個組織的誕生和衰落階段都是最容易出現的,因為它可以讓尚未定形的東西定形,或讓行將解體的東西暫時穩住(p. 231)。


當群眾運動積極階段結束,失意者就變得無關重要︰

到了這個階段,群眾運動仍然會對失意者下工夫︰但不是去煽動他們的不滿,使之繼續與「現在」作殊死鬥爭,而是千方百計使他們與「現在」和解,變得忍耐而柔順。這時候,群眾運動會提供失意者遙遠的希望、夢想與願景。等一個群眾運動的活躍階段結束,它就會變成是成功者的權力工具和失意者的鴉片(p. 233)。


作者認為積極階段過長的都不會是良性群眾運動︰

不管一個群眾運動的本來目標有多麼崇高或最後結果有多麼造福人群,但在積極階段,它卻必然會表現出一些讓人不快(如果不是說邪惡)的特點。作為這階段人格化身的狂熱者一般都是那類不討人喜歡的人。他冷酷無情、自以為是、輕信、好辯、心胸狹窄、粗野無禮。他隨時準備好為他的神聖偉業而犧牲親屬朋友。讓一個群眾運動擁有不可抵抗力量的是成員的絕對與自我犧牲精神,但這兩樣東西,卻是以犧牲個人自主性中好些珍貴的成份而得來的。一個群眾運動,不管其信仰如何崇高、目標如何正大,只要它的積極階段為時過久,就絕不會是良性的群眾運動,特別是這個運動是掌握了權力卻仍然繼續(pp. 234-235)。


作者也指出,積極階段較短、損失較少的群眾運動一旦完結,隨之而來的往往是創造力勃發,因為集體束縛鬆綁,個人也從盲信氣氛中解放。反之,群眾運動積極階段會窒礙創作力,因為群眾激情消耗、創作要為運動服務、運動要求各種行動及狂熱心理狀態妨礙創作。

書中列出影響積極階段長短的因素︰目標短期而有限、人口較小而同質、國家有自由的傳統、領袖願意終結,則群眾運動積極階段會較為短暫。

作者最後總結指,雖然狂熱是一種靈魂的疾病,但也是社會與國家改革弊端的工具。民主國家也需要在危機時期迅速宗教化的能力,有獨立的言辭人在群眾運動初起時扮演關鍵角色,以廣泛動員群眾作復興與革新,這是一個國家的潛在能量。

本書寫作方式較零散,有很多見解,卻不一定前後一致,又或者文字寫成斷言,作者卻是提出一種可能的理論那樣,閱讀時要多加注意。

2014年9月19日 星期五

The Globalization Paradox

看了Dani Rodrik的The Globalization Paradox。序言說明本書的主要論點。作者指,基於全球市場整合程度與國內市場不同,全球市場並不像國內市場那般自由運作︰

Unlike national markets, which tend to be supported by domestic regulatory and political institutions, global markets are only “weakly embedded.” There is no global antitrust authority, no global lender of last resort, no global regulator, no global safety net, and, of course, no global democracy. In other words, global markets suffer from weak governance, and are therefore prone to instability, inefficiency, and weak popular legitimacy.


This imbalance between the national scope of governments and the global nature of markets forms the soft underbelly of globalization. A healthy global economic system necessitates a delicate compromise between these two.


作者提出,監管協助不是限制市場運作,而資本主義並非只有單一運作模式,不同制度設計適用於不同國家︰

First, markets and governments are complements, not substitutes. If you want more and better markets, you have to have more (and better) governance. Markets work best not where states are weakest, but where they are strong.


Second, capitalism does not come with a unique model. Economic prosperity and stability can be achieved through different combinations of institutional arrangements in labor markets, finance, corporate governance, social welfare, and other areas. Nations are likely to—and indeed are entitled to—make varying choices among these arrangements depending on their needs and values.


全球經濟則必須在下列三者中取捨,即民主、國家自決與經濟全球化無法三者兼得︰

In particular, you begin to understand what I will call the fundamental political trilemma of the world economy: we cannot simultaneously pursue democracy, national determination, and economic globalization. If we want to push globalization further, we have to give up either the nation state or democratic politics. If we want to maintain and deepen democracy, we have to choose between the nation state and international economic integration. And if we want to keep the nation state and self-determination, we have to choose between deepening democracy and deepening globalization. Our troubles have their roots in our reluctance to face up to these ineluctable choices.


作者在本書提倡的是放棄全面全球化,選擇國家自決與民主︰

So we have to make some choices. Let me be clear about mine: democracy and national determination should trump hyperglobalization. Democracies have the right to protect their social arrangements, and when this right clashes with the requirements of the global economy, it is the latter that should give way.


A thin layer of international rules that leaves substantial room for maneuver by national governments is a better globalization. It can address globalization’s ills while preserving its substantial economic benefits. We need smart globalization, not maximum globalization.


第一章中,作者藉哈德遜灣公司的冒起說明權力與市場的聯繫,任何經濟流通都需要規則,規則由誰制訂與執行均為權力問題︰

Market exchange, and especially long-distance trade, cannot exist without rules imposed from somewhere. The story of the Hudson’s Bay Company reveals the close link between power and economic exchange in its naked simplicity. I want to trade with you, so you better play by my rules! We may think of later eras of globalization as more detached from state rules and power—and hence as more “pure.” But that would be quite wrong. Power was exercised; just differently—and less obviously. Where there is globalization, there are rules. What they are, who imposes them, and how—those are the only real questions.


而任何貿易都需要有人執行各種政府功能,包括交流、運用、信用、法律與秩序。在重商主義時期,這是由國家特許給商人包攬︰

The bargain that a sovereign struck with private companies under mercantilism was essentially this: You, the company, pay for the institutional infrastructure, and in return I will allow you to make monopoly profits from the resulting trade.


到後來商人無力執行這些政府功能時,國家就開始接手︰

Ultimately, someone has to shoulder the responsibility for peace, security, and the framework of laws and regulations that makes trade possible. What distinguishes mercantilism from later versions of capitalism is that the job fell by and large on private entities. When private companies could no longer perform those tasks—either because they became too weak or competition from other nations undercut their rents—the crown had to intervene.


隨著經濟發展,這些政府功能的開支通常也會增加,以維持穩定、執行法律、保障產權、穩定宏觀經濟,令市場不會失去民眾信任,這顯示市場與政府互相補足︰

Markets are most developed and most effective in generating wealth when they are backed by solid governmental institutions. Markets and states are complements, not substitutes, as simplistic economic accounts would often have it.


This need for expansion isn’t just because governments are necessary to establish peace and security, protect property rights, enforce contracts, and manage the macroeconomy. It is also because they are needed to preserve the legitimacy of markets by protecting people from the risks and insecurities markets bring with them.


然而,這些支援市場的制度雖然減少國內交易成本,不同國家有不同制度卻會導致國際交易成本增加︰

The market-supporting institutions that do exist are local and vary across nations. As a result, international trade and finance entail inherently higher transaction costs than domestic exchanges.


Governments help reduce transaction costs within national boundaries, but they are a source of friction in trade between nations.


全球市場既沒有劃一制度,也受制於不同國家制度之間,令作者質疑完全全球化是否可能︰

Hence global markets are doubly problematic: they lack the institutional underpinnings of national markets and they fall between existing institutional boundaries. This dual curse leaves economic globalization fragile and full of transaction costs, even in the absence of direct restrictions on trade and cross-border finance. It renders the quest for a perfect globalization a fool’s errand.


第二章提及英美在十九世紀中期不同的貿易策略,說明自由貿易與否隨國家在全球經濟定位不同會有相異影響︰

The lesson is clear: depending on where a country stands in the world economy and how trade policies align with its social and political cleavages, free trade can be a progressive or a regressive force.


Thus, despite the unmistakable explosion in trade, the globalization of the nineteenth century was not based as much on free trade as it is often portrayed. Policies of empire—formal or informal—clearly promoted trade, but they were based on the naked exercise of power by the metropolitan countries and hardly represented “free trade” in the true sense of the term.


十九世紀實施金本位也促金融全球化,但金本位卻令政府失去貨幣政策自主權︰

Under gold standard rules, governments had no ability to muck around with monetary policy to alter domestic credit conditions, because domestic money supplies were solely determined by gold and capital flows across national borders. In principle, central bankers had little to do besides issuing or retiring domestic currency as the level of gold in their vaults fluctuated. The system had clear, universal, and non-discretionary rules. The financial regime minimized transaction costs across national boundaries. Financiers and investors had to contend with neither surprises nor controls at the border.


當時認為金本位是最重要的原則,政府以政策維持需求、產出與就業穩定則是不可想像的︰

The maintenance of the gold standard had absolute priority in the conduct of monetary policy both because the system came to be viewed as the foundation of monetary stability and because there were no competing objectives—such as full employment or economic growth—in the conduct of monetary policy. Ideas mattered, here as elsewhere. The notion that active monetary and fiscal policies could systematically smooth business cycles or that currency devaluation could help reduce trade imbalances—these were yet to come, or heretical at best. There was no widely believed or well-articulated conception of how governments could stabilize demand, output, or employment.


金本位最後因三項因素而難持續︰在貿易逆差時,國內工資並未如預期般自動下調以維持就業,失業率上升;工人開始有投票權,長期失業無法取得工人支持;投機者認為金本位可能動搖,並沽售國內貨幣︰假若金本位得以維持,投機者沒有損失,一旦金本位取消,手持國外貨幣也可藉國內貨幣貶值平價購買資產。作者指︰

The belief systems and habits of international cooperation that served the world well under reasonably healthy economic conditions collapsed under the joint impact of the changed economic circumstances and the increase in the number of stakeholders to which governments became responsible and accountable.


在第三章,作者指國際交易必須顧及社會整體成本,而不只是當時市場價格︰

In the economist’s jargon, the resources used in international exchanges must be valued at their true social opportunity costs rather than at prevailing market prices. These two accounting schemes coincide only when markets internalize all social costs, distributional considerations can be shunted aside, and other social and political objectives are not at stake; they don’t otherwise.


其中之一就是貿易的財富再分配作用,有部份人會因為貿易而永久受到損失︰

Here lies a common misunderstanding in the public debate on trade. Free trade advocates will often grant that some people may get hurt in the short run, but will continue to argue that in the long run everyone (or at least most people) will be better off. In fact there is nothing in economics that guarantees this, and much that suggests otherwise.


而重分配的規模遠大於貿易所得,作者其中一項估計數字是50:1︰

To drive the point home, I once quantified the ratio of redistribution-to-efficiency gains following the standard assumptions economists make when we present the case for free trade. The numbers I got were huge—so large in fact that I was compelled to redo the calculations several times to make sure I wasn’t making a mistake. For example, in an economy like the United States, where average tariffs are below 5 percent, a move to complete free trade would reshuffle more than $50 of income among different groups for each dollar of efficiency or “net” gain created! Read the last sentence again in case you went through it quickly: we are talking about $50 of redistribution for every $1 of aggregate gain. It’s as if we give $51 to Adam, only to leave David $50 poorer.


由此帶出兩項問題︰相對於重分配,這麼少的得益是否值得?貿易是否符合當地的規範與社會契約?

作者認為經濟學能為更好的全球化貢獻,前提是經濟學必須認真研究當前情況,而不是自動鼓吹自由貿易︰

It is an economics that recognizes its limitations and caveats and knows that the right message depends on the context. The fine print is what economists have to contribute. I hope the reader will agree that such an economics is possible and think better of economics (even if not of economists) by the end of this book.


第四章討論二戰後的國際經濟,提到二戰後設立國際貨幣基金、世界銀行與關稅暨貿易總協定(GATT),作者稱之為多邊主義,意思是由國際機構而非個別國家制定國際規則︰

The most notable American contribution to the postwar international economic system was multilateralism—rule-setting through international organizations, based on the cornerstone principle of non-discrimination.


Multilateralism meant that rule enforcement and belief systems would work henceforth through international institutions—the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)—rather than through naked power politics or imperial rule.


This was a very important innovation… Multilateralism gave smaller and poorer nations a voice and protected their interests in an unprecedented way.


