Just over a mile away from here, in Edinburgh's Old Town, is Panmure House. Panmure House was the home of the world-renowned Scottish economist Adam Smith. In his important work "The Wealth of Nations," Adam Smith argued, amongst many other things, that the measurement of a country's wealth was not just its gold and silver reserves. It was the totality of the country's production and commerce. I guess it was one of the earliest descriptions of what we now know today as gross domestic product, GDP.
距这里仅一英里多的 爱丁堡的老城区里, 坐落着潘摩尔老屋。 潘摩尔老屋 是世界著名的苏格兰经济学家 亚当·斯密的故居。 在他的重要著作《国富论》中, 亚当·斯密指出,在诸多事物中, 衡量一个国家的财富, 不仅仅指它的黄金和白银储备, 而是该国生产和商业的总体情况。 我想,这是我们现在所知道的 国内生产总值(GDP)的最早描述之一。
Now, in the years since, of course, that measurement of production and commerce, GDP, has become ever more important, to the point that today -- and I don't believe this is what Adam Smith would have intended -- that it is often seen as the most important measurement of a country's overall success. And my argument today is that it is time for that to change.
从那时起, 衡量生产和商业的 GDP, 已经变得越来越重要, 发展到今天—— 我不相信这是亚当·斯密的意图—— GDP 通常被视为一个国家整体成功的 最重要的衡量标准。 我今天的论点是,现在是改变的时候了。
You know, what we choose to measure as a country matters. It really matters, because it drives political focus, it drives public activity. And against that context, I think the limitations of GDP as a measurement of a country's success are all too obvious. You know, GDP measures the output of all of our work, but it says nothing about the nature of that work, about whether that work is worthwhile or fulfilling. It puts a value, for example, on illegal drug consumption, but not on unpaid care. It values activity in the short term that boosts the economy, even if that activity is hugely damaging to the sustainability of our planet in the longer term.
作为一个国家, 我们选择衡量什么很重要。 这真的很重要,因为它推动政治焦点, 它推动了公共活动。 在这种背景下, 我认为,将 GDP 作为 一个国家成功的衡量标准, 其局限性显而易见。 GDP 衡量我们所有生产活动的成果, 但它没有说明这项活动的性质、 这项工作是否值得做或令人满意。 例如,GDP 包含了了非法毒品的消费, 却没有包含无偿护理的价值。 它重视短期内促进经济的活动, 即使这种活动 长期对地球的可持续性造成巨大损害。
And we reflect on the past decade of political and economic upheaval, of growing inequalities, and when we look ahead to the challenges of the climate emergency, increasing automation, an aging population, then I think the argument for the case for a much broader definition of what it means to be successful as a country, as a society, is compelling, and increasingly so.
我们反思过去十年的 政治和经济动荡、 不断加剧的不平等现象, 当我们展望气候紧急事件的挑战、 日益增长的自动化、 人口的老龄化时, 我认为,讨论如何更广泛地定义 一个国家、一个社会的成功 正变得越来越迫切。
And that is why Scotland, in 2018, took the lead, took the initiative in establishing a new network called the Wellbeing Economy Governments group, bringing together as founding members the countries of Scotland, Iceland and New Zealand, for obvious reasons. We're sometimes called the SIN countries, although our focus is very much on the common good. And the purpose of this group is to challenge that focus on the narrow measurement of GDP. To say that, yes, economic growth matters -- it is important -- but it is not all that is important. And growth in GDP should not be pursued at any or all cost. In fact, the argument of that group is that the goal, the objective of economic policy should be collective well-being: how happy and healthy a population is, not just how wealthy a population is.
这正是为何苏格兰 在 2018 年率先采取行动, 率先建立了一个 名为福利经济政府团体的新型网络, 将创始成员国苏格兰、冰岛 和新西兰聚集在一起, 原因显而易见。 我们有时被称为 SIN 国家, 尽管我们关注的更多是共同利益。 这个团体的目的 是挑战对 GDP 的狭隘衡量的关注。 是的,经济增长很重要—— 它是重要的—— 但它并非是唯一重要的。 不应以任意成本或所有成本 单纯追求 GDP 的增长。 事实上,我们的论点是, 经济政策的目的,即目标, 应该是集体福利: 人口的幸福和健康程度, 而不仅仅是人口的富裕程度,
And I'll touch on the policy implications of that in a moment. But I think, particularly in the world we live in today, it has a deeper resonance. You know, when we focus on well-being, we start a conversation that provokes profound and fundamental questions. What really matters to us in our lives? What do we value in the communities we live in? What kind of country, what kind of society, do we really want to be? And when we engage people in those questions, in finding the answers to those questions, then I believe that we have a much better chance of addressing the alienation and disaffection from politics that is so prevalent in so many countries across the developed world today.
我马上就会谈到政策的影响。 但我认为,特别是 在我们今天生活的世界中, 它有更深层次的共鸣。 当我们关注福利时, 我们开始了一个 引发深刻和基本问题的对话。 我们生活中真正重要的是什么? 在所居住的社区中我们重视什么? 我们真正想成为 什么样的国家、什么样的社会? 当我们让人们参与这些问题、 去找出这些问题的答案时, 我相信我们有更好的机会, 去解决当今发达世界中 众多国家普遍存在的 政治异化和不满问题。
In policy terms, this journey for Scotland started back in 2007, when we published what we call our National Performance Framework, looking at the range of indicators that we measure ourselves against. And those indicators are as varied as income inequality, the happiness of children, access to green spaces, access to housing. None of these are captured in GDP statistics, but they are all fundamental to a healthy and a happy society.
