Now Is the Time for a ‘Great Reset’

克劳斯·施瓦布：世界复兴正当时

 

We can emerge from this crisis a better world, if we act quickly and jointly, writes Professor Klaus Schwab.

The changes we have already seen in response to COVID-19 prove that a reset of our economic and social foundations is possible.

This is our best chance to instigate stakeholder capitalism – and here’s how it can be achieved.

 

克劳斯·施瓦布教授写道：如果我们迅速共同行动，便可以从危机中创造一个更好地世界。

从人们应对新冠肺炎疫情的方式中，我们已经看到了变化，这证明我们可以复兴我们的经济和社会基础。

这是我们践行利益相关者概念的最好时机，以下便是我们实现该目标的方法。

 

COVID-19 lockdowns may be gradually easing, but anxiety about the world’s social and economic prospects is only intensifying. There is good reason to worry: a sharp economic downturn has already begun, and we could be facing the worst depression since the 1930s. But, while this outcome is likely, it is not unavoidable.

 

新冠疫情的封禁措施或许正逐渐解冻，但人们对世界各国社会经济发展前景的担忧却不断加深。这种担忧是可以理解的：一场严重的经济衰退已经开始，我们可能正在迎来20世纪30年代以来最严重的经济危机。但是，虽然这一切真的可能发生，却并非不可避免。

 

To achieve a better outcome, the world must act jointly and swiftly to revamp all aspects of our societies and economies, from education to social contracts and working conditions. Every country, from the United States to China, must participate, and every industry, from oil and gas to tech, must be transformed. In short, we need a “Great Reset” of capitalism.

 

为了改善世界状况，我们需要迅速展开联合行动，大幅改革教育、社会契约和工作条件等社会经济的方方面面。包括中美在内的每个国家都必须参与进来，从油气到科技的每个行业必须进行转型。简而言之，我们需要一场由各方利益相关者推动的“世界复兴”（The Great Reset）。

 

There are many reasons to pursue a Great Reset, but the most urgent is COVID-19. Having already led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, the pandemic represents one of the worst public-health crises in recent history. And, with casualties still mounting in many parts of the world, it is far from over.

 

要推动世界复兴有许多理由，其中最为迫切的是新冠疫情。这场疫情已经导致数十万人死亡，成为世界现代史上最为严重的公共卫生危机之一。这场疫情还远未结束，世界各地有越来越多的人正因此而失去生命。

 

This will have serious long-term consequences for economic growth, public debt, employment, and human wellbeing. According to the Financial Times, global government debt has already reached its highest level in peacetime. Moreover, unemployment is skyrocketing in many countries: in the US, for example, one in four workers have filed for unemployment since mid-March, with new weekly claims far above historic highs. The International Monetary Fund expects the world economy to shrink by 3% this year – a downgrade of 6.3 percentage points in just four months.

 

这场危机将给经济增长、公共债务、就业和民众福祉带来长期而严重的后果。根据《金融时报》报道，全球政府债务已经达到了和平时期的最高水平。同时，许多国家的失业率因疫情而不断飙升。以美国为例，自3月中旬以来，有四分之一的美国工人申请失业救济，每周领取救济金的新增人数远超历史最高水平。国际货币基金组织预计今年的世界经济将萎缩3%——短短四个月内，下降6.3个百分点。

 

All of this will exacerbate the climate and social crises that were already underway. Some countries have already used the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse to weaken environmental protections and enforcement. And frustrations over social ills like rising inequality – US billionaires’ combined wealth has increased during the crisis – are intensifying.

 

所有这些都将加剧已经发生的气候和社会危机。有些国家已经将新冠疫情作为借口，放松环境保护，降低相关的行动力度。本次危机期间，美国亿万富豪的财富总量增加了，导致贫富差距继续扩大，这样的社会弊病进一步强化了人们的沮丧情绪。

 

Left unaddressed, these crises, together with COVID-19, will deepen and leave the world even less sustainable, less equal, and more fragile. Incremental measures and ad hoc fixes will not suffice to prevent this scenario. We must build entirely new foundations for our economic and social systems.

 

如果放任不管，这些危机将和新冠疫情一起，激化各种社会矛盾，损害世界的可持续发展，加剧世界不平等状况，让世界变得愈发脆弱。为了阻止这样的情景发生，我们不能只是按部就班地加以应对，或者只是采取临时性的干预措施，而是必须重新奠定社会经济体系的基础。

 

The level of cooperation and ambition this implies is unprecedented. But it is not some impossible dream. In fact, one silver lining of the pandemic is that it has shown how quickly we can make radical changes to our lifestyles. Almost instantly, the crisis forced businesses and individuals to abandon practices long claimed to be essential, from frequent air travel to working in an office.