二戰後國際貿易也在歷史高峰︰

The volume of world trade grew at an average annual rate of almost 7 percent between 1948 and 1990, considerably faster than anything experienced to date. Output also expanded at a higher rate than ever before in rich and poor nations alike—both a cause and effect of the rapid rise in trade. In terms of the breadth and depth of economic progress, the Bretton Woods regime eclipsed all previous periods, including the gold standard and era of free trade during the nineteenth century. If there ever was a golden era of globalization, this was it.


但這一次全球化浪潮的原因並非自由貿易,而是各國的經濟增長︰

Broad-based growth facilitated globalization because it helped take the sharp edge off the distributional impacts of trade. The choppiness of the waters becomes less noticeable when a rapidly rising tide of economic opportunities lifts all boats. Thus national policies promoted globalization mostly as a byproduct of widely shared economic growth along with some modest opening up. The success of the Bretton Woods era suggests that healthy national economies make for a bustling world economy, even in the presence of trade controls.


作者認為GATT較寬鬆的規則,令國家有能力按國內需要決定經濟政策,自由貿易並不是一切︰

GATT’s purpose was never to maximize free trade. It was to achieve the maximum amount of trade compatible with different nations doing their own thing. In that respect the institution proved spectacularly successful.


Under the GATT priorities rested solidly in the domestic policy agenda, and this produced both its success and its endless departures from the logic of free trade.


自1990年代起,特別是金融全球化,開始取代以往的GATT模式,全球化本身成為目標,比國內經濟政策優先。此發展的象徵是世界貿易組織(WTO)︰

Along with the onset of financial globalization around 1990, the WTO marks the pursuit of a new kind of globalization that reversed the Bretton Woods priorities: hyperglobalization. Domestic economic management was to become subservient to international trade and finance rather than the other way around. Economic globalization, the international integration of markets for goods and capital (but not labor), became an end in itself, overshadowing domestic agendas.


在更深入的全球整合中,與全球貿易不合的國內規則都要改變︰

Under shallow integration, as in Bretton Woods, the trade regime requires relatively little of domestic policy. Under deep integration, by contrast, the distinction between domestic policy and trade policy disappears; any discretionary use of domestic regulations can be construed as posing an impediment to—a transaction cost on—international trade. Global rules in effect become the domestic rules.


The reality is that we lack the domestic and global strategies needed to manage globalization’s disruptions. As a result, we run the risk that the social costs of trade will outweigh the narrow economic gains and spark an even worse globalization backlash.


第五章談及金融全球化帶來的災難,其代表是亞洲金融風暴。受影響國家在經濟基本因素上並沒有重大錯失,整場金融風暴就像是一場銀行擠兌,不過這次扮演「銀行」的是國家︰

The quick recovery of South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia after 1998 once financial conditions stabilized suggests that there was fundamentally little that was wrong with their economies. Just a few years back, in 1992,


Sweden had experienced a financial crisis of similar proportions. Yet the terms “corruption” and “cronyism” don’t quite roll off the tongue when one thinks of that country. Clearly the crises indicated something endemic to financial markets, not any egregious sins committed by the Asian governments themselves.


這場擠兌是由銀行過度借貸給各國,並在風吹草動時過度反應急速撤資引起︰

As the prominent economist Jeffrey Sachs (then at Harvard and now at Columbia) forcefully and correctly argued, against the views of the IMF and the U.S. Treasury, the crisis was a financial panic largely unrelated to economic fundamentals and internal weaknesses. Asia was going through the bust stage of a boom-and-bust cycle. Banks had overlent in the run-up to the crisis and now they were overreacting in pulling back. It wasn’t the first time financial markets misbehaved, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.


探討亞洲金融風暴起因要由資本自由流動的發展歷史開始。在1930年代大蕭條後,人們發現固定匯率制令國家財政政策無法自主,以應對宏觀經濟不穩︰

Even in periods of relative calm, the combination of fixed exchange rates with capital mobility enslaved a country’s economic management to other countries’ monetary policies. If others had tight money and high interest rates, you had no choice but to follow suit. If you tried to reduce your interest rates, you would experience a massive outflow of private capital. If, on the other hand, you wanted tighter credit than in other countries, higher interest rates at home would trigger a massive inflow of foreign money, leaving your economy flush with credit and undoing the effects of your own policies.


至於浮動匯率,作者引述凱恩斯的論點,認為浮動匯率會在金融市場造成貨幣大幅波動,也會令國際貿易不穩︰

You could, for example, have lower interest rates than elsewhere if you were willing to allow your currency to depreciate in value… but Keynes and his contemporaries rejected this option for two reasons. First, they worried, as noted above, that financial markets would create excessively volatile currencies driven by successive bouts of euphoria and pessimism. Second, they were concerned about the effects of currency instability and uncertainty on international trade.


因此,為保障全球貿易,反而需要採取資本管制︰

Their narrative made a clear distinction between the world of employment and production and the world of finance. They considered the world of finance a casino instead of a driver of economic well-being. Trade, not short-term finance, needed promotion. Hence the paradox: reduced transaction costs in trade required higher transaction costs in international finance—in other words, capital controls. Free capital mobility was out and capital controls were in.


此外,二戰後的金融體制也設立國際貨幣基金(IMF)為國家提供短暫援助,並讓國家有空間調整貨幣匯率︰

In addition to capital controls, there were two features of the new system geared toward providing that space. The first of these was the provision of short-term financing from the IMF to help countries weather temporary shortages of foreign currency and difficulties in external payments.


Second, even though countries were expected to maintain their currencies at fixed parities, these parities could be changed in the event of “fundamental disequilibrium.” …If a country’s growth and employment prospects came into conflict with its external payments, even after resort to capital controls and IMF financing, the incompatibility would be removed by adjusting the exchange rate rather than letting the domestic economy suffer.


此二戰後的布列敦森林體制有兩項問題︰美元不再依金本位後無法充當國際貨幣,以及IMF的規模不足以應對國家危機。資本管制的方式失去吸引力,隨之而來的是經濟合作暨發展組織(OECD),致力推動資本流動︰

By the end of the 1980s, the OECD had dropped previous distinctions between short-term capital (“hot money”) and long-term investments. It also adopted the objective of full capital mobility as part of its amended Code of Liberalization of Capital Movements, effectively making removal of capital controls a condition for membership in the OECD.


面對資本自由流動,不論固定匯率還是浮動匯率,國內經濟政策都無法自主,因為國家採取與別國不同的貨幣與財政政策時,資本就會流走︰

Capital mobility… prevents nations from pursuing monetary and fiscal policies that differ from those in other economies and therefore undermines the conduct of policies appropriate to the domestic economy.


Regardless of whether trading in international financial markets leads to vast shifts in funds across nations or large movements in exchange rates, Tobin complained, they have “serious and frequently painful real internal economic consequences.”


在資本自由流動的環境中,大部份金融危機都有一種盛衰規律,首先,外國資金大量流入,國家大量借貸,此時充斥該國經濟前景多美好的故事,所以不用擔心該國債務情況;然後是一點壞消息的風聲,引起一陣「急停」(“sudden stop”),故事變成該國不負責任大量借貸,經濟似乎面對不穩;之後外國資金迅速流出,利率急升,匯率崩潰,企業信貸不足,需求收縮,經濟衰退。這也是亞洲金融風暴受影響國家的寫照。

作者提出三點以反駁金融全球化帶來經濟增長的論點︰

First, the world economy has achieved unprecedented levels of growth since World War II. Nothing in history comes even close— not the Industrial Revolution and not the nineteenth-century era of globalization.


Second, the growth rates attained during the first quarter century following the end of World War II have yet to be matched. The world economy grew at roughly 3 percent per year on a per capita basis between 1950 and 1973, nearly triple the rate prior to the 1930s and double the rate since the late 1970s… The world economy simply has not performed as well during the era of financial globalization as it did under Bretton Woods.


And third, the growth champions of the last three decades, just as those of the immediate postwar decades, were countries such as China that played the globalization game by Bretton-Woods rules rather than deep integration rules.


第六章以伯林(Isaiah Berlin)的hedgehog與fox的比喻討論經濟學家的觀點,hedgehog是指以一種核心觀念審視世界的人,fox則是以不同角度觀察世界,認為世界不能以一種觀念通行的人︰

The distinction captures neatly the divide within economics between the hedgehogs who think freeing up markets is always the right solution (the “big idea”) and the foxes who believe the devil is in the details. Foxes believe in markets, too—they are economists, after all—but they believe real world complications require a much more cautious approach that is sensitive to context.


Hedgehog經濟學家認為自由市場一定是好事,發展中國家應該實行各種措施令市場自由才能發展經濟,作者認為,以這種改革清單評價發展中國家無助於解決問題︰

A laundry list of reforms of this kind assumes that developing countries have some magic tools at their disposal to accomplish changes that have taken today’s developed countries centuries to achieve. Even worse, as the subprime crisis has demonstrated, not even the most sophisticated regulators in the world have a good fix on how to police excessive risk taking or foster adequate levels of transparency. But no matter. We can be sure that the list of prerequisites will only grow in length. And when countries run into trouble with financial markets, there will be always something on that list which they haven’t gotten quite right and on which the crisis can be blamed. There is something self-serving in this type of advocacy; the hedgehog economist can never be wrong, no matter how badly things end up.


而fox則是看到金融市場過度全球化的影響,認為要加以管制︰

In reality, “private financial markets have become internationalized much more rapidly and completely than other economic and political institutions.” In light of this, Tobin felt compelled to propose a foxlike remedy: a tax to segment international currency markets. Such a tax on international financial transactions, even if set at a very low rate, would deter traders from engaging in excessive buying and selling of currencies and other financial assets in search of very short run profits.


作者提到近年的次按風暴︰

…lenders (and borrowers) who assumed housing prices would keep rising, a housing bubble stoked by a global saving glut and the reluctance of Alan Greenspan’s Federal Reserve to deflate it, financial institutions addicted to excessive leverage, credit rating agencies that fell asleep on the job, and of course policy makers who failed to get their act together in time as the first signs of the crisis began to appear. Without these regulatory failings, the glut in global finance would not have proved dangerous; after all, low interest rates are a good thing insofar as they enable higher investment. And without the global commingling of banks’ balance sheets, the consequences of inadequate regulation would not have been as damaging; bank failures would have remained local and their effects contained.


從次按風暴可以看到全球金融市場與管制並不完美,也不可能完美。作者認為應設立資本管制與金融交易稅,以保留國內政策處罰過度槓桿的空間︰

A fox understands that markets and regulations are both condemned to remain imperfect. The systems we devise must anticipate both sets of weaknesses. It will take lots of practice and experimentation to get the balance right. It may be hard to say, “Thanks, but no thanks,” to the siren song of financial liberalization and innovation, but in a world of imperfect regulation and divided sovereignty, that will often be the only safe option.


作者認為負責任的經濟學家不應該是hedgehog,否則會造成實際損害︰

An honest practitioner of academic economics should respond with a blank stare when asked what the implications of his work are for policy. “That depends on so many other things,” would be the appropriate answer. Frustrating perhaps for the student or the journalist, but correct nevertheless. When economists mistake academic fashions for the real thing, they do considerable damage. When the hedgehogs’ highly stylized models become the basis for one grand narrative, the world needs to run for cover.


第七章討論全球不平等問題。作者提到富國貧窮人士生活水準也比窮國富有人士好,反映全球經濟的不平等︰

That it is far better to be poor in a rich country than rich in a poor country tells us something fundamental about today’s global economy. Disparities in income (as well as health and other indicators of well-being) are much larger across nations than they are within nations. The country you are born in largely determines your life possibilities.


作者指全球貿易為全球帶來不同影響,歐洲因有良好制度及較受教育的熟練工而受惠於工業革命;美、加、澳、紐也受惠於移民及歐洲資金流入而成為工業「核心」;但環境較難移民或有天然資源利用的地方則不同,這些地方制度設計用於便宜地榨取原材料,充滿不平等,以歐洲菁英為中心,沒有保護財產權及發展市場,例子有加勒比海種植園及非洲礦產經濟。作者指,核心國家與外圍國家的差別極大︰

International trade induced industrial countries to keep investing in skills, technology, and other drivers of economic growth. It also encouraged families to have fewer, better-educated children, in light of the high returns to skills that modern manufacturing industries brought. These effects were reversed in the developing countries of the periphery. Specialization in primary commodities did not encourage skill accumulation and delayed the reduction in fertility and population growth. Birth rates remained high in the developing world well into the twentieth century, unlike the industrialized countries, which experienced sharp declines in fertility toward the end of the nineteenth century.


