新世纪大学英语综合教程 第三册 原文 逐段翻译 U8

UNIT 8：Competition and cooperation
|竞争与合作|

Donald J. Boudreaux and Hugh Macaulay
Free market competition is often described as "cutthroat" and "wasteful." "Dog-eat-dog" rivalries are fueled by "greedy self-interests" operating according to "the law of the jungle" in which "survival of the fittest" is the only rule. In contrast, government regulation is said to have the potential to promote genuine cooperation in which citizens "pull together" to advance the common good.

1人们往往认为自由市场的竞争“残酷”、“造成浪费”。“贪婪的私利”遵循“丛林法则”中“适者生存”这唯一的一条定 律，使“互相倾轧”的竞争变本加厉。与之形成对照的是，也有人说政府的调节有可能促进真正的合作，使公民“团结起来”，推动公益事业。

But those who deplore free-market competition simply do not understand it. Competitive markets excel at promoting cooperation. Indeed, to succeed in the market requires great cooperative skills. A person buying a wool coat gains his comfort as a result of the willing cooperative efforts of many workers in widely varied activities a€“ from raising sheep to spinning yarn to retailing. Every wool coat requires that very large numbers of people coordinate their efforts a€“ cooperate a€“ in production and distribution. Similarly, the existence of a pencil would be impossible without the cooperation of countless people and firms from around the globe.

2 然而，那些反对自由市场竞争的人们根本不懂自由市场竞争。充满竞争的市场才擅长合作。更确切地说，要在市场上取得成功，必须具备很强的合作能力。在养羊、纺纱到零售这一系列广泛而多样化的活动中，正因为许多工人乐意倾力合作，羊毛大衣的消费者才最终获得舒适。每一件羊毛大衣，在生产和销售的过程中，都需要为数众多的人们齐心协力，这就是合作。同样，一支铅笔的存在，也是源于世界各地数不胜数的人以及公司之间的合作才成为可能。

Still, private firms selling coats and pencils are described as competitive, not as cooperative. And so they are in a genuine sense. Each firm, each producer, competes for the advantage of satisfying consumer demands. But these firms are no less cooperative. Competition and cooperation exist side by side. Each has its own roles to play in building a peaceful and prosperous society.

3 可是人们仍然认为，卖大衣或者铅笔的私营公司处于竞争而不是合作的状态。从真正的意义上讲，这些公司确实如此。每一家公司、每一个生产商都参与竞争，为的是获得满足消费者需求的优势。然而，这些公司之间不乏合作。竞争与合作并存，各自都为建立和平、繁荣的社会而发挥作用。

The Roles of Each Activity A symphony orchestra is an unequaled example of cooperation

, yet competition has a role to play even in orchestras. Different musicians compete for each seat in the orchestra. Moreover, different orchestras compete for the privilege of making recordings with prestigious recording studios. Football and baseball teams parallel orchestras in these respects: different players compete for slots on the team, and different teams compete against each other for the championship. And the production of steel, the operation of a department store, and the publication of a magazine all involve both cooperation and competition. Competition and cooperation are unavoidable in human society.

4|合作与竞争的作用| 交响乐团是合作的最佳范例，但是即使在交响乐团内，竞争也发挥作用。交响乐团中的每一个位置，都有不同的乐手在为之竞争；而且不同的交响乐团为了取得有名的录制室的录制权也在竞争。在这些方面，足球队、棒球队和交响乐团非常相似：不同的运动员为了获得队里的某个位置而竞 争，同时不同的球队为了夺冠而互相竞争。生产钢铁、经营百货商店、出版杂志，都需要合作与竞争。在人类社会里，竞争与合作是不可避免的。

Competition is inseparable from scarcity. Scarcity exists when there is not enough of some goods to provide consumers. It follows that we must find some way to decide who gets how much of any scarce goods. The accepted way in free-market competition is to allow those who want a particular kind of goods a€“ say, a bushel of apples a€“ to bid for it. The bushel of apples will then go to the person who voluntarily sacrifices the greatest quantity of other goods in exchange for the apples. We call such bidding competition, but note that such competition differs fundamentally from another kind of "competition" a€“ physical terror: he gets the apples by beating up all others who want the apples.

5 竞争与供不应求形影不离。当有些商品没有足够的数量可以提供给消费者时，就会发生供不应求的情况。这样我们必须找到某种方式来确定谁手中拥有这种奇缺的商品以及他拥有多少。自由市场里公认的方式是允许那些需要某种商品的人竞价来购买这一商品，比如，一蒲式耳苹果。苹果自然会卖给那个自愿用最大价值的货物来交换这些苹果的人。我们称其为“出价竞争”，但是必须注意，这种竞争从根本上不同于另外一种“竞争”——对身体实施恐怖行动：他痛打其他想买苹果的人，然后自己得到这些苹果。

Cooperation is appropriate, of course, when the coordinated efforts and knowledge of many people are necessary to produce a particular kind of goods, such as the wool coat or the pencil. People who competed for jobs now find themselves cooperating with others to produce a product. This cooperation takes place not only among fellow employees but also firms with their

customers, stockholders, creditors, and with all manner of suppliers. Sellers cooperate with buyers so that buyers will become repeat customers. Employers cooperate with workers to improve productivity. Customers cooperate with suppliers to ensure reliable service and quality supplies. Cooperation is indeed a hallmark of all economic activities in a competitive market.

