Yuval Noah Harari: the world after coronavirus
This storm will pass. But the choices we make now could change our lives for years to come
暴风雨会过去的。 但是我们现在所做的选择可能会改变我们未来几年的生活
By Yuval Noah Harari
Humankind is now facing a global crisis. Perhaps the biggest crisis of our generation. The decisions people and governments take in the next few weeks will probably shape the world for years to come. They will shape not just our healthcare systems but also our economy, politics and culture. We must act quickly and decisively. We should also take into account the long-term consequences of our actions. When choosing between alternatives, we should ask ourselves not only how to overcome the immediate threat, but also what kind of world we will inhabit once the storm passes. Yes, the storm will pass, humankind will survive, most of us will still be alive — but we will inhabit a different world.
人类正面临一场全球危机。也许是我们这一代最大的危机。人民和政府在未来几周内做出的决定可能会在未来几年里影响世界。它们不仅将重塑我们的医疗体系，还将重塑我们的经济、政治和文化。我们必须迅速果断地采取行动。我们还应该考虑到我们行动的长期后果。在选择的过程中，我们不仅要问自己如何克服眼前的威胁，更要问自己一旦风暴过去，我们将生活在一个怎样的世界里。是的，风暴会过去，人类会生存，我们大多数人仍然活着——但我们将居住在一个不同的世界。
Many short-term emergency measures will become a fixture of life. That is the nature of emergencies. They fast-forward historical processes. Decisions that in normal times could take years of deliberation are passed in a matter of hours. Immature and even dangerous technologies are pressed into service, because the risks of doing nothing are bigger. Entire countries serve as guinea-pigs in large-scale social experiments. What happens when everybody works from home and communicates only at a distance? What happens when entire schools and universities go online? In normal times, governments, businesses and educational boards would never agree to conduct such experiments. But these aren’t normal times.
deliberation n.考虑；熟思 guinea-pig n. 豚鼠；作为实验对象的人
许多短期应急措施将成为生活的一部分。这就是紧急情况的性质。他们快速推进历史进程。在正常情况下需要数年考虑才能做出的决定，在几个小时内就能获得通过。不成熟甚至危险的技术被迫投入使用，因为什么都不做的风险更大。在大规模的社会实验中，整个国家都充当了豚鼠的角色。如果每个人都在家里工作，只在远处交流，会发生什么? 如果整个学校和大学都上网会怎么样? 在正常时期，政府、企业和教育委员会绝不会同意进行这样的实验。但现在不是正常时期。
In this time of crisis, we face two particularly important choices. The first is between totalitarian surveillance and citizen empowerment. The second is between nationalist isolation and global solidarity.
totalitarian n./adj. 极权主义(的) surveillance n. 监控
在这个危机时刻，我们面临两个特别重要的选择。第一个是极权主义监督与公民赋权之间的关系。第二个是国家主义孤立与全球团结之间的关系。
Under-the-skin surveillance
无孔不入的监控
In order to stop the epidemic, entire populations need to comply with certain guidelines. There are two main ways of achieving this. One method is for the government to monitor people, and punish those who break the rules. Today, for the first time in human history, technology makes it possible to monitor everyone all the time. Fifty years ago, the KGB couldn’t follow 240m Soviet citizens 24 hours a day, nor could the KGB hope to effectively process all the information gathered. The KGB relied on human agents and analysts, and it just couldn’t place a human agent to follow every citizen. But now governments can rely on ubiquitous sensors and powerful algorithms instead of flesh-and-blood spooks.