The countries of the periphery not only failed to industrialize, they actually lost whatever industry they had. They deindustrialized.


“There cannot be any question but that the cause of deindustrialization in the Third World lay in the massive influx of European manufactured goods, especially textiles, on the markets of these countries.”


二十世紀亞洲經濟起飛也顯示全球化需要國家與市場配合才能帶動經濟增長︰

Asia’s economic experience violates stereotypes and yet offers something for everyone… Globalization is a tremendously positive force, but only if you are able to domesticate it to work for you rather than against you.


Economic growth requires a pragmatic government willing to do whatever it takes to energize the private sector. It requires using markets and globalization strategically to diversify the domestic economy away from natural resources. The specific tools and instruments needed to achieve this can vary and will depend heavily on the context. Specific recipes for success do not travel well. It is the broad vision behind them that needs emulation.


作者指,要從全球化中得益不能只交給市場,政府需要投資、設立關卡保護本土企業並鼓勵新產業,才可使全球化為國家帶來好處︰

The benefits of globalization come to those who invest in domestic social capabilities. Those investments in turn require some degree of support for domestic firms—protective tariffs, subsidies, undervalued currencies, cheap funding, and other kinds of government assistance that increase the rewards for entering new lines of business without closing the economy to the outside world.


第八章討論1980年代開始發展經濟學轉向支持自由流動的趨勢,世界銀行是推動這趨勢的重要角色︰

By the 1980s, the dominant view among North American development experts and their followers had changed dramatically. The state went from being a handmaiden of economic growth to the principal obstacle blocking it. The international division of labor was transformed from a threat to a savior. During the 1990s, enthusiasm for free capital mobility was added to the package too, as we saw in an earlier chapter. This narrative infused development agencies such as the World Bank with a new sense of mission and reshaped the policy advice they dished out.


這趨勢統稱為「華盛頓共識」,要點是穩定化、自由化與私有化(stabilize, liberalize, and privatize),全球化本身成為國家發展的指導因素。作者指︰

The new consensus turned foreign trade and investment into the ultimate yardsticks for judging the adequacy of domestic economic and social policies—a key deformation produced by the quest for hyperglobalization. The best argument for addressing any domestic ill… was that it forestalled integration with the world economy. Just mention “foreign investor sentiment” or “competitiveness in world markets,” and policy makers would snap to attention.


作者認為,為遷就全球化而一次推出各項改革無助改善貧窮國家,不同國家有不同的逼切需要︰

Poor countries suffer from multiple shortcomings, but not all of them need to be addressed at the same time for their economies to enjoy rapid growth for a while. The trick is to identify the most binding constraints that prevent entrepreneurs from investing in the modern industries and services that fuel economic growth.


作者也指全球化本身不能令國家更有能力,而只會擴大國家本身已有的優勢,發展中國家要先保護其本土生產能力,才能有足夠準備面對國際競爭︰

Economic growth and development are possible only through the accumulation of capabilities over time, in areas ranging from skills and technologies to public institutions. Globalization on its own does not generate these capabilities; it simply allows nations to leverage better those that they already possess. That is why the world’s successful globalizers—East Asian nations in our times—enhance their domestic productive capacities before they lay themselves bare to the gales of international competition.


第九章討論全球化與國家民主的衝突,作者指︰

National democracy and deep globalization are incompatible. Democratic politics casts a long shadow on financial markets and makes it impossible for a nation to integrate deeply with the world economy.


作者提及全球化與民主在各方面的衝突,包括勞動標準,因為僱主可以在外國僱用勞工而不需要遵守本國法規,而這些產品又會在本國銷售;資本自由流動則令各國政府為競逐資本而有減低利得稅的壓力,稅收負擔因而落在無法自由流動的勞工身上;食品安全與衛生標準難以在全球貿易下制定,並受到貿易雙方影響;雙邊投資條款與雙邊或區域貿易協定(bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and bilateral or regional trade agreements (RTAs))可能會造成雙重標準,令外國投資者擁有本國投資者沒有的權利;全面全球化令發展中國家無法訂定自己的工業政策,以扶助本土工業。

面對本國民主與全球市場衝突可以有三種回應︰限制民主、限制全球化或者令民主全球化,這就是本書一開始提到的三難,即全面全球化、民主與國家自主三者不可兼得。作者指︰

The menu captures the fundamental political trilemma of the world economy: we cannot have hyperglobalization, democracy, and national self-determination all at once. We can have at most two out of three. If we want hyperglobalization and democracy, we need to give up on the nation state. If we must keep the nation state and want hyperglobalization too, then we must forget about democracy. And if we want to combine democracy with the nation state, then it is bye-bye deep globalization. The figure below depicts these choices.


作者反對為遷就全球化及保持民族國家而放棄民主,因為國家會為少數人把持,並犧牲民眾福祉為「投資者信心」服務。作者也
支持推行全球管治,因為全球民主要在多元化社會中達致共同標準,成果有限︰

I am skeptical about the global governance option, but mostly on substantive rather than practical grounds. There is simply too much diversity in the world for nations to be shoehorned into common rules, even if these rules are somehow the product of democratic processes. Global standards and regulations are not just impractical; they are undesirable. The democratic legitimacy constraint virtually ensures that global governance will result in the lowest common denominator, a regime of weak and ineffective rules.


剩下的選擇就是放棄全面全球化︰

The only remaining option sacrifices hyperglobalization. The Bretton Woods regime did this, which is why I have called it the Bretton Woods compromise. The Bretton Woods–GATT regime allowed countries to dance to their own tune as long as they removed a number of border restrictions on trade and generally treated all their trade partners equally. They were allowed (indeed encouraged) to maintain restrictions on capital flows, as the architects of the postwar economic order did not believe that free capital flows were compatible with domestic economic stability. Developing country policies were effectively left outside the scope of international discipline.


第十章集中討論全球管治,作者指全球管治的問題是缺乏問責︰

The Achilles’ heel of global governance is lack of clear accountability relationships. In a nation state, the electorate is the ultimate source of political mandates and elections the ultimate vehicle for accountability. If you do not respond to your constituencies’ expectations and aspirations, you are voted out. Global electoral accountability of this sort is too far-fetched a notion. We would need different mechanisms.


作者以歐債危機的歐盟為例,指出全球管治的困難︰

The European Union demonstrates the difficulties of achieving a political union robust enough to underpin deep economic integration even among a comparatively small number of like-minded countries. At best, it is the exception that tests the rule. The European Union proves that transnational democratic governance is workable, but its experience also lays bare the demanding requirements of such governance. Anyone who thinks global governance is a plausible path for the world economy at large would do well to consider Europe’s experience.


當不同國家有不同標準,而產品卻在全球銷售時,可能會導致生產方式與消費國的價值衝突,例如童工。面對這種衝突時,作者指有兩種方式回應︰制訂全球標準,或者依靠市場解決。

制定全球標準的問題是,對一個國家好的限制對另一個國家未必是好事,例如貧窮國家禁止兒童工作,並不會令兒童自動受到教育,反而可能會令他們走向非法工作賺取收入。另一問題是即使有全球標準也不表示標準一定是正確的,作者舉例指巴塞爾銀行監管委員會的建議就先後助長亞洲金融風暴與金融海嘯。

至於依靠市場解決,例如以標籤方式表明產品並非童工生產,提供資訊給消費者選擇,問題是沒有人能夠監管這些發出證明的人,而這些發出證明者各有自己的動機,不一定與社會所需一致。

作者認為,不同國家可以有不同標準,但外國產品則需符合入口國標準才可入口︰

The United States should determine its own health and safety standards, and allow only toys that satisfy those standards to be imported. If other countries want to have different standards, or are unable to match U.S. standards for practical reasons, they would be similarly entitled to their own variants. But they cannot expect to export their products freely to the United States unless they meet the U.S. standards. This approach enables countries to uphold their own regulations, even if it comes at the cost of barriers at the border.


作者再次強調全面全球化無法在多元國家中實行︰

We must acknowledge and accept the restraints on globalization that a divided global polity entails. The scope of workable global regulation limits the scope of desirable globalization. Hyperglobalization cannot be achieved, and we should not pretend that it can. Ultimately, this reality check can lead us to a healthier, more sustainable world order.


第十一章討論作者稱為Capitalism 3.0的社會,即市場及其相關制度如何在全球層面取得平衡︰

We must reinvent capitalism for a new century in which the forces of economic globalization are much more powerful. Just as Smith’s lean capitalism (Capitalism 1.0) was transformed into Keynes’s mixed economy (Capitalism 2.0), we need to contemplate a transition from the national version of the mixed economy to its global counterpart. We need to imagine a better balance between markets and their supporting institutions at the global level. It is tempting to think that the solution—Capitalism 3.0—lies in a straightforward extension of the logic of Capitalism 2.0: a global economy requires global governance. But as we saw in the previous chapter, the global governance option is a dead end for the vast majority of nations… We need a different vision, one that safeguards the considerable benefits of a moderate globalization while explicitly recognizing the virtues of national diversity and the centrality of national governance. What we need, in effect, is an updating of the Bretton Woods compromise for the twenty-first century.


作者提出以下七項全球經濟管治原則︰

1. Markets must be deeply embedded in systems of governance.
市場並非獨立於社會之外,而是社會整體一部份,需要法制、稅制、社會保障等制度支持。

2. Democratic governance and political communities are organized largely within nation states, and are likely to remain so for the immediate future.
正如上一章所言,全球劃一管治並不實際,管治仍主要在民族國家範圍之內。

3. There is no “one way” to prosperity.
有效市場所需制度可以各有不同,並不限於單一形式。成功的社會會為未來留下空間讓制度試驗及演變,全球經濟也應認同制度多元而不是強行劃一。

4. Countries have the right to protect their own social arrangements, regulations, and institutions.
國家可在貿易明顯威脅國內廣受認同的政策時提高貿易門檻,各種價值衝突時則認在國內充分商議及辯論。

5. Countries do not have the right to impose their institutions on others.
國家有權採用不同制度,不能強加於人。

6. The purpose of international economic arrangements must be to lay down the traffic rules for managing the interface among national institutions.
多面向體制的目標不是令全球貨物與資本流動越多越好,而是令不同國家在其社會體制下可以追求自己的價值與發展目標。

7. Non-democratic countries cannot count on the same rights and privileges in the international economic order as democracies.
作者認為非民主國家的制度不能代表其公民的取向,故此國際社會沒有需要尊重非民主國家制度的制度安排。

作者補充︰

Democracy, after all, is a global norm. It ought to be one of the cornerstone principles of the international trade regime, trumping non-discrimination when necessary.


作者認為貿易障礙不應與如氣候變化等global common的議題類比,因為氣候變化有一個國家不合作,損失就由全球來承受;但全球貿易如果會帶來損失,只要這是該國民眾的選擇,損失由貿易障礙國承擔︰

When trade barriers serve only to transfer income from some groups to others, at the cost of shrinking the overall economic pie, domestic rather than foreign groups bear the bulk of these costs. In the global economy, countries pursue “good” policies because it is in their interest to do so. Openness relies on self-interest, not because it helps others.