 

为此，我们必须树立前所未有的宏大目标，开展史无前例的多方合作。这并非遥不可及的梦想。实际上，疫情也给我们带来了积极的一面：它表明我们完全可以快速、彻底地改变生活方式。几乎是转瞬之间，疫情迫使企业和个人放弃了长期以来根深蒂固的一些做法，包括频繁的空中飞行和职场办公。

 

Likewise, populations have overwhelmingly shown a willingness to make sacrifices for the sake of health-care and other essential workers and vulnerable populations, such as the elderly. And many companies have stepped up to support their workers, customers, and local communities, in a shift toward the kind of stakeholder capitalism to which they had previously paid lip service.

 

疫情期间，绝大多数的公民展现出了舍己为人的牺牲精神，积极关爱医护人员等关键岗位的工作人员，悉心照顾老人等弱势群体。许多企业也加大了对员工、客户和社会的支持力度，积极践行此前承诺的利益相关者理念。

 

Clearly, the will to build a better society does exist. We must use it to secure the Great Reset that we so badly need. That will require stronger and more effective governments, though this does not imply an ideological push for bigger ones. And it will demand private-sector engagement every step of the way.

 

毫无疑问，社会各界拥有建设美好社会的良好意愿。我们必须利用这样美好的愿望，确保实现一场我们亟需的“世界复兴”。当然，我们不必出于意识形态的考虑，来扩大政府的规模，但我们需要建立更加强大、善治的政府。在此过程中，私营部门的参与同样不可或缺。

 

The Great Reset agenda would have three main components. The first would steer the market toward fairer outcomes. To this end, governments should improve coordination (for example, in tax, regulatory, and fiscal policy), upgrade trade arrangements, and create the conditions for a “stakeholder economy.” At a time of diminishing tax bases and soaring public debt, governments have a powerful incentive to pursue such action.

 

如何才能实现“世界的复兴”呢？我认为有三点至关重要。第一就是要引导打造更加公平的市场环境。要实现这一点，政府必须加强政策协调（比如税务、监管和财政政策等），升级贸易安排，为发展“利益相关者经济”（stakeholder economy）创造条件。在税基遭受削弱和公共债务激增的当下，政府有强大的动力去采取上述行动。

 

Moreover, governments should implement long-overdue reforms that promote more equitable outcomes. Depending on the country, these may include changes to wealth taxes, the withdrawal of fossil-fuel subsidies, and new rules governing intellectual property, trade, and competition.

 

此外，政府应当推行姗姗来迟的改革举措，促进社会公平。这些举措因国情而异，可能包括改革财富税，取消化石燃料补贴，以及围绕知识产权、贸易和市场竞争推出全新的监管措施等。

 

The second component of a Great Reset agenda would ensure that investments advance shared goals, such as equality and sustainability. Here, the large-scale spending programs that many governments are implementing represent a major opportunity for progress. The European Commission, for one, has unveiled plans for a €750 billion ($826 billion) recovery fund. The US, China, and Japan also have ambitious economic-stimulus plans.

 

第二是确保投资能促进公平和可持续发展等共同目标。在这方面，许多政府正在推行的大规模投资计划就蕴含着重大的发展机遇。比如，欧盟委员会推出了7500亿欧元（8260亿美元）的复苏基金，并据此制定了多项具体计划。中国、美国和日本也推出了同样雄心勃勃的经济刺激计划。

 

Rather than using these funds, as well as investments from private entities and pension funds, to fill cracks in the old system, we should use them to create a new one that is more resilient, equitable, and sustainable in the long run. This means, for example, building “green” urban infrastructure and creating incentives for industries to improve their track record on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics.

 

有了这些资金以及私营实体和养老基金的投资，我们不能只是用来填补旧有体系的漏洞，而是应当着眼长远，打造更有韧性、更加公平和更可持续的全新制度。比如，我们可以建设城市“绿色”基础设施，或者激励有关行业改善在ESG（环境、社会和治理）方面的表现。

 

The third and final priority of a Great Reset agenda is to harness the innovations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to support the public good, especially by addressing health and social challenges. During the COVID-19 crisis, companies, universities, and others have joined forces to develop diagnostics, therapeutics, and possible vaccines; establish testing centers; create mechanisms for tracing infections; and deliver telemedicine. Imagine what could be possible if similar concerted efforts were made in every sector.

 

第三就是要利用第四次工业革命技术来造福社会公共利益，尤其是解决卫生和其他社会问题。本次疫情期间，企业、大学和相关各方携手开发诊断方法、治疗方法甚至是疫苗；创建检测中心；建立感染病例追踪机制；以及开展远程医疗。如果各行各业都能采取类似的协同行动，产生的效益将不可限量。

 

The COVID-19 crisis is affecting every facet of people’s lives in every corner of the world. But tragedy need not be its only legacy. On the contrary, the pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world to create a healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous future.

 

新冠疫情影响到了世界的角角落落，也影响到了人们生活的方方面面。但疫情带来的也并非全是悲剧，它也为我们提供了难得一见、转瞬即逝的机会，来反思、重构并推动世界的复兴，打造更加健康、公平和繁荣的人类未来。

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