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Create Your Own Economy 你也能创造「虚拟经济」

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Why one lesson of this economic crisis may be that we have to change how we measure growth, production and success  从这次经济危机中，其实可以学到一个宝贵的功课，那就是我们必须改变过去衡量成长、产能和成功的模式（译注：指过去着重衡量实质的经济效益，是有形的实体经济，但作者强调，包括部落格文章、上传到YouTube的影片等，也能创造出抽象的虚拟经济）

More and more, “production” – that word my fellow economists have worked over for generations – has become interior to the human mind rather than set on a factory floor. A tweet may not look like much, but its value lies in the mental dimension. You use Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and other web services to construct a complex meld of stories, images, and feelings in your mind. No single bit seems weighty on its own, but the resulting blend is rich in joy, emotion, and suspense. This is a new form of drama, and it plays out inside us – with technological assistance – rather than on a public stage.

有一个愈来愈明显的现象，那就是「生产」──也就是世世代代以来，经济学家们一直钻研不休的这个词──其实已经搬到了人们的内心里，而不再是放在工厂地板上的有形产品了（译注：指一般人过去往往认为，只有工厂才可能「生产」东西，但作者认为，生产同样也可以指人们所产出的一切东西，像是网络上的贴文或贴图等，而这些产出也就是每人靠自己的力量所打造出来的「经济」）。一篇推文虽然表面上看起来好像无足轻重，但它真正的价值其实在于心灵的层面。你可以透过推特、Facebook、MySpace和其他网络服务来建构出发自你内心的故事、图像和感觉所组成的复杂混合体，虽然拆开来之后，任何小片段本身似乎没什么重要，但汇出的成果却成了带来喜悦、感情和悬疑的丰富泉源。这可以比作一种新型的戏剧──拜科技之赐而得以成形──但这出戏上演的舞台是在我们心里，而非公共的舞台上。

Online, you can literally create your own economy. By that, I mean you can build an ordered set of opportunities for prosperity and pleasure, analogous to a traditional economy but held in your head. There is no obvious monetary transaction, but you’re using your limited resources to get a better deal – the very essence of economics. In fact, “economics” comes from oikonomia, the ancient Greek word for household management, and the modern practice of economics is returning to that idea.

事实上，你的确可以透过网络来打造出属于你自己的经济，这句话的意思是指，你大可创造出一系列、井然有序的各种机会，为自己再造荣景和喜乐，而这就和传统概念中的经济非常类似，唯一的差别是，虚拟经济是发生在你的脑袋瓜里，而不是发生在外在的有形世界。虽然没有明显的金钱交易行为发生，但你确实运用了有限的资源，来让自己得到更划算的交易──而这正是经济学的精髓所在。事实上，英文的经济学economics源自于古希腊文的oikonomia（译注：此将希腊字母换成了对应的英文字母，而原始的希腊字母写法略有不同），意指家庭的经营管理，而现代对于经济学的应用，也正回归到这个字的原始概念。

The traditional gauge of economic success is profit, but over time we’ll find that such statistics as measures of GDP tell us less and less about broader efforts to improve human well-being. Much of the web’s value is experienced at the personal level and does not show up in productivity numbers. Buying $2 worth of bananas boosts GDP; having $20 worth of fun on the web does not. And this effect is a big one. Each day more enjoyment, more social connection, and, indeed, more contemplation are produced on the web than had been imagined even 10 years ago.

传统上都用获利来衡量经济成果，但久而久之，大家开始发现，像国内生产毛额（GDP）这类的统计数字，其实已经愈来愈难反映出各界对于改善人类福祉所做出的众多努力。网络的真正价值，大多只能透过个人经验才体验得到，而无法透过生产力数字显示出来，举例来说，买两美元的香蕉，就能对国内生产毛额有实质贡献，因为有实际的数字可以计算出来，可是如果透过网络而获得价值相当于二十美元的乐趣，却无法对国内生产毛额有所贡献，因为没有实际数字可以计算；而这个议题的影响层面很广，因为在网络上天天都营造出更多乐趣、更多人际关系连结，以及更多沈思冥想，而这些都远超出十年前所能想象。

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work over 充分研究; 彻底检查 to examine closely and thoroughly

weighty [ˋwetɪ] adj. 重大的，重要的

suspense [səˋspɛns] n. 悬疑

play out（戏剧性的事件）逐渐发生；（使）展开 to happen or turn out

ordered [ˋɔrdɚd] adj. 有条理的，整齐的

GDP (gross domestic product ) 国内生产毛额 the total value of goods and services produced by a country in one year

boost [bust] v. 提高；增加

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But how do we measure those things?  如何计算无形的产出？

The question – and I don’t yet have a full answer – reflects the state of flux we’re in today. We’re going through a lot of adjustments, and not just in real estate and finance. Free stuff on the web has made this economic downturn more severe. For many of us, the web really is more fun than a trip to the store, which makes it easier for us to cut our spending. Although the iPhone has been earning lots for Apple, our spending on high-tech goodies does not make up for falling demand elsewhere. A PC and broadband cost something, but for those millions who have paid up, further exploration is essentially free.