不過看到這段又想到,這樣說的話至少該貿易伙伴也要承擔損失,而貿易伙伴國並沒有權力改變該國做法。

第十二章是最後一章,討論怎樣的全球化才算明智,討論範圍有四方面︰國際貿易體制、全球金融、全球勞工流動與中國在世界經濟。

在國際貿易體制方面,作者認為國與國之間應討論如何增加本國在保障社會政策與規則的空間,並有「退出」(“opt-outs”)條款保障國家在有需要時豁免WTO的限制。要行使這種保障,國家需顯示其跟隨公開程序與遵從特定步驟,以保證該決定符合民主。以這種保障取消某種貿易協定,作者認為出口商也不應追討損失,因為條款訂立時的環境已改變。至於基本勞工權利如禁止歧視、集會自由、集體談判權及禁止強制勞動等則應受到保障,假如有國家違反,入口國則有權以退出條款中止與違反的出口國貿易。

在全球金融方面,作者認為全球金融規則在各國環境不同下無法劃一,若強行劃一也只會達成有限共識。金融規則應與產品標準類似,尊重各國差異,但參與一國市場時,不論是否外國投資者,都要遵守該國的金融規則。然而,金融全球化卻令各國規則各異難以實行,因為資本會流向管制較少的國家。故此作者提出金融規則多元化需與限制全球金融配合,跨國金融需受到限制,政府應有能力阻止銀行資產流出,以防止國內規則變成一紙空文。減少國際規則劃一也可令技術官僚的影響降低,由國內民主國會負責制訂規則;對發展中國家來說,金融規則多元化也令國家有能力管理國際資金流動,防止匯率急劇變動。

作者指國際勞工市場應更為開放,以令發展中國家勞工有機會賺取更高工資、吸收經驗、學習技能、建立人脈、累積投資資本。作者提議富裕國家可發放臨時工作簽證給貧窮國家,數量為國家勞工總數3%,包括技術及非技術勞工,並而按金及入境配額等措施令入境勞工按時回國。基於計劃只佔勞工總數3%,作者認為即使會對富裕國家的就業帶來影響,也相當有限,估計不多於1%。

至於中國,自從加入WTO後,中國不再以關稅限制入口,取而代之的是貨幣匯率低於實際值,令貿易順差大為提升︰

But the Chinese government wasn’t about to give up on its growth strategy. To compensate for the decline in protection and direct support to manufacturing, it allowed the renminbi to become increasingly undervalued. A cheap domestic currency has the same economic effects as a subsidy on exports combined with a tax on imports. Unlike conventional industrial policy, it necessarily generates a trade surplus. So China’s membership in the WTO in December 2001 produced an unwelcome side effect: a precipitous rise in its trade surplus followed at just around the same time.


正如前述,作者認為應放寬WTO對發展中國家的限制︰

The right approach would be to leave China, and indeed all emerging nations, free to pursue their own growth policies. WTO restrictions on subsidies and other industrial policies should be suspended or subsumed under a general exception for developing nations…The quid pro quo would be this: you are entitled to your own growth strategy, but you also need to ensure that you do not produce large negative effects for the rest of the world in the form of trade surpluses.


作者也一而貫之認為中國若要出口他國就要遵守入口國的規則,而中國的非民主政體亦令其貿易需受國際更多審視︰

If China and other developing nations want their policy space, they will have to allow rich nations to have theirs as well. China has every right to maintain its distinctive institutions; but it cannot expect other nations to alter their own economic and social models under threat from Chinese competition. Furthermore, China’s nondemocratic political regime requires that its trade receive much greater scrutiny than the trade of other countries like Brazil, Turkey, or India.


作者總結全書指︰

We can and should tell a different story about globalization. Instead of viewing it as a system that requires a single set of institutions or one principal economic superpower, we should accept it as a collection of diverse nations whose interactions are regulated by a thin layer of simple, transparent, and commonsense traffic rules. This vision will not construct a path toward a “flat” world—a borderless world economy. Nothing will. What it will do is enable a healthy, sustainable world economy that leaves room for democracies to determine their own futures.


本書附錄是一則寓言,內容與本書論點相關,已上載於作者網誌,如果覺得上面內容太長氣,看這個附錄也好。

2014年8月23日 星期六

1929大崩盤

看了高伯瑞的《1929大崩盤》,就是抽述當年美國股市恐慌的前因後果。序言中作者提及關於本書的趣聞,有次作者去機場書店問有沒有本書出售,店員說︰「這可不是一本你能在機場中販賣的書。」(p. 23) 順帶一提,本書英文原名是The Great Crash

作者一開始提到在1920年代的股票榮景中,股票抵押品的情況相當普遍︰

在股市中,投資人可以獲得融資購買股票,他可以完全擁有這些資產。然而他卻也能藉由把股票留在經紀人處,當作融資的擔保品,因而擺脫擁有的最大負擔——拿出現金。買主又能得到股價上漲的利益——股價上漲,但當初購買價並沒有隨之上漲。在股市中投機的買主也能獲得他所購買股票的股利分配。然而,在過去的情形,這些公司盈餘幾乎一定不如融資所要付出的利息高,通常盈餘的金額要少多了。股票的收益率經常是從無到1、2%,但是融資的利息時常是8、10%或是更高的利率。投機客願意支付利息,放棄股票的所有權,只為了獲得漲價的價差(p. 47)。



1928年年底經紀人同業拆款達60億美元,屬前所未有。

對於1929年初市場似乎日益失控地狂熱,政府卻袖手旁觀,作者指出︰

一個泡沫是很容易刺破的,但若用一根針點入,然後讓它逐漸縮小則是一樁極精細的工程。在那些意識到1929年早期究竟發生了何事的人之中,有些人懷抱著希望,但是沒有多大信心景氣可以逐漸下降。真正要做的抉擇是,在採取立即而精心設計的行動之後立刻崩盤,還是緊跟著更嚴重的災難之間做選擇。當災難來臨時,當然應該有人為最終的崩潰負責。毫無疑問地,如果景氣被人刻意瓦解,應該要有人負責(p. 55)。



換句話說就是誰都不想負上觸發崩盤的責任,大概是出於同樣理由,即使在崩盤開始出現時,聯邦準備理事會的回應居然是保持沈默。

投機狂熱時期普通股的需求遠高於供應量,催生出名為投資信託或投資公司的投機工具︰

投資信託並沒有創立新的企業或是擴張老的公司。它只是協助人們可以經由購買新的股票擁有老公司的股份。甚至在美國的二〇年代,現有企業可使用、或新企業可創造的實質資本,其總額都有所限制。投資信託的好處是,它可以讓公司股票的總量與公司現有資產的數額完全脫勾。前者可能是後者的兩倍、三倍或更多。因此,證券承銷業和可上市交易的股票量都大幅增加。可以購買的股票數也增加了,因為投資信託賣出的股票較他們買入的為多。其中的差額進入短期同業拆款市場、房地產或投資信託發起人的口袋。很難想像還有哪個發明更能符合這個時代的需求,或是更能消除因普通股短缺所造成的焦慮(p. 80)。



投資信託公司以著名經濟學教授為顧問,以表現公司的專業金融知識,當中包括歐文‧費雪(Irving Fisher)教授,對,就是Fisher Equation那Fisher,他在股市開始崩盤時仍然堅持股市會合理地維持在股價高原上。

當年,《華爾街日報》一直鼓吹股票狂熱是正常的,並質疑那些懷疑論者缺乏專業知識;而《紐約時報》則是不斷聲稱股市已出問題,但其後兩年股市繼續向上,到喪鐘來臨一刻,該報似乎一吐烏氣,極盡冷嘲熱諷。似乎過了那麼多年兩報的定位還是差不多。

要留意的是當年實際參與股票投機的人數只是美國人口少數,當年美國人口一億二千萬,三千萬個家庭,當中150萬人積極參與股票市場,其中︰

在1929年股市高點時,活躍的投機者人數要少於(而且可能大大少於)100萬。在1928年底至1929年7月底之間,根據當時的傳說,美國人像旅鼠一樣搶進股票市場,但全國交易所的融資戶頭大約只增加5萬戶。1929年股票投機交易引人側目的不是人數的多寡,而是它成為美國文化的核心思想(p. 118)。



1929年10月24日,星期四,後來稱為的大恐慌第一日。或者因為經濟在近幾個月步向蕭條,或者因為已經歷幾次跌市,市場信心盡失,當天早上幾小時股價暴跌,成交量12,894,650股,紐約證券交易所陷入混亂。之後各銀行聯手試圖穩定人心,但相對於急劇跌勢,任何人都顯得無能為力。10月28日開始一整個星期,市場滿目瘡痍。之前備受讚譽的投資信託公司,現在成為崩盤的加速器︰

現在也很清楚的是,一度被視為高股價的牢撐和防止崩跌的內建機制的投資信託,如今成了股市疲軟的真正原因。就在兩個星期以前,人們表現出淵博的知識、熱切談論槓桿的操作,現在完成產生相反的作用力。它以迅雷不及掩耳的速度,減除投資信託公司手中普通股的價值(p. 170)。


歷史上從來沒有任何一刻像那幾天一樣,有那麼多的人那麼緊急地需要那麼多的資金。凡是被市場「卡」住的人,都讓債權人得以像蝗蟲一樣將他鎖定。那些無法應付保證金催繳令的人,想要賣掉手中的一些股票,以便能保住其餘的資產,然後伺機翻身。但是現在這些人發現,他們手中投資信託的股票不但賣不到好價錢,其實根本已經分文不值。因此,他們被迫賣出手中的績優股票。像美國鋼鐵、通用汽車和AT&T這樣優秀的公司,其股票在市場上以不正常的巨量被脫手,對股價產生前面已經充分展現的影響。投資信託的泡沫已經破裂,而且以葛氏定律(Gresham's Law)——劣股逐良股的方式展現在眼前(p. 171)。



股市崩盤後,因景氣而放鬆戒心的人們,再度開始警戒地懷疑別人,繼而發現景氣中不少挪用公款、內幕交易、造市、避稅等行為。政府面對崩盤只是裝作認真地開會。民眾開始將矛頭指向紐約證券交易所,以及其行為可疑的總裁理查‧惠特尼(Richard Whitney)。作者指1929年美國經濟有五項問題︰

1. 所得分配不均 — 消費較受投資與奢侈品花費影響,而股市崩盤令這類花費大幅減少
2. 企業結構不良 — 眾多企業經營不善,甚至可能是騙局,而通貨緊縮則令企業投資受限
3. 銀行體系不良 — 缺乏存款保障及緊急融資渠道,造成恐慌下銀行因擠提而倒閉
4. 對外貿易差額不明 — 大量向外借貸,並無法回收貸款
5. 經濟知識貧乏 — 政府宣布減稅但成效有限,堅持平衡預算造失大量失業,過度恐懼通貨膨脹限制降低利率、寬鬆信貸、方便民眾借款的能力

第5點或多或少激起後來凱恩斯主義出現。

其後出現的大蕭條成為美國以至世界的惡夢,作者指出︰

當災難來臨的時候,一般人的態度是,不會採取任何措施加以阻止。也許,這是最令人不安的特點。在1930年、1931年和1932年,有一些人必須忍受饑餓,其他的人則因為恐懼將來也得忍受饑餓,而身心受創。然而還有些人因為收入減少而陷入貧窮,他們因為從光榮和受人尊敬的生活跌落谷底,遭受了極大的痛苦。仍有一些人畏懼自己也會步入後塵。同時,每個美國人都得忍受極度失望的感覺,人們似乎顯得無能為力。對於支配政策的想法,人們也顯得無可奈何(pp. 245-246)。



大崩盤過後,人們可能會受教訓,可能會避免投機狂熱,政府也整合聯邦準備制度、限制保證金下限以防止投機、設立聯邦銀行存款保險、建立福利制度保障民眾收入等,1929年那種形式的崩盤可能不會再出現。但人們受過的教訓下一代可能會忘記,投機份子總會發現可利用的漏洞,作者認為,政府不能袖手旁觀,任由另一次崩盤發生。

此書於1955年初版,來到2009年出中文版新版,自然是因為新一次金融危機,至今美國仍受稱為Great Recession 或Lesser Depression的影響,人類總是犯上相同的錯誤吧。

2014年8月16日 星期六

Hallucination

看完Oliver Sacks的Hallucination,既是受作者吸引也是受書名吸引,就借了來看。書中提到的例子太多,沒寫下來應該會過目即忘,就適當地記下一些內容︰

Charles Bonnet Syndrome - 指視力衰退或失明時出現的妄想,通常患者知道他是正在妄想,可能會看到影像、文字、音符、數學符號,但文字與符號往往都沒有意義,妄想也多數不會與患者互動,而且缺乏變化。

Sensory Deprivation - 在長期寧靜、光線不足、缺乏變化的環境中會引起妄想,妄想影像可能顏色鮮艷,多變,無法以意志改變,缺乏睡眠同樣有可能引發妄想。與之相似,嗅覺器官失靈或會導致腦部產生氣味妄想。

