法国人再获诺贝尔经济奖强烈回击法国衰落论

2014-10-15 14:28:59来源：可可英语

　　Yet this being France, a country where dissatisfaction can be worn like an accessory, someintellectuals, economists and critics greeted the awards with little more than a shrug at a timewhen the economy has been faltering, Paris has lost influence to Berlin and Brussels, the far-right National Front has been surging, and François Hollande has become one of the mostunpopular French presidents in recent history. Others sniffed haughtily that while France wasgreat at culture, it remained economically and politically prostrate.

　　然而这是法国，不满情绪就像穿戴配饰一样平常。经济步履蹒跚，巴黎失去了对柏林和布鲁塞尔的影响力，极右翼政党国民阵线(National Front)的势力急剧扩张，总统弗朗索瓦·奥朗德(FrançoisHollande)沦为法国近代史上最不受欢迎的总统之一。在这样的光景下，一些知识分子、经济学家和评论人士对诺贝尔奖的反应无非就是耸了耸肩。其他一些人则傲慢地表示不屑，虽然法国在文化上很伟大，但在经济和政治领域，它依旧不怎么样。

　　Even Mr. Modiano may have unintentionally captured the national mood when, informed of hisprize by his editor, he said he found it “strange” and wanted to know why the Nobel committeehad selected him.

　　就连莫迪亚诺本人也在无意中捕捉到了这种国民情绪。当他的编辑告知他获奖一事时，他说自己觉得“奇怪”，很好奇为什么诺贝尔委员会选中了他。

　　Alain Finkielkraut, a professor of philosophy at the elite École Polytechnique, who recentlypublished a book criticizing what he characterized as France’s descent into conformity andmulticulturalism, said that rather than showing that France was on the ascent, the fetishizingof the Nobel Prizes by the French political elite revealed the country’s desperation.

　　阿兰·芬基尔克罗(Alain Finkielkraut)是一名哲学教授，在菁英汇集的巴黎综合理工学院(ÉcolePolytechnique)担任教职。在最近出版的一本书中，他称法国陷入了同质化和多元文化，并对此加以批评。芬基尔克罗说，法国政治上层对诺贝尔奖的盲目迷恋，显示的不是法国正欣欣向荣，而是它身陷绝望。

　　“I find the idea that the Nobels are being used as a riposte to French-bashing idiotic,” he said. “Our education system is totally broken, and the Nobel Prize doesn’t change anything. I have alot of affection for Mr. Modiano, but I think Philip Roth deserved it much more. To talk that allin France is going well and that the pessimism is gone is absurd. France is doing extremelybadly. There is an economic crisis. There is a crisis of integration. I am not going to beconsoled by these medals made of chocolate.”

　　“我觉得，用诺贝尔奖来还击法国衰落论的做法很愚蠢，”他说。“我们的教育体系完全失灵，诺贝尔奖不会改变任何东西。我很喜欢莫迪亚诺，但我认为菲利普·罗斯(Philip Roth)远远更该获奖。说法国一切运行良好、悲观已经消失，这种说法很荒谬。法国目前的状况极为糟糕。有经济危机，也有融合危机。这些巧克力奖牌不会令我感到安慰。”

　　Robert Frank, a history professor emeritus at the University of Paris 1 — Sorbonne, and theauthor of “The Fear of Decline, France From 1914 to 2014,” echoed that the self-aggrandizement that had greeted the prizes among the French establishment reflected acountry lacking in self-confidence. In earlier centuries, he noted, the prize had been greetedas something obvious.

　　罗伯特·弗兰克(Robert Frank)是巴黎第一大学(University of Paris 1 — Sorbonne)的历史学荣休教授，著有《对衰落的恐惧，从1914年到2014年的法国》(The Fear of Decline, France From 1914 to 2014)一书。他也认为，法国掌权者对奖项的欢迎姿态，反映了这个国家缺乏自信。他指出，早前几个世纪，人们把法国获奖视为理所当然的事情。

　　When French writers or intellectuals won Nobels in the mid-20th century, “there was no jolt atthat time, because France still saw itself as important, so there wasn’t much to add to that,” hesaid. “Today, it may help some people to show that France still counts in certain places in theworld. This doesn’t fix the crisis of unemployment, however, that is sapping this society.”

　　在20世纪中期，当法国作家或知识分子荣获诺贝尔奖时，“不会带来震撼，因为法国人仍然认为自己是个大国，锦上添花作用不大，”他说。“而今天，它可以帮一些人展示：在世界上的某些地方，法国还是很重要的。这不能解决失业的危机，然而，那才是会侵蚀这个社会的东西。”

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