上面这个问题，我目前也还没想出完整的解答，而这个问题其实反映出，我们如今其实是处在持续变迁的状态中。人们历经了各式各样的调整，而不只是房地产和金融界而已（译注：指这波不景气当中，其实发生问题的不只是房地产和金融而已，虽然房市和金融界是最早出现危机的两个业界，很多其他产业也受到影响。而所谓的调整，是指某种领域发生问题或变动后，会开始进入修正、调整期，例如房价会开始下修或上修等等，一直到逐渐进入平稳的状态），而网络上提供了许多免费的服务，更使得这波经济衰退雪上加霜。对很多人来说，上网远比到亲自到店里购物有趣多了，大家宁愿上网而不愿外出买东西，当然也连带使得减少支出变得轻而易举，一点都不难。虽然苹果计算机公司靠iPhone赚了很多钱，但我们花在这类高科技好东西上的钱，却不足以弥补其他领域的需求下滑。虽然个人计算机和宽带上网都是笔开销，但对已经付清这笔费用的数百万人来说，只要先付出这笔费用之后，其他服务就几乎都可以免费享受了。

Billions of people are rapidly becoming more knowledgeable and better connected to one another. Self-education has never been more fun, and that is because we are in control of that process like never before.

拜网络之赐，数十亿的人变得更有知识，而且人与人之间的联系也更密切了。此外，自学从未像现在一样充满了乐趣（译注：指人们透过网络上的免费学习教材或影音内容来自修），这是因为我们能对自学的过程掌控自如，而这是过去从未有过的。

Someday we’ll gain the tools to measure these new benefits. Twitter’s value will lie not in its eventual market cap, but in the human connections it creates. My Twitter feed is a virtual meeting room with economists, aid workers, entrepreneurs, housewives, celebrities, and plain old friends. The web unites millions of diverse individuals, who interact and sometimes even meet up or marry. The world has a lot more of these connections, even if we’ve yet to see all of their implications – including the traditional financial ones of new businesses, employment, and revenue. And it may sound counterintuitive, but the more time you spend staring at your screen, the bigger that human capital dividend will be.

未来总有一天，人类一定会发明一些工具，让我们可以用来衡量这些网络新成果的经济效益；而推特的价值，也不在于最终的市值，而是在于它所缔造出的人际关系连结。我的Twitter供稿系统成了我和其他经济学者、救助人员、企业家、家庭主妇、名人和老友的虚拟会客室。网络链接了数百万形形色色的人们，让大家彼此之间进行互动，有时甚至相约见面，或共结连理。有形的世界其实提供了更多这类连结的机会，虽然所有可能的牵连影响，仍有待进一步探索──而其中也包括了对传统的财经层面的可能影响，例如新企业、就业和收益等（译注：这里是指，网络上的链接能创造出各式各样的可能性，而且网络链接还能进一步影响我们所处的有形世界，虽然目前还不清楚所有网络可能产生的影响是什么，但就以财经层面的影响来说，网络就能为新创企业开创更多商机，也能使许多网络公司得以成立，而从就业的角度来看，人们不但能在网络上谋职或觅才，有些工作甚至就是透过网络来进行的：例如Twitter的员工，而从收益的角度来看，网络也能为许多企业带来更多营收）。虽然这话乍听之下似乎有点违反直觉，但其实你只要花更多时间凝视计算机屏幕，就能创造出更多人力资本股利（译注：此为作者利用财经名词资本股利而自创的名词，意指透过人力所产生的虚拟经济效益）！

−by Tyler Cowen

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downturn [ˋdaʊntɝn] n.（经济）衰退，下降

goody [ˋgʊdɪ] n.【口】好吃的东西，糖果；吸引人的东西

make up 弥补; 补足 supplement

market cap【经】（股票等的）市值 (market capitalization) the total number of a company’s shares multiplied by the price per share, which gives an indication of what a company is worth on the open market

feed [fid] n. (信息的)输入

aid worker 援助人员 someone who works for an organization that brings food and other supplies to people in danger from wars, floods etc

implication [͵ɪmplɪˋkeʃən] n. 含意；言外之意；暗示

capital [ˋkæpət!] n. 资本,资金

dividend [ˋdɪvə͵dɛnd] n.【经】红利；股息

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meld [mɛld] n. 合并；结合 the act of combining various objects into one

analogous [əˋnæləgəs] adj. 类似的；可比拟的[（+to/with）] making a comparison between things which have similar features, often used to help explain a principle or idea

essence [ˋɛsns] n. 本质，实质；要素 the basic meaning or importance of something

gauge [gedʒ] v. 测定；估计；判断 the process of measuring or making a judgment about something

contemplation [͵kɑntɛmˋpleʃən] n. 沉思，冥想 spending time thinking about something in a serious and quiet way

flux [flʌks] n. 不断的变动 continuous change

counterintuitive [ˌkaʊntɚɪnˋtjʊɪtɪv] adj. 反直觉的；违反直觉 describes something that does not happen in the way you would expect it to