聽到聲音 - 精神分裂(schizophrenia)患者幾乎都會聽到妄想聲音,但聽到妄想聲音則不一定是精神分裂,此現象在一般大眾間比想像中普遍。精神分裂患者聽到的聲音大致上較為敵意,而其他人聽到的聲音則有可能頗為瑣碎。在遇難時也可能會聽到聲音命令受傷的人行動,作者自己就試過在登山意外中聽到這種聲音。有聽力問題,或者受譫妄(delirium)、痴呆(dementia)、中毒或壓力影響的人,會較容易有聲音妄想。聽力受損的人也可能會妄想聽到音樂,音樂妄想可以非常清晰,通常是同一首歌或其中一節,內容是患者熟悉,通常是早年聽到的歌曲。與由不同元素組成的視覺妄想不同,音樂妄想相當完整。

柏金遜症(Parkinsonism)妄想 - 一種稱為L-dopa的柏金遜症藥物可能會觸發腦炎康復者(postencephalitic patients)視覺妄想,一般柏金遜症患者在用藥多年後則有機會出現偏執型(paranoid)妄想,例如感覺有不認識的人在身旁。作者指似乎並不是L-dopa本身會導致妄想,因為L-dopa用在其他病症並不會引起妄想,柏金遜症患者可能會出現睡眠不足及受鮮明夢境影響,或許是增加妄想出現機會的因素。

Altered States一章主要是說藥物引起妄想的例子,包括作者自己服食各種藥物的經驗,有大麻、LSD、牽牛花種子、鴉片、水合氯醛(chloral hydrate)、安非他明(amphetamine)等。

偏頭痛(migraines) - 偏頭痛可以引起妄想,作者童年也有偏頭痛妄想經驗,藍橙色的之字形線條——之字形圖案與初級視覺皮層(primary visual cortex)的受體分佈有關。典型偏頭痛妄想是閃爍的盲點,但有時也會出現幾何圖案、影像不成比例、聲音扭曲、氣味妄想等。

羊癇(epilepsy) - 局部羊癇發作(focal seizure)可能會出現視覺妄想,例如看到某種物件逐漸靠近,直至因發作而失去知覺,患者也可能出現聽覺或氣味妄想,同一患者通常在發作前出現的徵狀都相同。另外有一種羊癇發作稱為「奇幻式」(ecstatic)發作,會令患者產生奇幻及超脫的感覺。

偏盲(hemianopia) - 指因枕葉(occipital-lobe)損傷(如中風)造成一邊視力受損或失明,可能會導致失明區域出現視覺妄想,患者能意識那是妄想,而妄想可以持續多日並不斷變化。

錯亂(delirious) - 發高燒、濫藥、酒精中毒與長期酗酒後戒酒,或腎病、肝病、肺病、糖尿病令血液出現化學變化,都可能導致患者產生錯亂,意識會在不同狀態中游移,令患者無法認清當下情況,好像置身於夢境中,可能會看到各種奇幻影象、聽到聲音或音樂妄想。

睡前(hypnagogic)與睡後(hypnopompic)妄想 - 睡前妄想頗為普遍,在入睡之前會出現不受意識左右的影像。與夢境不同,睡前妄想較零碎,與個人情緒無關,妄想者就像只是在劇場旁觀自動出現的影像。最常出現的影像有人臉、符號、鮮艷顏色、一閃即逝的圖形等,而在睡前出現聽覺妄想也並不少見。睡後妄想沒有睡前妄想那麼普遍,有異於閉眼出現的睡前妄想,睡後妄想是在睜眼後出現的,會產生存在於物理空間的感覺,並會影響妄想者的情緒,當中較多是負面情緒。

渴睡症(narcolepsy) - 指在日常活動中突然短暫失去意識的情況。渴睡症患者可能會在失去意識的「短睡」("microsleeps")與「間場」("in-between states")中出現非常鮮明夢境或妄想,可能是視覺、聽覺或觸覺(tactile)妄想,甚至會有離體經驗(out-of-body experience)。

睡癱(sleep paralysis) - 渴睡症或失眠患者也有可能出現睡癱,整體人口三分一至二分一也據指偶然會有此經歷。睡癱是因為睡眠處於REM(Rapid Eye Movement,快速動眼期)時突然醒來,或者REM在入睡一刻立即出現,導致患者意識清醒卻在夢境狀態與身體無法移動。與睡癱相關的妄想會較鮮明、詳細、形式多變及令人恐懼,令妄想者較印象深刻並感到驚恐。

The Haunted Mind一章介紹的是因導致劇烈情緒那些過去造成的妄想,如至親離世後「看到」故人、痛苦經歷後因某些相關事物觸發經歷「重現」、受迷信環境影響出現惡魔妄想、極大壓力下物件扭曲成其他形象、「看見」鬼神、兒童「看到」一個不存在的玩伴、臨終前「看到」有人迎接等。

分身(Doppelgänger) - 是指看見另一個自己身影的妄想。其中之一是離體經驗,妄想者會感到自己離開身體四處飄浮。原因可以是睡癱、羊癇發作、偏頭痛、腦皮質受電流刺激、藥物影響、腦缺血、心臟停止跳動、心律不正(arrhythmia)、大量出血或休克等。另一種分身是看見兩個自己做同樣動作與姿勢,即自窺妄想(autoscopic hallucinations),有不少病例都與精神分裂有關;甚至更為罕見的情況中分身會與患者互動,稱為"heautoscopy"(即autoscopy前面加上he)。

Phantom limbs - 指截肢的人仍能「感受到」物理上不存在的手存在,凡經截肢的人幾乎都有phantom limbs經驗,phantom limbs可透過意識控制其「移動」,但在一段時間後有可能會變得不能動、癱瘓或只剩下手掌。Phantom limbs似乎可以「套」在義肢中使義肢移動,透過視覺錯覺鍛鍊也可令癱瘓的phantom limbs變得可動。

與phantom limbs相反,在反射性麻痺中,患者四肢沒有受損,但卻無法移動,這可能會做成腦部認為四肢是「外物」,而不是屬於自己。而頂葉(parietal lobe)受損則可能會令患者認為無法移動的身體部份屬於其他人,有「影子」("shadows")在他的身體中。

在緊張、單獨、黑暗、陌生的環境中,有機會令人感覺附近有人存在,即使實際上四周沒有別人。這是在人類顳葉(temporal lobe)中用於察覺敵人或伙伴的功能,假如顳葉相關部份受損,就可能會出現誤認有他人存在的經驗。

2014年6月9日 星期一

審議民主指南

看完了《審議民主指南》,就是介紹不同地方實行的審議民主經驗。本書第一章就開宗明義指出二十世紀後期審議民主興起並不是新事物,二十世紀早期美國已盛行過審議民主,卻因二戰、冷戰等原因而沒落。由此可見審議民主並不一定是單方面發展,也有衰退的可能。第二章提到審議民主聲言的好處包括正當性、更合理的結果及擴闊公民思考,但在龐雜、異質、文化及經濟對立的社會則較難發展。之後篇幅都是介紹審議民主經驗,詳情可能在網絡找還比較方便,在此只列出名字︰國家議題論壇(National Issues Forums)、市民之聲(Citizen Voices)、審議式民調(Deliberative Polling)、公民共識會議(Consensus Conferences)、規劃小組(Planning Cells)、公民陪審團(Citizens Jury)、線上對話、二十一世紀城鎮會議(21st Century Town Meeting)、協作學習(Collaborative Learning)、聖保羅市立健康委員會、學習圈(Study Circles)、網上討論串、民主學習中心等。第17章較有趣,提及普林斯頓規劃時舉辦一場審議式活動,卻因為過份尋求共識而掩蓋主要的矛盾,引起涉及規劃的民眾不滿。

最後一章則總結全書內容,指出審議吸引的民眾來自不同背景,設計良好的審議能鼓勵民眾繼續參與,審議產生的結果也相當理想。成功的審議方案應有以下特徵︰與決策者有連結;包括主要利害關係人及公眾;實質而坦誠討論以尋找共同基礎,但不一定要求共識;中立專業的工作人員協助參加者討論;審議後的提議獲廣大公眾支持;能持續舉行。審議民主的限制則有不保證參與者意見趨於一致;事前需要良好組織;擴大規模不易;通常限於地區議題。該章作者認為,審議民主要擴大影響力,既要在內部與決策者建立關係,並令審議成為政策制定法定過程,在外部則以傳媒報導及在選舉時期舉行等策略製造政治及社會壓力。該章作者也提議可在審議前先讓各方對話(dialogue),先讓各方理解各自的溝通方式、價值與觀點,為審議作準備。

2014年5月12日 星期一

盜匪

看了霍布斯邦的《盜匪》,隨便記記,書中集中討論所謂社會型盜匪︰

本書所指的社會型盜匪(social bandits),重點在他們都是出自鄉間的不法之徒,雖然是地主及官府眼中的罪犯,卻始終留在鄉間社會,更是同鄉老百姓心目中的大英雄,是為眾人爭權益、尋正義的鬥士及復仇者,有時甚至是帶來解放、自由的領導人物。總而言之,鄉民崇敬他、擁戴他,樂意助他一臂之力(p. 5)。



社會型盜匪主要有三種形式,即俠盜(noble robber,羅賓漢式義賊)、黑盜客(haiduks,草莽式抗暴者)與復仇者(avenger,以恐怖手段著稱)。

一般而言社會型盜匪並非革命家,他們是為維護一種較保守的公義而行動︰

要說他們確曾有任何「計畫」、「方案」,恐怕也屬於保守性的防禦動作,旨在維護或恢復傳統事理的秩序,回到其「應有」的面貌(在傳統社會裡面,「應有」面貌係指在眾人想像裡面,曾經在傳說或過去真實存在的狀態)。他們矯枉糾惡,施行報復,將不公正不公道的事情改正過來,因此在人與人之間,尤其是貧與富,強與弱間,設下一種比較公正公平的關係。其實這種志向,實在謙虛得很,強者還是可以作威作福,富人依然可以剝削貧人(可是不得超過傳統認為「合理公平」的界限),強者照樣欺壓弱者(可是限於公正平等的範疇之內,並不忘其社會與道德責任)。......因此,社會型盜匪也許有幾分改革家的味道,卻絕不是革命人(pp. 16-17)。



強盜大體出自以下幾種社會成員︰出身政府無法企及之地、年輕牧民、沒有個人田產的勞動者、退役軍士,還有那些不願接受社會指派角色、自行反抗的「好漢」。

接著作者逐一討論三種社會型盜匪,作者列出俠盜的「形象」如下︰

首先,俠盜生涯的開始,都不是因為他犯了罪,而是受到不公欺凌的結果,也可能是因為他從事一些當地鄉鄰不以為意,卻被當局視為觸犯法網的行為而遭到追索。
其二,他「矯枉去惡,糾正錯誤」。
其三,他「劫富濟貧」。
其四,他「除了出於自衛或報仇,絕不殺人」。
其五,如果他有幸不死,必定回歸故里,成為地方上受人敬重的一員。事實上,他從來不曾真正離開家園。
其六,他的同胞敬他、助他、擁戴他。
其七,他的死,都是因為被出賣,而且一定是因為被出賣。因為鄉裡哪一位正直人會幫當局來對付他呢。
其八,他神出鬼沒、刀槍不入——至少在理論上係如此。
其九,他並不是國王陛下或皇上的敵人,因為帝王是公義之源。他只是反對地方上的士紳、教士,以及其他各種壓制者而已(pp. 48-49)。



俠盜的象徵在意義於正義公理有可能彰顯︰

傳統的「俠盜」,代表一種相當原始、初階的社會抗爭,事實上恐怕是最原始的一種。他只是一個拒絕向惡勢力屈腰的個人,如此而已。大多數像他這一型的人物,在不具革命環境的條件下,遲早都會抗不過誘惑,選擇一條比較簡單的路︰或做一個不分貧富、見人便下手的普通強盜(除了自己村子不搶);或投效大戶人家,為領主看家護院;或納入體制,成為與官方權力結構有默契的武裝團體一員。有這麼多容易的路子好走,卻依然有極少數人一身傲骨,不為所動,不受污染(至少故事是如此相信)。老百姓對他們熱愛渴慕,期盼有加,原因即在於此。他們鏟不到迫害壓制,可是他們卻證明正義公理畢竟也有可能。他們證明,人雖窮,卻不必低聲下氣,不必一定無助,不必懦弱唯諾(pp. 67-69)。



