中国制造业对西方冲击大互联网加剧西方社会分化

2014-06-04 15:24:13来源：可可英语

　　In recent years the phrase “Made in China” has struck fear into the hearts of western workers and politicians. As China has swelled in economic might – to a point where it will soon outpace the US in size, according to data released this week – its factories have undercut western rivals, causing manufacturing jobs to move.

　　最近几年，“中国制造(Made in China)” 一词已将恐惧注入西方工人和政界人士心中。随着中国经济实力的日益膨胀——根据不久前发布的数据，要不了多久中国的经济规模就会超过美国——中国的工厂以低廉的成本对西方对手造成了冲击，导致西方制造业岗位外流。然而，西方决策者需要关注的不仅仅是种种小器具，还有万维网(Worldwide Web)。这是因为，要理解为什么眼下有关不平等的争论会在盎格鲁撒克逊的政治世界如此盛行，为什么托马斯•皮凯蒂(Thomas Piketty)关于该话题的新书《21世纪的资本》(Capital in the Twenty-First Century)会引发如此强烈的共鸣，十分重要的一点是要认识到，全球化的面貌正在发生微妙但重要的变化。

　　But it is not just widgets that western policy makers need to watch, but the worldwide web. For if you want to understand why debates about inequality are all the rage in the Anglo-Saxon political world – and why Thomas Piketty’s new book on the subject, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, has struck such a powerful chord – it is important to realise that the face of globalisation is undergoing a subtle, but important, shift.

　　最明显的一点是，互联网正在令跨国业务发生改变。这种数字化进程一方面虽然创造了新机遇(原本印刷文化衫的孟买企业家如今可以设计出自己的款式并销往全球)，另一方面却也有可能产生新型的赢家和输家(部分西方设计师可能会发现，印度同行以更低廉的价格对自己造成了冲击)。不平等问题因此引发了关注。

　　Most notably, the internet is transforming cross-border business. And while this process of digitisation creates opportunity – Mumbai entrepreneurs who would once have printed T-shirts might now concoct their own designs and sell them around the world – it also threatens to create new categories of winners and losers (some western designers may find themselves undercut by their Indian peers). Hence the interest in inequality.

　　要理解这一点，可以看看麦肯锡全球研究所(McKinsey Global Institute，简称MGI)刚刚发布的一份有关数字时代经济流动的报告。该报告估计，过去20年里跨境经济流动规模增长了4倍，从1990年的一年约5万亿美元，增长到2012年的26万亿美元，最后这个数字相当于全球GDP的36%。

本文关键字: 中国制造业对西方冲击大