KGB abbr. 克格勃，苏联国家安全委员会 ubiquitous adj. 普遍存在的；无所不在的 spook n. 鬼；间谍，特工
为了阻止这种流行病，所有的人都需要遵守一定的准则。实现这一目标有两种主要方法。一种方法是让政府来监督人们，并惩罚那些违反规则的人。今天，在人类历史上第一次，科技随时监控每个人成为可能。50年前，克格勃不可能一天24小时跟踪2.4亿苏联公民，也不可能有效地处理收集到的所有信息。克格勃依靠的是特工和分析人员，它无法安排特工跟踪每一个公民。但现在政府可以依靠无处不在的传感器和强大的算法，而不是有血有肉的间谍来监控每一个人。
In their battle against the coronavirus epidemic several governments have already deployed the new surveillance tools. The most notable case is China. By closely monitoring people’s smartphones, making use of hundreds of millions of face-recognising cameras, and obliging people to check and report their body temperature and medical condition, the Chinese authorities can not only quickly identify suspected coronavirus carriers, but also track their movements and identify anyone they came into contact with. A range of mobile apps warn citizens about their proximity to infected patients.
在与冠状病毒流行的斗争中，一些政府已经部署了新的监视工具。最引人注目的例子是中国。通过密切关注人们的智能手机,利用数亿人脸识别功能的镜头,并迫使人们检查和报告他们的体温和医疗状况,中国当局不仅可以快速识别疑似冠状病毒携带者,而且能追溯他们的活动轨迹并找出他们接触到的任何人。一系列移动应用程序警告市民他们距离感染患者的远近。
（当然互联网公司可以轻易做到这点，在疫情的肆虐下，这反而体现了科技的优势，要是没有这些新技术的应用，快速扭转疫情的发展趋势将会变得十分艰难。谷歌公司同样在使用这些技术，发挥科技的优势来抗击疫情。）
This kind of technology is not limited to east Asia. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel recently authorised the Israel Security Agency to deploy surveillance technology normally reserved for battling terrorists to track coronavirus patients. When the relevant parliamentary subcommittee refused to authorise the measure, Netanyahu rammed it through with an “emergency decree”.
parliamentary adj. 议会的；国会的 ram through 硬通过
这种技术并不局限于东亚。以色列总理本雅明内塔尼亚胡(BenjaminNetanyahu)最近授权以色列安全局(IsraelSecurityAgency)部署通常用于反恐的监控技术，以追踪冠状病毒患者。当相关的议会小组委员会拒绝批准这项措施时，内塔尼亚胡强行通过了一项“紧急法令”。
You might argue that there is nothing new about all this. In recent years both governments and corporations have been using ever more sophisticated technologies to track, monitor and manipulate people. Yet if we are not careful, the epidemic might nevertheless mark an important watershed in the history of surveillance. Not only because it might normalise the deployment of mass surveillance tools in countries that have so far rejected them, but even more so because it signifies a dramatic transition from “over the skin” to “under the skin” surveillance.
watershed n.分水岭；转折点
你可能会说，这一切并不是什么新鲜事。近年来，政府和企业都在使用越来越复杂的技术来跟踪、监控和操纵人们。然而，如果我们不小心，这种流行病可能会成为监控历史上的一个重要分水岭。这不仅是因为它可能会让大规模监控工具在迄今拒绝使用它们的国家的部署正常化，而且更重要的是，它意味着从“表面上”的监控向“表面下”的监控的巨大转变。
Hitherto, when your finger touched the screen of your smartphone and clicked on a link, the government wanted to know what exactly your finger was clicking on. But with coronavirus, the focus of interest shifts. Now the government wants to know the temperature of your finger and the blood-pressure under its skin.
迄今为止，当你的手指触碰到智能手机屏幕并点击某个链接时，政府想知道你的手指究竟点击了什么。但随着冠状病毒的出现，政府的关注点发生了转移。现在政府想知道你手指的温度和皮肤下的血压。
The emergency pudding
紧急布丁
One of the problems we face in working out where we stand on surveillance is that none of us know exactly how we are being surveilled, and what the coming years might bring. Surveillance technology is developing at breakneck speed, and what seemed science-fiction 10 years ago is today old news. As a thought experiment, consider a hypothetical government that demands that every citizen wears a biometric bracelet that monitors body temperature and heart-rate 24 hours a day. The resulting data is hoarded and analysed by government algorithms. The algorithms will know that you are sick even before you know it, and they will also know where you have been, and who you have met. The chains of infection could be drastically shortened, and even cut altogether. Such a system could arguably stop the epidemic in its tracks within days. Sounds wonderful, right?