復仇者則是極為殘暴的行為著稱,其暴力可能出自以下原因︰以其恐怖一面令民眾順從;因為缺乏公共系統資源,唯一有效的報復方式就是運用殘酷手段;屬於社會劣勢少數;節制過度暴力的傳統社會控制失效。

黑盜客則是較有組織的社會型強盜,他們不如俠盜需要個人道德認同,也不像復仇者般以暴力為象徵,反而較像一種為人公認的集體社會機能。黑盜客以自由人身份自居,眾人較為平等,成員基本上與親人鄰里斬斷關係。在時代動盪中,黑盜客也是培養潛在解放者的核心︰

在時代動盪,局勢不定之際,黑盜客及黑盜客式的盜眾必然增加,他們的動作面擴大,行為也愈發膽大。在這種關頭時刻,政府下令清匪的命令較前緊迫,地方官的藉口也較前執拗真切,老百姓的心情氣氛,也較前緊張。我們的後見之明,常把一般普通強盜的猖獗視做革命事件的先導,事實上,他們之所以與革命發生關係,只不過是剛好時間巧合,正好出現在大事發生之前而已。黑盜客則不然,他們不僅是一種反映社會不安的癥狀,更是培養潛在解放者的核心,一般人民對他們也持有這種看法(pp. 111-112)。



強盜事業也有其經濟與政治因素,與中間人建立商業網絡銷贓,甚至本身也是生意人。他們在農業社會中既非窮人,亦非富人,介乎兩者之間︰

最難堪最模糊的一點,就是強盜也者,在社會上所處的身分很曖昧,他是外人、是叛逆,明明是窮家小子,卻拒絕接受一般窮人該有的角色地位。他沒有任何奧援,之所以能夠伸張建立自己的自由,所賴者只有窮人唯一擁有與可及的資源︰也就是自己的骨氣、驍勇、狡智、決心。這項特色,拉近了他與窮苦民眾的距離︰他是他們其中一員;也因此使得他與權勢及財富階級對立︰他絕不是他們其中一員。農民出身的強盜,再怎樣也不會轉變成一名「紳士」,因為在強盜出沒的社會時代裡,貴族、士紳者絕不可能來自低層。然而在此同時,強盜卻身不由己,無法避免被捲入財富與權勢的網羅,因為他不似其小農,他的行當使他獲得錢財,享有勢力。他明明是「我們中間的一個」,卻不斷地跟「他們」發生關係。他強盜當得越有辦法,越會同時身兼二職︰一方面是窮人的代表及鬥士,一方面卻是富人體系的一部分(pp. 121-122)。



強盜坐大後,地方勢力在無力清剿時要與其妥協,有錢人家也會試圖收編強盜,也可能會利用強盜加強自己在地方的影響力,在小生意、小地方、小人物的政治中,強盜是影響當地局勢的一環。但當經濟成長,有錢階級不再需要以武力累積財富,就會視強盜為其財產威脅,強盜也就無法再與正常政治生活合流。

強盜因其固於地方、保守、缺乏建設計畫的特性,一般很少是革命家,但在武裝農民或黑盜客由來已久之地,「群眾運動」就有可能會參照已有的強盜活動行事。在與抵抗外侮有關的民族解放運動中,強盜也可能因其保衛傳統秩序的理念投身其中;又或者強盜頭子與革命人士有個人接觸,並受革命人士無私犧牲的行為感染,也有可能會參與革命。無論如何,強盜在革命前後也不大可能擔任重要角色︰

強盜尷尬曖昧的身分,不左不右的處境,更難使他們在革命大業中有所作為。他們夾在有權有勢者與貧窮百姓中間,看似人民之子,卻又瞧不起那些軟弱無用的順民。在正常情況之下,他們又得依存於現有社會、政治體制的夾縫或邊緣之中——而非靠反體制——生存。他們也許有著兄弟義氣、自由社會的夢想,可是強盜起事,最大的成就目標,卻在本身也成為土地擁有者,一如有田有產的士紳階級。......而且不管怎麼說,嘗過了英雄式的江湖闖蕩、無法無天的搶匪生涯,實在很難再適應革命志士那苦行僧般、又沒有光彩的組織生活,革命完成後的法治世界同樣難以忍受(p. 153)。



作者也提及一種「類強盜」(quasi-banditry)的人物,即「強徵者」(expropriator),指那些以為受壓者自居而有目標地搶劫的人。作者以一名西班牙的「強徵者」薩巴德(Francesc Sabaté Llopart)為例︰

薩巴德純正、單純,很適合成為傳奇。他活時貧素,死時亦然;一直到他死時,這名赫赫銀行大盜的夫人始終是女傭一名。他搶銀行,不單純為錢,而是像一名鬥牛士殺他的猛牛,為的是證明他的勇氣...... 搶錢而不冒險,不是男子漢的作風——薩巴德往往喜歡在人手不足的情況下動手搶銀行,正是這個原因——反之,冒著生命的危險去搶,就某種道德意義而言,不也正意味著這是搶錢該付的代價嗎?他總是「向著」警察走去,這不只是一種穩健的心理戰術,也是英雄行為。他大可強迫火車駕駛者冒險直駛過站——雖然結果可能也對他自己沒什麼好處——可是他沒有這麼做。非不能也,是不為也,這些人既未反抗他,道德上,他就不能讓他們冒生命危險。


要成為公眾傳奇人物,這個人的輪廓必須單純。做為一個悲劇英雄,他身邊的一切人、事、物,必須漸次地離他而去,獨留他孤寂的身影,昂然面對天際那抹地平線,其他一切不存,徒留其人的精粹。......這也正是薩巴德屹立英姿。無他,他正應以這般形象,與其他眾英雄長駐眾人心頭(pp. 180-181)。



談及盜匪的象徵意義,作者指只有一小部份遠古英雄留名,是因為成王敗寇,能夠留名的遠古英雄都不只是部份人民的英雄,而是國家、帝國與全體人民的英雄。而強盜在農民社會已非常陌生的現代讀者中依然能夠留存,則是因為強盜代表著一種永恆的角色︰

強盜文學、強盜迷思、強盜印象,其中的意義,並不僅在記載當年落後生活的實象,更重要的是,它可以滿足科技社會現代人對已失的純真、已往的冒險年代的渴望。當我們抽絲剝繭,將強盜的地域、社會架構一層層除去之後,可以發現藏在其中的核心成分︰亦即一種不滅的情愫,一個永恆的角色。那就是自由精神、英雄主義,以及公義的理想(p. 190)。



作者稱,本書也是知識份子再發掘社會型盜匪之旅的一部分。

2014年4月29日 星期二

Everything is obvious

看完了Everything is obvious,是一本講述常識怎樣誤導我們判斷的書。作者指出常識雖然可令世界言之成理,但不是令我們理解世界︰

So why is it that rocket science seems hard, whereas problems having to do with people—which arguably are much harder—seem like they ought to be just a matter of common sense? In this book, I argue that the key to the paradox is common sense itself.


The paradox of common sense, therefore, is that even as it helps us make sense of the world, it can actively undermine our ability to understand it. If you don’t quite understand what that last sentence means, that’s OK, because explaining it, along with its implications for policy, planning, forecasting, business strategy, marketing, and social science is what the rest of this book is about (pp. xvii-xviii).


作者提出常識有兩項特徵,即注重實踐與因應實際情況解決問題︰

The first of these features is that unlike formal systems of knowledge, which are fundamentally theoretical, common sense is overwhelmingly practical, meaning that it is more concerned with providing answers to questions than in worrying about how it came by the answers.


The second feature that differentiates common sense from formal knowledge is that while the power of formal systems resides in their ability to organize their specific findings into logical categories described by general principles, the power of common sense lies in its ability to deal with every concrete situation on its own terms (p.9).


因此常識彼此之間並沒有一致邏輯,例如不同諺語就有時互相矛盾。這在應對日常生活並無問題,但在我們以常識解決超出日常生活問題,如戰爭、經濟,政治等 就可能會出錯,因為這些問題過於複雜︰

Where it does start to matter, however, is when we use common sense to solve problems that are not grounded in the immediate here and now of everyday life—problems that involve anticipating or managing the behavior of large numbers of people, in situations that are distant from us either in time or space.


In none of these cases are we using our common sense to reason about how we should behave in the here and now. Rather, we are using it to reason about how other people behaved—or will behave—in circumstances about which we have at best an incomplete understanding. At some level we understand that the world is complicated, and that everything is somehow connected to everything else. But when we read some story about reforming the healthcare system, or about banker bonuses, or about the Israel-Palestine conflict, we don’t try to understand how all these different problems fit together. We just focus on the one little piece of the huge underlying tapestry of the world that’s being presented to us at that moment, and form our opinion accordingly (pp. 18-19).


儘管社會問題非常複雜,有趣的是我們對社會問題總是比科學問題更有自信︰

We are constantly immersed in markets, politics, and culture, and so are intimately familiar with how they work—or at least that is how it seems to us. Unlike problems in physics, biology, and so on, therefore, when the topic is human or social behavior, the idea of running expensive, time-consuming “scientific” studies to figure out what we’re pretty sure we already know seems largely unnecessary (p. 25).


作者歸納出三種常識的誤差︰過於注重誘因、動機與信念等有意識的因素;以為集體行為反映某位或某群代表人物的邏輯;過於強調歷史對將來的參考價值。之後幾章作者就討論這三種誤差。

我們的思考方式有時會超出我們想像,作者舉出德國與奧地利器官捐贈率的差異為例︰

And for all their creativity, my students never pegged the real reason, which is actually absurdly simple: In Austria, the default choice is to be an organ donor, whereas in Germany the default is not to be. The difference in policies seems trivial—it’s just the difference between having to mail in a simple form and not having to—but it’s enough to push the donor rate from 12 percent to 99.9 percent. And what was true for Austria and Germany was true across all of Europe—all the countries with very high rates of organ donation had opt-out policies, while the countries with low rates were all opt-in (pp. 31-32).


這說明預設選項對行為可以有顯著影響。作者也舉出其他影響行為的心理學現象,priming是指某些背景音樂、文字、影像、顏色可以誘導行為; anchoring與adjustment是提及不相關的數字會令估算改變;framing是在兩者之間加入第三項選擇會令最初兩者的評價改變,即使選擇的人從不會選那第三選項;是否容易回想或接觸某項資訊會影響判斷;只記住與自己立場一致資訊的confirmation bias,以及對與自己立場不同資訊特別懷疑的motivated reasoning,則會鞏固自己的立場,令分歧更難解決。

除了這些心理學現象外,在某情境中究竟甚麼事相關也不容易釐清,這就是frame problem︰要知道甚麼特徵與這情境相關就要將這情境與類似情境比較,但要知道甚麼情境可以比較又要知道甚麼特徵相關,這就陷入迴圈。

上述心理學現象與frame problem說明,像理性選擇與常識那樣,聲稱人們因某種既定原因而行動這種說法難以成立︰

Like rational choice theory, in other words, common sense insists that people have reasons for what they do—and this may be true. But it doesn’t necessarily allow us to predict in advance either what they will do or what their reasons will be for doing it. Once they do it, of course, the reasons will appear obvious, and we will conclude that had we only known about some particular factor that turned out to be important, we could have predicted the outcome. After the fact, it will always seem as if the right incentive system could have produced the desired result. But this appearance of after-the-fact predictability is deeply deceptive, for two reasons. First, the frame problem tells us that we can never know everything that could be relevant to a situation. And second, a huge psychological literature tells us that much of what could be relevant lies beyond the reach of our conscious minds (pp. 52-53).


常識在解釋某事為何發生時不時會出現循環論證,例如說蒙羅麗莎成功是因為某些特徵,但解釋為甚麼同樣有這些特徵的畫作不像蒙羅麗莎成功時,又會說出蒙羅麗莎的獨特之處,這樣蒙羅麗莎成功的原因就變成因為它是蒙羅麗莎。同樣,在解釋一項新的社會現象時,人們會說是因為社會習慣改變,但社會習慣改變的證據,卻正是有一項新的社會現象出現。作者指出常識解釋的循環論證來自於micro-macro problem,即社會宏觀現象怎樣由微觀個體組成︰

The circularity evident in commonsense explanations is important to address because it derives from what is arguably the central intellectual problem of sociology—which sociologists call the micro-macro problem. The problem, in a nutshell, is that the outcomes that sociologists seek to explain are intrinsically “macro” in nature, meaning that they involve large numbers of people.