6 当然，生产某种商品（比如羊毛大衣或铅笔）需要将许多人的劳动和知识协调起来时，合作正好发挥作用。这时，为了获得工作机会而竞争的人们发觉自己正在同他人合作，共同生产某种产品。这种合作不仅仅在同事之间发生，公司与客户、股东、债权人和诸多供应商之间也存在着合作。卖方与买方合作，为了让买方成为回头客；雇主与工人合作，为了提高工作效率；客户与供应商合作，为了确保可靠的服务和优质的货物。在充满竞争的市场上，合作的确是所有经济活动的一个标志。

The Good and the Bad Not all varieties of competition are beneficial, just as not all varieties of cooperation are desirable. Indeed, competition can be bad. If the owners of General Motors spread nails on the roads leading to Ford factories and dealerships, this is a form of non-economic competition a€“ and a most undesirable form. General Motors benefits not only at the expense of Ford, but also at the expense of consumers because the nails on the road effectively eliminate consumers' option of buying Fords. But notice that identically undesirable consequences occur when General Motors and Ford cooperate with each other to lobby successfully for import restrictions on foreign automobiles. Tariffs hurt consumers no less than do nails on the road. Few people, however, refer to tariffs, dumping laws, and costly regulations as examples of cutthroat competition or business cooperation. Instead, such legislation is typically revered as desirable social policy.

7|好处与坏处| 并非所有种类的合作都是有利的，同样，并非所有种类的竞争都是有益的。其实，竞争有可能带来坏处。如果通用汽车公司在通往福特公司的工厂和经销处的路上撒下钉子，这就是一种非经济的竞争形式——也是一种最不受欢迎的竞争形式。通用公司在福特公司及消费者付出代价的基础上受益，因为路上的钉子能有效地消除消费者选购福特汽车的可能性。但是，请注意，如果通用公司和福特公司互相合作，疏通议员，成功地争取对进口汽车的限制，也会发生同样不理想的结果。关税对消费者的伤害不亚于路面上的钉子。但是，很少有人把关税、倾销法以及代价惨重的法规看成是残酷竞争或商业合作的例子。相反，这样的立法通常被尊崇为理想的社会政策。

The phrases "dog-eat-dog" and "survival of the fittest" are harsh-sounding phrases, and they v

astly misrepresent competitive activity within private-property markets. In competitive markets, firms do not attack each other savagely. Rather, firms do battle by seeing who can best serve the customer. That is, in competitive markets, firms compete by seeing who can best cooperate with consumers. K-Mart and Wal-Mart strive to offer consumers better deals because each firm knows that if it fails to offer good deals, customers will patronize other, more responsive firms. Both firms survive as long as each cooperates with consumers effectively enough to earn profits. To protect firms from the competition of rival firms would be to encourage protected firms to be less cooperative with consumers.

8 “互相倾轧”和“适者生存”是不堪入耳的词语，严重歪曲了私人产业市场内的竞争活动。在竞争市场上，公司之间的竞争方式并非野蛮地互相伤害，而是看谁给客户提供最好的服务。也就是说，在竞争市场上，公司之间的竞争方式是看谁和消费者保持最好的合作。凯玛特和沃尔玛都竭力为客户提供更好的商品质量和价格，因为每一家公司都知道，如果自己无法提供上乘的质量和优惠的价格，客户就会光顾其他更能回应消费者需要的公司。这两家公司能够生存是因为它们与消费者的合作力度能使它们盈利。倘若保护一家公司免受来自其他对手的竞争的冲击，就意味着鼓励它不要和消费者紧密合作。

Of course, in any competitive industry only the fittest firms do survive. In the 1930s, groceries were distributed mainly by mom-and-pop stores. Today, supermarkets a€“ each of which carries on average about 50,000 different kinds of products a€“ have replaced the mom-and-pops. Supermarkets offered consumers a new shopping choice. Consumers voluntarily switched their patronage from mom-and-pops to supermarkets because, as judged by consumers, supermarkets cooperated better with consumers than did the mom-and-pops. No supermarket literally killed mom or pop. Some of these small-store owners retired while others moved into other lines of work. Today, the descendants of the owners of mom-and-pops are surely better off than they would have been had supermarkets never come along.

9 当然，在任何一个充满竞争的行业只有那些最适应环境的公司才能生存。在20世纪30年代，杂货主要由夫妻店经 营。今天，超级市场已经取代夫妻店，每一家平均经营约5万种商品。超级市场为消费者提供了一个崭新的购物选择。消费者自愿将自己的惠顾目标从夫妻店转向超级市场，因为在消费者眼里，与夫妻店相比，超级市场和消费者的合作更好。事实上，超级市场并没有击垮夫妻店。这些小店的老 板，有些退休了，有些转行了。今天，夫妻店老板的子孙过的生活，肯定比超级市场未出现时富裕得多。

Conclusion Compe

tition in the marketplace is competition among cooperators. While the best cooperators in each line of work "win" in the sense of earning greater profits than their rivals, these victors do not literally destroy rivals. Rivals unsuccessful in one line of work move into other lines, where they are more likely to enjoy a comparative advantage. Market discipline, in combination with the information conveyed in the form of market prices, ensures that each of us is cooperating with as many other people as possible, in the most effective manner possible. Far from undermining cooperation, the market enhances cooperation.

10|结论| 市场上的竞争是合作者之间的竞争。每个行业的最佳合作者能够“获胜”，其意义并非在于摧毁对手，而在于比对手盈利更多。竞争对手无法在一个行业成功时，转而进入那些他们可能具有相对的竞争优势的行业。市场规范和价格体现的信息结合起来，确保我们每一个人以最可能有效的方式、和最可能多的人保持合作关系。市场并非削弱合作，而是加强合作。