美国衰落与中国崛起无关中国短期内不会成为全球超级大国

2014-05-08 13:24:27来源：可可英语

　　同样的影响在美国处理气候变化问题的方式中也能看出。作为全球最富有的国家，美国达成了一项协议，拟为新兴国家缩减碳排放提供补贴。但这个所谓的“以减排换资金”(cash for cuts)战略缺少一个关键元素——资金。

　　Neither the US nor its partners will come up with anything like the $100bn a year in climate aid promised in the Copenhagen talks in 2009. Again, Congress is blocking America’s leadership. Mr Obama is powerless to do much about it. Thankfully, China, India and others are beginning to see that energy efficiency is in their own interests. But they are making changes on their own initiative.

　　美国及其盟国都根本无法履行它们在2009年哥本哈根气候变化大会上作出的承诺，即每年提供1000亿美元的气候援助。美国国会再一次叫停了美国的领导角色。奥巴马对此有心无力，做不了太多。所幸中国、印度以及其他国家开始认识到，提高能源效率符合它们自身的利益。但这些国家正按照自己的打算做出改变。

　　The die has not yet been cast. The US holds more cards than any other in shaping what the multipolar world will look like. It has more legitimacy than any potential rival – China in particular. But America’s ability to address these vast challenges is stymied by domestic paralysis. Central to this is the declining fortunes of America’s middle class – the foundation of its postwar global strength. Growing economic inequality across the US, and the political fallout in Washington, have killed the spirit of magnanimity that defined cold war American leadership. This loss is impossible to quantify. It is no less real for that.

　　形势尚未达到不可逆转的地步。就塑造未来多极世界的格局而言，美国手中的牌比其他任何国家都要多。相对于任何潜在竞争对手——特别是中国，美国具备更强的正当性。但美国国内的瘫痪状态，削弱了美国应对这些巨大挑战的能力。问题的核心在于，美国中产阶级的境遇(这是战后美国全球实力的根基)在走下坡路。美国国内经济不平等的加剧，加上华盛顿的政治冲击波，扼杀了冷战期间奠定美国全球领导角色的宽宏大度的精神。这一损失无法量化，但它是真真切切存在的。

　　America still has the power to set the tone of global engagement and negotiate outcomes that benefit both itself and the world. But it will require the US to retrieve the spirit of enlightened self-interest that once defined the nation. We must all hope that spirit is dormant rather than extinct.

　　美国仍然有实力为全球接触奠定基调，并通过谈判达成对于自身以及世界各国都有利的结局。但这就要求美国找回曾经界定这个国家的开明的自利精神。我们都应抱有希望：这种精神仅仅是沉睡了，而非绝迹了。

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