“皮凯蒂泡沫”怎样炼成

突然间，一种老生常谈的理论爆得大名，成为似乎支持者和反对者人人都在谈论的“重要思想”，这种有趣的社会经济现象，最近就发生在法国左派经济学家、“当代马克思”托马·皮凯蒂的身上。这是怎么回事？FT讽刺专栏作家施里姆斯利(Robert Shrimsley)做了辛辣的分析。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

entrench [ɪn'tren(t)ʃ; en-] 挖壕沟，确立

bent [bent] 爱好

escape velocity 逃逸速度

absinthe['æbsɪnθ] 苦艾酒

take a knock 受到情感或经济上的打击

ubiquitous [juː'bɪkwɪtəs] 无所不在的

swingeing ['swɪn(d)ʒɪŋ] 激烈的，严厉的

Francis Fukuyama 弗朗西斯·福山，日裔美籍学者，斯坦福大学研究员，他在名著《历史的终结》中提出，民主制可能是人类社会演化最终的政府形式。

The nine stages of the Piketty bubble (747 words)

By Robert Shrimsley

Concern is growing that much of the western world is heading into a “Piketty bubble” – a social and economic phenomenon that arises when everyone who considers themselves to be anybody feels the need to talk about a new book by French economist Thomas Piketty.

Capital in the Twenty-First Century, which argues that modern capitalism is entrenching inequality, was written a year ago in an obscure European dialect(French). But it is now being hailed as a masterpiece after it was discovered by a US publisher and translated into American. Although available for digital download, it is proving popular in printed form as even those who know they will never read it want it on their bookcase.

Unlike the five phases in US economist Hyman Minsky's classic bubble theory, a Piketty bubble boasts nine stages.

Stage one – buy-in: Anyone who believes they are part of the “big conversation” feels the need to talk about Prof Piketty's views. Initially these are people of an economic bent who are genuinely interested in his work but soon other “thinkers” feel their credibility requires heavy investment in Piketty and so start referencing his conclusions.

Stage two – escape velocity: A critical mass of enthusiasm sees Piketty rise faster than Bitcoin. Escape velocity is reached as politicians and pundits realise its value in supporting their existing convictions. They observe that his book crystallises “the big issue of our day”. Such references must also always include the phrase “in his important work”. Bluffers' guides spring up on the internet.

These guides also offer information on how to pronounce his name. Getting this right marks you out as an early investor, someone with whom he might have discussed the Laffer curve over a glass of absinthe before a Paris St-Germain(French football league champion) match.

Don't call him Thomas, it's “Thom-ah”. Correct pronunciation is crucial. The type of intellectual investment that boosts your career capital; “Thomas” sounds cheap.

Stage three – backlash: Initially this stage is welcomed by admirers as validation of the strength of Prof Piketty's work since it shows he has worried his opponents. But his credibility takes a knock when it emerges he is François Hollande's favourite economist. Then his credentials as a French intellectual are tainted by rumours he has never ridden a motorcycle or attended a soirée with (famous French singer and actress) Vanessa Paradis. Conservatives dispute Prof Piketty's claims on inequality, arguing that it cannot be that bad since the poor all have access to running water. (Milton Friedman explained that the advancement of technology benefit mainly the poor, for example tap water: rich people enjoy clean water with or without this technology, while poor people can have cheap clean water through it. Thus, although income gap is big, living standard gap is not that big.) Still, confidence stays high as he remains at the heart of the “debate”.

In Stage four – counter-offensive Prof Piketty's supporters fight back pointing out that most of his critics have not read his book. This is followed by Stage five – rearguard, in which critics reply that most supporters haven't read it either.

Stage six – boredom: As Piketty references become ubiquitous, people begin to lament the overhyping of a book which “doesn't tell us anything we did not know”.

In stage seven – disassociationeven supporters begin to be embarrassed to refer to him. Conversations start to include phrases like: “Look, I know it's a bit cliche to mention Piketty but… ” Reassured that nothing will actually change, opponents stop bothering to attack his proposals for a swingeing wealth tax.

Stage eight – denial offers proof the bubble has burst as members of the thinking classes now feel it is chic to admit that they never read the work. The brand is further cheapened for intellectuals when his work is picked up by Russell Brand.

Stage nine – relocation: People move Prof Piketty's book from the living room to the lavatory, where it sits on a shelf sandwiched between Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time and Francis Fukuyama's The End of History.

Prof Piketty, meanwhile, faces complaints that as wealth accrues disproportionately to star writers, his triumph is increasing inequality among economic authors.

There is a possible much later stage 10 – rediscovery. A new crisis promotes a revival in which people return to the book and note that Prof Piketty “had some interesting things to say on this subject”.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1.According to these stages, who started this “bubble”?

A.People who interested in economics and in Piketty.

B.Everyone who considers themselves to be important.

C.Publishers and book sellers.

D.Politicians and pundits.

答案(1)

2.What do we know about Thomas Piketty?

A.He's someone discussing the Laffer curve with absinthe before a Paris St-Germain match.

B.He is French president Francois Hollande's favorite economist.

C.Piketty used to be a conservative scholar favoring economic freedom over equality.

D.Rumours go that he once rode a motocycle attending a soiree with Vanessa Paradis.

答案(2)

3.What policy is being proposed in Piketty's blockbuster book?

A.It proposes no policies.

B.François Hollande's policies.

C.Providing free running water.

D.Heavy wealth tax.

答案(3)

4.Which of the following is the best summary of the time sequence? (You are welcomed to look back if you are not sure.)

A.escape velocity--counter offensive--rearguard--denial--relocation

B.escape velocity--backlash--counter-offensive--boredom--rediscovery

C.buy-in--escape velocity--rearguard--disassociation--denial

答案(4)

* * *

(1)答案：A.People who interested in economics and in Piketty.

解释：在第一个阶段，那些“觉得自己在参与重要的话题的人”，开始谈论皮凯蒂，这些人是真对这个感兴趣的： Initially these are people of an economic bent who are genuinely interested in his work.

后面的政客和权威人士开始谈论它则意味着开始“大红大紫”的阶段。

(2)答案：B.He is French president Francois Hollande's favorite economist.

解释：A是为了讽刺那些把“托马斯”按照法语来发音成“托马”的人，他们觉得这样让自己显得很高大上，像是那种在球赛前还要一边喝酒一边讨论经济学的知识精英。 C在文中并未出现。D原意是讽刺“法国的著名学者”们：“皮凯蒂这个宅男既不骑摩托车又不参加影星的聚会，还算是法国学者吗？”

(3)答案：D.Heavy wealth tax.

解释：文中只有一处（第七阶段）提到了他主张什么政策来应对贫富差距：高额财产税。

(4)答案：B.escape velocity--backlash--counter-offensive--boredom--rediscovery

解释：这个完整的周期是从这一轮流行开始到下一轮流行结束的，在这个过程之中，支持者和反对者交锋数个回合。前几个回合，反对者挺把它当回事，到后面的回合，连支持者也不情愿提起这本书了，并且，opponents stop bothering to attack his proposals for……