breakneck adj. 非常危险的；极快的 biometric adj. 生物计量的 bracelet n. 手镯；手链 hoard v. 贮藏；囤积
在弄清楚我们处于监控中的什么位置时，我们面临的一个问题是，没有人确切知道我们是如何被监控的，以及未来几年可能会发生什么。监控技术正以极快的速度发展，前还像是科幻小说的东西，如今已是旧闻。作为一个思想实验，设想一个假想的政府要求每个公民佩戴一个生物测量手镯，24小时监测体温和心率。测试的结果数据被政府的算法储存和分析。这些算法甚至会在你意识到自己生病之前就提前知道了，它们还会知道你去了哪里，遇到了谁。感染链可以被大大缩短，甚至完全切断。这样的系统可以在几天内阻止疫情的蔓延。听起来很棒,对吗?
The downside is, of course, that this would give legitimacy to a terrifying new surveillance system. If you know, for example, that I clicked on a Fox News link rather than a CNN link, that can teach you something about my political views and perhaps even my personality. But if you can monitor what happens to my body temperature, blood pressure and heart-rate as I watch the video clip, you can learn what makes me laugh, what makes me cry, and what makes me really, really angry.
legitimacy n. 合法；合理
当然，不利的一面是，这将为一个可怕的新监控系统提供合法性。例如，如果你知道，我点击了福克斯新闻的链接而不是CNN的链接，这可以告诉你一些关于我的政治观点甚至是我的性格的一些信息。但如果你能在我看视频的时候监测我的体温、血压和心率，你就能知道什么让我笑，什么让我哭，什么让我非常非常生气。
It is crucial to remember that anger, joy, boredom and love are biological phenomena just like fever and a cough. The same technology that identifies coughs could also identify laughs. If corporations and governments start harvesting our biometric data en masse, they can get to know us far better than we know ourselves, and they can then not just predict our feelings but also manipulate our feelings and sell us anything they want — be it a product or a politician. Biometric monitoring would make Cambridge Analytica’s data hacking tactics look like something from the Stone Age. Imagine North Korea in 2030, when every citizen has to wear a biometric bracelet 24 hours a day. If you listen to a speech by the Great Leader and the bracelet picks up the tell-tale signs of anger, you are done for.
tell-tale 指示灯重要的是要记住，愤怒、快乐、厌倦和爱都是生物现象，就像发烧和咳嗽一样。识别咳嗽的技术也可以识别笑声。如果公司和政府开始大规模收集我们的生物特征数据,他们可以了解我们远比我们自己知道的多,他们不仅可以预测我们的感觉同时也能操纵我们的感觉，并出售任何他们想要的——一个产品或推荐一个政治家。生物识别监测将使剑桥分析公司的数据黑客战术看起来像是石器时代的东西。想象一下，在2030年的朝鲜，每个公民都必须每天24小时佩戴生物识别手环。如果你听了伟大领袖的演讲，手镯捕捉到你愤怒的信号，你就完蛋了。
You could, of course, make the case for biometric surveillance as a temporary measure taken during a state of emergency. It would go away once the emergency is over. But temporary measures have a nasty habit of outlasting emergencies, especially as there is always a new emergency lurking on the horizon. My home country of Israel, for example, declared a state of emergency during its 1948 War of Independence, which justified a range of temporary measures from press censorship and land confiscation to special regulations for making pudding (I kid you not). The War of Independence has long been won, but Israel never declared the emergency over, and has failed to abolish many of the “temporary” measures of 1948 (the emergency pudding decree was mercifully abolished in ).