So how do we get from the micro choices of individuals to the macro phenomena of the social world? Where, in other words, do families, firms, markets, cultures, and societies come from, and why do they exhibit the particular features that they exhibit? This is the micro-macro problem (pp. 61-62).


作者認為常識忽略社會系統中不同人互動會引起新的現象,令社會系統更為複雜︰

Social systems are also replete with interactions... Individual people are influenced by what other people are doing or saying or wearing.... In the kinds of systems that sociologists study, in fact, the interactions come in so many forms and carry such consequence, that our own version of emergence—the micro-macro problem— is arguably more complex and intractable than in any other discipline.


Common sense, however, has a remarkable knack for papering over this complexity. Emergence, remember, is a hard problem precisely because the behavior of the whole cannot easily be related to the behavior of its parts, and in the natural sciences we implicitly acknowledge this difficulty (p. 64).


常識及某些社會理論提倡的representative agent,就是這種忽略互動的典型例子︰

By ignoring the interactions between thousands or millions of individual actors, the representative agent simplifies the analysis of business cycles enormously. It assumes, in effect, that as long as economists have a good model of how individuals behave, they effectively have a good model for how the economy behaves as well. In eliminating the complexity, however, the representative-agent approach effectively ignores the crux of the micro-macro problem—the very core of what makes macroeconomic phenomena “macro” in the first place. It was for precisely this reason, in fact, that the economist Joseph Schumpeter, who is often regarded as the founding father of methodological individualism, attacked the representative-agent approach as flawed and misleading (pp. 66-67).


作者引用Granovetter的暴動模型說明互動為何重要,假設各有100人在A市與B市示威,每個人在n人參與暴力行為時就會加入,n在A市與B市100人中的分佈如下︰

A: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... 99

B: 0, 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 6... 99

這樣在A市中第一個人出現暴力行為就會觸發第二個人加入,連鎖效應下最終100人都參與暴力行為;而B市第一個人有暴力行為,觸發第二、三個人參與,但僅此為止,因為只有三個人參與的暴力行為觸發不到要四個人參與才加入的個體加入。A市與B市的n分佈其實相當相似,卻因為個體互動的微細差異導致結果非常不同。常識解釋並沒有顧及這種微細差異,反而可能會決為結果相當不同而判斷在A市與B市參與示威的群體本質有別。作者表示︰

To understand how the different outcomes emerge, you must take into account the interactions between individuals, which in turn requires that you follow the full sequence of individual decisions, each unfolding on top of the others. This is the micro-macro problem arriving in full force. And the minute you try to skip over it, say by substituting a representative agent for the behavior of the collective, you will have missed the whole essence of what is happening, no matter what you assume about the agent (p. 71).


常識解釋也沒有注意到cumulative advantage,也就是起初些微差異可導致結果相當不同;而在人們互相影響的世界中,選擇也有部份不可預測︰

Introducing social influence into human decision making, in other words, increased not just inequality but unpredictability as well. Nor could this unpredictability be eliminated by accumulating more information about the songs any more than studying the surfaces of a pair of dice could help you predict the outcome of a roll. Rather, unpredictability was inherent to the dynamics of the market itself (p. 77).


常識認為某些特殊人士交遊廣闊,對他人特別有影響,帶領潮流。但作者指出社會網絡比這種解釋更為複雜︰

The overall message here is that real social networks are connected in more complex and more egalitarian ways than Jacobs or even Milgram imagined—a result that has now been confirmed with many experiments, empirical studies, and theoretical models. In spite of all this evidence, however, when we think about how social networks work, we continue to be drawn to the idea that certain “special people,” whether famous wives of presidents or gregarious local businessmen, are disproportionately responsible for connecting the rest of us. Evidence, in fact, seems to have very little to do with why we think this way (p. 89).


作者藉由電腦模擬模型發現,「有影響力的人」影響比常識想像中低︰

What we found was that under most conditions, highly influential individuals were indeed more effective than the average person in triggering social epidemics. But their relative importance was much less than what the law of the few would suggest (p. 96).


The majority of the work was being done not by a tiny percentage of people who acted as the triggers, but rather by the much larger critical mass of easily influenced people. What we concluded, therefore, is that the kind of influential person whose energy and connections can turn your book into a bestseller or your product into a hit is most likely an accident of timing and circumstances. An “accidental influential” as it were (pp. 97-98).


作者在twitter的研究中在發現有影響力與否似乎與個人特徵無關︰

In a nutshell, what we found was that individual-level predictions are extremely noisy. Even though it was the case that on average, individuals with many followers who had been successful at triggering cascades of retweets in the past were more likely to be successful in the future, individual cases fluctuated wildly at random. Just as with the Mona Lisa, for every individual who exhibited the attributes of a successful influencer, there were many other users with indistinguishable attributes who were not successful (p. 103).


作者認為,與其他常識解釋相似,「少數法則」也是另一種循環論證︰

It is ironic in a way that the law of the few is portrayed as a counterintuitive idea because in fact we’re so used to thinking in terms of special people that the claim that a few special people do the bulk of the work is actually extremely natural. We think that by acknowledging the importance of interpersonal influence and social networks, we have somehow moved beyond the circular claim from the previous chapter that “X happened because that’s what people wanted.” But when we try to imagine how a complex network of millions of people is connected—or worse still, how influence propagates through it—our intuition is immediately defeated. By effectively concentrating all the agency into the hands of a few individuals, “special people” arguments like the law of the few reduce the problem of understanding how network structure affects outcomes to the much simpler problem of understanding what it is that motivates the special people. As with all commonsense explanations, it sounds reasonable and it might be right. But in claiming that “X happened because a few special people made it happen,” we have effectively replaced one piece of circular reasoning with another (p. 106).


作者指出從歷史中學習容易造成誤差,首先是因為 creeping determinism,即認為所有已發生的事都是理所當然︰

In reality, of course, this experiment got run only once, and so we never got to see all the other versions of it that may or may not have turned out differently. As a result, we can’t ever really be sure what caused the drop in violence. But rather than producing doubt, the absence of “counterfactual” versions of history tends to have the opposite effect—namely that we tend to perceive what actually happened as having been inevitable.


This tendency, which psychologists call creeping determinism, is related to the better-known phenomenon of hindsight bias, the after-the-fact tendency to think that we “knew it all along”(p. 112).


另一原因是sampling bias ,我們往往會記住較罕見卻有意思的事情,而不會留意較常見但沒意思的相反事例︰

Just as with our tendency to emphasize the things that happened over those that didn’t, our bias toward “interesting” things is completely understandable. Why would we be in terested in uninteresting things? Nevertheless, it exacerbates our tendency to construct explanations that account for only some of the data.


This problem of “sampling bias” is especially acute when the things we pay attention to—the interesting events— happen only rarely (pp. 113-114).


而creeping determinism加上sampling bias就會造成post-hoc fallacy,即認發生在前某事件是發生在後另一事件的原因︰

Together, creeping determinism and sampling bias lead commonsense explanations to suffer from what is called the post-hoc fallacy. The fallacy is related to a fundamental requirement of cause and effect—that in order for A to be said to cause B, A must precede B in time... All of this is fine. But just because B follows A doesn’t mean that A has caused B... It’s an obvious point, and in the physical world we have good enough theories about how things work that we can usually sort plausible from implausible. But when it comes to social phenomena, common sense is extremely good at making all sorts of potential causes seem plausible. The result is that we are tempted to infer a cause-and-effect relationship when all we have witnessed is a sequence of events. This is the post-hoc fallacy (p. 118).


作者以SARS在香港爆發為例,所謂「超級帶菌者」與其說在醫學上與其他患者有別,不如說正是因為他是實際歷史中的源頭而被稱為「超級帶菌者」,當中原因包括各種巧合。如果歷史重演,「超級帶菌者」就可能另有其人。作者稱歷史是描繪甚麼事發生,而不是解釋事情為何發生︰

On the one hand, common sense excels in generating plausible causes, whether special people, or special attributes, or special circumstances. And on the other hand, history obligingly discards most of the evidence, leaving only a single thread of events to explain. Commonsense explanations therefore seem to tell us why something happened when in fact all they’re doing is describing what happened (p. 122).


History cannot be told while it is happening, therefore, not only because the people involved are too busy or too confused to puzzle it out, but because what is happening can’t be made sense of until its implications have been resolved. And when will that be? As it turns out, even this innocent question can pose problems for commonsense explanations (p. 126).


In the absence of experiments, therefore, our storytelling abilities are allowed to run unchecked, in the process burying most of the evidence that is left, either because it’s not interesting or doesn’t fit with the story we want to tell. Expecting history to obey the standards of scientific explanation is therefore not just unrealistic, but fundamentally confused—it is, as Berlin concluded, “to ask it to contradict its essence” (p. 133).


作者提到預測的問題在於我們不清楚甚麼可以預測,例如前面提及過社會行為如何複雜︰

The real problem of prediction, in other words, is not that we are universally good or bad at it, but rather that we are bad at distinguishing predictions that we can make reliably from those that we can’t (p. 138).


Whenever people get together... they affect one another’s thinking and behavior. As I discussed in Chapter 3, it is these interactions that make social systems “social” in the first place—because they cause a collection of people to be something other than just a collection of people. But in the process they also produce tremendous complexity (p. 142).


我們想要的預測不是未來某事發生機率高低,而是它會不會實際發生︰

It follows naturally, therefore, that when we think about the future, we care mostly about what will actually happen. To arrive at our prediction, we might contemplate a range of possible alternative futures, and maybe we even go as far as to determine that some of them are more likely than others. But at the end of the day, we know that only one such possible future will actually come to be, and we want to know which one that is (p. 145).


然而正如前述,在預測時有甚麼資訊相關只能在事後得知︰

In effect, this problem is the flip side of Danto’s argument about history in the previous chapter—that what is relevant cannot be known until later. The kinds of predictions we most want to make, that is, require us to first determine which of all the things that might happen in the future will turn out to be relevant, in order that we can start paying attention to them now (p. 149).


例如預測所謂「黑天鵝」,即出現率極低的重大事件時,就不可能事先知道甚麼才重要,故此連要預測甚麼也不清楚︰

Predicting black swans is therefore fundamentally different than predicting events like plane crashes or changes in the rate of unemployment. The latter kind of event may be impossible to predict with certainty—and hence we may have to make do with predicting probabilities of outcomes rather than the outcomes themselves—but it is at least possible to say in advance what it is that we are trying to predict. Black swans, by contrast, can only be identified in retrospect because only then can we synthesize all the various elements of history under a neat label. Predicting black swans, in other words, requires us not only to see the future outcome about which we’re making a prediction but also to see the future beyond that outcome, because only then will its importance be known.


Nevertheless, once we know about black swans, we can’t help wishing that we had been able to predict them. And just as commonsense explanations of the past confuse stories with theories—the topic of the last chapter—so too does commonsense intuition about the future tend to conflate predictions with prophecies (p. 154-155).


常識預測犯錯在日常生活中問題不大,因為錯誤終會隨時間忘卻,而且應對日常生活也不需要連貫一致的解釋。但當預測用於影響重大的政策或市場時,運用常識預測就有所不足︰

Where these mistakes do start to have important consequences is when we rely on our common sense to make the kinds of plans that underpin government policy or corporate strategy or marketing campaigns. By their very nature, foreign policy or economic development plans affect large numbers of people over extended periods of time, and so do need to work consistently across many different specific contexts. By their very nature, effective marketing or public health plans do depend on being able to reliably associate cause and effect, and so do need to differentiate scientific explanation from mere storytelling. By their very nature, strategic plans, whether for corporations or political parties, do necessarily make predictions about the future, and so do need to differentiate predictions that can be made reliably from those that cannot. And finally, all these sorts of plans do often have consequences of sufficient magnitude—whether financial, or political, or social—that it is worth asking whether or not there i
s a better, uncommonsense way to go about making them (p. 157).