早在 2007 年,苏格兰 在政策方面就开始调整, 当时我们发布了 所谓的国家绩效框架, 着眼于我们衡量的指标范围。 这些指标与收入不平等、 儿童幸福、绿色空间获得、 住房获得等一样各种各样。 GDP 统计中都没有上述这些, 但它们都是健康和幸福社会的基础。
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And that broader approach is at the heart of our economic strategy, where we give equal importance to tackling inequality as we do to economic competitiveness. It drives our commitment to fair work, making sure that work is fulfilling and well-paid. It's behind our decision to establish a Just Transition Commission to guide our path to a carbon zero economy. We know from economic transformations of the past that if we're not careful, there are more losers than winners. And as we face up to the challenges of climate change and automation, we must not make those mistakes again.
而这种更广泛的方法 是我们经济战略的核心, 我们同样重视解决不平等问题, 就像我们对经济竞争力一样。 它推动了我们对公平工作的承诺, 确保工作让人满意且收入丰厚。 我们决定建立一个公平过渡委员会, 来指导我们走上零碳经济的道路。 我们从过去的经济转型中知道, 如果我们不小心的话, 那么失败者就会比赢家更多。 当我们面对气候变化和自动化的挑战时, 我们决不能再犯这些错误。
The work we're doing here in Scotland is, I think, significant, but we have much, much to learn from other countries. I mentioned, a moment ago, our partner nations in the Wellbeing network: Iceland and New Zealand. It's worth noting, and I'll leave it to you to decide whether this is relevant or not, that all three of these countries are currently led by women.
我认为,我们在苏格兰 所做的工作很重要, 但我们有很多东西 要向其他国家学习。 就在刚才,我提到了 我们在福利网络中的伙伴国家: 冰岛和新西兰。 值得注意的是,我将它留给你们 来决定这是否相关, 这三个国家目前都由女性领导。
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They, too, are doing great work. New Zealand, in 2019, publishing its first Wellbeing Budget, with mental health at its heart; Iceland leading the way on equal pay, childcare and paternity rights -- not policies that we immediately think of when we talk about creating a wealthy economy, but policies that are fundamental to a healthy economy and a happy society.
她们也做得很好。 新西兰于 2019 年发布了 第一份福利预算案, 其核心是心理健康; 冰岛在同工同酬、儿童保育 和养育权利方面处于领先地位—— 这并非我们在谈论创造富裕经济时 立即想到的政策, 而是对健康经济 和幸福社会至关重要的政策。
I started with Adam Smith and "The Wealth of Nations." In Adam Smith's earlier work, "The Theory of Moral Sentiments," which I think is just as important, he made the observation that the value of any government is judged in proportion to the extent that it makes its people happy. I think that is a good founding principle for any group of countries focused on promoting well-being. None of us have all of the answers, not even Scotland, the birthplace of Adam Smith. But in the world we live in today, with growing divides and inequalities, with disaffection and alienation, it is more important than ever that we ask and find the answers to those questions and promote a vision of society that has well-being, not just wealth, at its very heart.
我是从亚当·斯密 和《国富论》开始演讲的, 在我认为同样重要的 亚当·斯密的早期的作品 《道德情操论》中, 他观察到, 任何政府的价值 都与其使人民幸福的程度成正比。 我认为,对于任何一个 致力于促进福祉的国家来说, 这都是一个很好的基本原则。 没人知道所有问题的答案, 甚至连亚当·斯密的出生地 苏格兰也没有。 但是,在我们今天生活的世界中, 随着分歧和不平等的增加、不满和异化, 比以往任何时候都更重要的是, 我们要求并找到那些问题的答案, 并促进以福利为核心的社会愿景, 而不仅仅是财富。
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You are right now in the beautiful, sunny capital city ...
您现在正处于美丽、 阳光明媚的首都……
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of the country that led the world in the Enlightenment, the country that helped lead the world into the industrial age, the country that right now is helping to lead the world into the low carbon age. I want, and I'm determined, that Scotland will also be the country that helps change the focus of countries and governments across the world to put well-being at the heart of everything that we do. I think we owe that to this generation. I certainly believe we owe that to the next generation and all those that come after us. And if we do that, led here from the country of the Enlightenment, then I think we create a better, healthier, fairer and happier society here at home. And we play our part in Scotland in building a fairer, happier world as well.
领导世界启蒙运动的国家的首都, 在这个帮助世界进入工业时代的国家, 现在正帮助世界 进入低碳时代的国家。 我想要,而且我已下定决心, 苏格兰将成为帮助世界各国 和政府将关注点 改为以福利为所做一切的核心的国家, 我想为了当代人,我们应当这么做。 我当然相信为了下一代人, 我们也应当这么做, 还有我们身后的世世代代。 如果我们这样做, 由启蒙运动的国家带领, 那么我认为,我们会在国内创造一个 更好、更健康、更公平和更幸福的社会。 我们也在苏格兰发挥自己的作用, 建立一个更公平、更幸福的世界。
Thank you very much.
谢谢!
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