接著作者就開始詳細討論預測,首先是prediction market,即以眾人判斷的比例來評估未來某事發生機率,其問題則是容易受別有用心的人操縱。之後作者提及考量眾多變項的預測模型,表現往往不比簡單模型優勝多少,作者以美式足球聯盟分析為例︰

At the same time, however, it’s surprising that the aggregated wisdom of thousands of market participants, who collectively devote countless hours to analyzing upcoming games for any shred of useful information, is only incrementally better than a simple statistical model that relies only on historical averages (p. 169).


Predictions about complex systems, in other words, are highly subject to the law of diminishing returns: The first pieces of information help a lot, but very quickly you exhaust whatever potential for improvement exists (p. 172).


紀錄預測表現可反映預測是否值得重視︰

As I mentioned at the beginning of the previous chapter, keeping track of our predictions is not something that comes naturally to us: We make lots of predictions, but rarely check back to see how often we got them right. But keeping track of performance is possibly the most important activity of all—because only then can you learn how accurately it is possible to predict, and therefore how much weight you should put on the predictions you make (p. 174).


有時良好策略也會造成失敗的結果,這就是strategy paradox︰

This is the strategy paradox. The main cause of strategic failure... is not bad strategy, but great strategy that just happens to be wrong. Bad strategy is characterized by lack of vision, muddled leadership, and inept execution... Great strategy, by contrast, is marked by clarity of vision, bold leadership, and laser-focused execution. When applied to just the right set of commitments, great strategy can lead to resounding success—as it did for Apple with the iPod—but it can also lead to resounding failure. Whether great strategy succeeds or fails therefore depends entirely on whether the initial vision happens to be right or not. And that is not just difficult to know in advance, but impossible (p. 180 .


即使為策略帶來彈性也可能因無法事先知道甚麼是關鍵轉變而失敗︰

Ultimately, the main problem with strategic flexibility as a planning approach is precisely the same problem that it is intended to solve—namely that in hindsight the trends that turned out to shape a given industry always appear obvious. And as a result, when we revisit history it is all too easy to persuade ourselves that had we been faced with a strategic decision “back then,” we could have boiled down the list of possible futures to a small number of contenders—including, of course, the one future that did in fact transpire. But when we look to our own future, what we see instead is myriad potential trends, any one of which could be game changing and most of which will prove fleeting or irrelevant. How are we to know which is which? And without knowing what is relevant, how wide a range of possibilities should we consider? (p. 185)


既然策略無論如何也有可能失敗,另一種可能取態就是擴大應變能力以迅速回應現狀,作者以 Zara的emergent strategy銷售方式為例︰

Rather than attempting to anticipate correctly what will work in the future, that is, they should instead improve their ability to learn about what is working right now. Then, like Zara, they should react to it as rapidly as possible, dropping alternatives that are not working—no matter how promising they might have seemed in advance—and diverting resources to those that are succeeding, or even developing new alternatives on the fly (p. 188).


另一例子是網上媒體的 crowdsourcing,由不同作者供稿並主力推薦已有讀者迴響的文章,重點是由事先計劃轉為理解現狀並回應︰

The real point is that our increasing ability to measure the state of the world ought to change the conventional mind-set toward planning. Rather than predicting how people will behave and attempting to design ways to make consumers respond in a particular way—whether to an advertisement, a product, or a policy—we can instead measure directly how they respond to a whole range of possibilities, and react accordingly. In other words, the shift from “predict and control” to “measure and react” is not just technological—although technology is needed—but psychological. Only once we concede that we cannot depend on our ability to predict the future are we open to a process that discovers it (pp. 195-196).


作者指出廣告成效需要由實驗測試,實驗結果也可用於改進廣告效益︰

Without experiments, it’s actually close to impossible to ascertain cause and effect, and therefore to measure the real return on investment of an advertising campaign.


Without experiments, moreover, it’s extremely difficult to measure how much of the apparent effect of an ad was due simply to the predisposition of the person viewing it (p. 199).


Regardless, the only way to improve one’s marketing effectiveness over time is to first know what is working and what isn’t. Advertising experiments, therefore, should not be viewed as a one-off exercise that either yields “the answer” or doesn’t, but rather as part of an ongoing learning process that is built into all advertising (p. 202).


當沒有條件進行實驗時,則可以運用地方知識找出可行解決方案︰

The solution, Scott argued, is that plans should be designed to exploit “a wide array of practical skills and acquired intelligence in responding to a constantly changing natural and human environment.” This kind of knowledge, moreover, is hard to reduce to generally applicable principles precisely because “the environments in which it is exercised are so complex and non-repeatable that formal procedures of rational decision making are impossible to apply.” In other words, the knowledge on which a plan should be based is necessarily local to the concrete situation in which it is to be applied (p. 205).


運用地方知識的方法包括市場機制、公開比賽、參考既有的成功例子,以及bootstrapping,即系統部份發生時整個系統暫停運作直至問題解決︰

The basic idea is that production systems should be engineered along “just in time” principles, which assure that if one part of the system fails, the whole system must stop until the problem is fixed. At first, this sounds like a bad idea..., but its advantage is that it forces organizations to address problems quickly and aggressively. It also forces them to trace problems to their “root causes”—a process that frequently requires looking beyond the immediate cause of the failure to discover how flaws in one part of the system can result in failures somewhere else. And finally, it forces them to look either for existing solutions or else adapt solutions from related activities—a process known as benchmarking” (p. 209).


這些方法都表示計劃者不應只依自己的直覺與經驗推行計劃︰

There are, in fact, as many ways to measure and react to different problems as there are problems to solve, and no one-size-fits-all approach exists. What they all have in common, however, is that they require planners... to abandon the conceit that they can develop plans on the basis of intuition and experience alone. Plans fail, in other words, not because planners ignore common sense, but rather because they rely on their own common sense to reason about the behavior of people who are different from them (p. 212).


我們在評價事物時往往會受結果影響,儘管結果有可能是由偶然引起︰

Whether we are passing judgment on a crime, weighing up a person’s career, assessing some work of art, analyzing a business strategy, or evaluating some public policy, our evaluation of the process is invariably and often heavily swayed by our knowledge of the outcome, even when that outcome may have been driven largely by chance (p. 219).


這種現象其中一種常見方式就是Halo effect,即以某人擁有一項優點來判斷他擁有其他優點︰

In social psychology, the Halo Effect refers to our tendency to extend our evaluation about one particular feature of another person—say that they’re tall or good-looking—to judgments about other features, like their intelligence or character, that aren’t necessarily related to the first feature at all. Just because someone is good-looking doesn’t mean they’re smart, for example, yet subjects in laboratory experiments consistently evaluate good-looking people as smarter than unattractive people, even when they have no reason to believe anything about either person’s intelligence (pp. 219-220).


例如成就與個人才能往往會混為一談,但成功與否卻與偶然有關︰

By improving the way we make plans and implement them, all these methods are designed to increase the likelihood of success. But they can’t, and should not, guarantee success. In any one instance, therefore, we need to bear in mind that a good plan can fail while a bad plan can succeed—just by random chance—and therefore try to judge the plan on its own merits as well as on the known outcome (p. 222).


Delaying bonuses and indexing performance to peers are worthy ideas, but they may still not solve the deeper problem of differentiating luck from talent... investing strategies can be successful or unsuccessful for several years in a row for reasons that have nothing to do with skill, and everything to do with luck. Naturally, it won’t seem like luck, but there is no way to know that whatever story is concocted to explain that success isn’t simply another manifestation of the Halo Effect (pp. 225-226).


The Matthew Effect,即已有的將得到更多,沒有的則完全沒有,也反映成功與個人才能並不相等︰

Much of life, however, is characterized by what the sociologist Robert Merton called the Matthew Effect, named after a sentence from the book of Matthew in the Bible, which laments “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” Matthew was referring specifically to wealth (hence the phrase “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer”), but Merton argued that the same rule applied to success more generally. Success early on in an individual’s career, that is, confers on them certain structural advantages that make subsequent successes much more likely, regardless of their intrinsic aptitude (p. 228).


其中一例就是畢業生年份與收入的關係︰

For example, it is known that college students who graduate during a weak economy earn less, on average, than students who graduate in a strong economy. On its own, that doesn’t sound too surprising, but the kicker is that this difference applies not just to the years of the recession itself, but continues to accumulate over decades. Because the timing of one’s graduation obviously has nothing to do with one’s innate talent, the persistence of these effects is strong evidence that the Matthew Effect is present everywhere (p. 229).


作者因此認為,個人才能是個人才能,成功是成功,兩者並不相同︰

What we conclude may or may not correlate with his track record, and it is almost certainly a more difficult evaluation to perform. But whenever we find ourselves describing someone’s ability in terms of societal measures of success—prizes, wealth, fancy titles—rather than in terms of what they are capable of doing, we ought to worry that we are deceiving ourselves. Put another way, the cynic’s question, if you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich? is misguided not only for the obvious reason that at least some smart people care about rewards other than material wealth, but also because talent is talent, and success is success, and the latter does not always reflect the former (p. 231.


由此推論,財富再分配並不是干擾自然狀態,因為任何一種財富分佈都並不自然︰

For much the same reasons, arguments about the so-called redistribution of wealth are mistaken in assuming that the existing distribution is somehow the natural state of things, from which any deviation is unnatural, and hence morally undesirable. In reality, every distribution of wealth reflects a particular set of choices that a society has made: to value some skills over others; to tax or prohibit some activities while subsidizing or encouraging other activities; and to enforce some rules while allowing other rules to sit on the books, or to be violated in spirit. All these choices can have considerable ramifications for who gets rich and who doesn’t—as recent revelations about explicit and implicit government subsidies to student lenders and multinational oil companies exemplify. But there is nothing “natural” about any of these choices, which are every bit as much the product of historical accident, political expediency, and corporate lobbying as they are of economic rationality or social desirability (p. 238).


作者指社會科學家也有時會以常識判斷,畢竟他們也是社會生活成員︰

If much of what sociology has to offer seems like common sense, in other words, it is not just because everything about human behavior seems obvious once you know the answer. Part of the problem is also that social scientists, like everyone else, participate in social life and so feel as if they can understand why people do what they do simply by thinking about it. It is not surprising, therefore, that many social scientific explanations suffer from the same weaknesses—ex post facto assertions of rationality, representative individuals, special people, and correlation substituting for causation—that pervade our commonsense explanations as well (pp. 252-253).


互聯網與社交網絡興起令社會科學開始可以研究大型團體的實時資訊,例如一項 Facebook的研究就發現人們與熟人政治取向並沒有想像中那麼一致︰

What we found was that friends are indeed more similar than strangers, and that close friends and friends who say they talk about politics are more similar than casual acquaintances—just as the homophily principle would predict. But friends, whether close or not, also consistently believe themselves to be more similar than they actually are. In particular, our respondents were very bad at guessing when one of their friends—even a close friend with whom they discussed politics—disagreed with them (p. 259).


最後作者談論社會科學雖無法也不應尋找社會行為的統一法則,卻可藉發現社會行為不同機制,幫助我們解決問題︰

The social world, in other words, is far messier than the physical world, and the more we learn about it, the messier it is likely to seem. The result is that we will probably never have a science of sociology that will resemble physics. But that’s OK... Surely the real nature of science is not to exhibit any particular form at all, but rather to follow scientific procedures—of theory, observation, and experiment—that incrementally and iteratively chip away at the mysteries of the world. And surely the point of these procedures is not to discover laws of any particular kind, but rather to figure things out—to solve problems. So the less we worry about looking for general laws in social science, and the more we worry about solving actual problems, the more progress we are likely to make.


When the subject is human behavior, in other words, it is actually hard to imagine anything that social scientists could possibly discover that wouldn’t sound obvious to a thoughtful person, no matter how difficult it might have been to figure it out. What isn’t obvious, however, is how all these “obvious” things fit together.


It is in resolving these sorts of puzzles that social science can hope to advance well beyond where we can get on the strength of common sense and intuition alone. Better yet, as more such puzzles get resolved, it may turn out that similar sorts of mechanisms come into play in many of them, leading us, perhaps, to the kind of “middle-range” theories that Robert Merton had in mind back in the 1960s.


Ultimately, we will probably need to pursue all these approaches simultaneously, attempting to converge on an understanding of how people behave and how the world works both from above and from below, bringing to bear every method and resource that we have at our disposal (pp. 262-265).