nasty n.下流肮脏的令人不愉快的 abolish vt. 废除 lurk vi. 潜伏 censorship n. 审查 confiscation n. 没收；充公
当然，你可以将生物识别监控作为紧急状态下采取的临时措施。一旦紧急情况结束，它就会消失。但临时措施有一个糟糕的习惯，那就是比紧急情况持续的时间长，尤其是在总是有新的紧急情况潜伏着的情况下。例如，我的祖国以色列在1948年独立战争期间宣布进入紧急状态，这为一系列临时措施提供了正当理由，从新闻审查和没收土地到制作布丁的特殊规定(我不骗你)。独立战争早已胜利，但以色列从未宣布紧急状态结束，也未能废除1948年的许多“临时”措施(紧急布丁法令在被仁慈地废除)。
Even when infections from coronavirus are down to zero, some data-hungry governments could argue they needed to keep the biometric surveillance systems in place because they fear a second wave of coronavirus, or because there is a new Ebola strain evolving in central Africa, or because…you get the idea. A big battle has been raging in recent years over our privacy. The coronavirus crisis could be the battle’s tipping point. For when people are given a choice between privacy and health, they will usually choose health.
strain n. 张力；拉紧；菌株tipping point n. 临界点；引爆点
即使在冠状病毒感染降至零的情况下，一些渴求数据的政府可能会辩称，他们需要保持生物识别监测系统的到位，因为他们担心第二波冠状病毒出现，或者是因为中非出现了一种新的埃博拉病毒株，或者是因为……你明白了吧。近年来，一场关于我们隐私的大战正在激烈进行。冠状病毒危机可能是这场战斗的转折点。因为当人们要在隐私和健康之间做出选择时，他们通常会选择健康。
The soap police 肥皂警察
Asking people to choose between privacy and health is, in fact, the very root of the problem. Because this is a false choice. We can and should enjoy both privacy and health. We can choose to protect our health and stop the coronavirus epidemic not by instituting totalitarian surveillance regimes, but rather by empowering citizens. In recent weeks, some of the most successful efforts to contain the coronavirus epidemic were orchestrated by South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. While these countries have made some use of tracking applications, they have relied far more on extensive testing, on honest reporting, and on the willing co-operation of a well-informed public.
regime n. 政权，政体; 社会制度；管理体制 institute n. 机构，研究所，学会; v.建立 orchestrate vt. 把…编成管弦乐曲；精心处理
事实上，让人们在隐私和健康之间做出选择才是问题的根源。因为这是一个错误的选择。我们可以而且应该同时享有隐私和健康。我们可以选择保护我们健康的同时阻止冠状病毒的流行，这不是通过建立极权主义的监督制度，而是通过赋予公民权力来实现。最近几周，韩国、台湾和新加坡在控制冠状病毒流行方面做出了一些最成功的努力。虽然这些国家在一定程度上使用了跟踪应用程序，但它们更依赖于广泛的测试、诚实的报告和通晓的公众的自愿合作。
（作者不应该好好批评下西方政府吗，西方国家哪个国家的人口有中国多，但是感染人数是中国的好几倍，政客们发表的所谓科学的防范措施漏洞百出，朝令夕改，没有统一的规划与部署，各个邦各个区各自为政，怎么能很有效率地抑制病毒传播呢。文化的不同，让人们不相信戴口罩，加上政府的效率低下，导致了病毒蔓延，如果不采取强硬的措施，比如政府发布了命令，民众依然聚会，这就会给传染链条提供途径，不得不动用警察或者罚款措施来施行强制措施，阻断传染链条。作者分析这些问题比较肤浅，太理想化）
Centralised monitoring and harsh punishments aren’t the only way to make people comply with beneficial guidelines. When people are told the scientific facts, and when people trust public authorities to tell them these facts, citizens can do the right thing even without a Big Brother watching over their shoulders. A self-motivated and well-informed population is usually far more powerful and effective than a policed, ignorant population.
集中监控和严厉惩罚并不是让人们遵守有益准则的唯一途径。当人们被告知科学事实时，当人们相信公共当局会告诉他们这些事实时，即使没有老大哥监视，公民也可以做正确的事情。一个自我激励、通晓的群体通常比一个被警察控制、无知的群体更强大、更有效。
Consider, for example, washing your hands with soap. This has been one of the greatest advances ever in human hygiene. This simple action saves millions of lives every year. While we take it for granted, it was only in the 19th century that scientists discovered the importance of washing hands with soap. Previously, even doctors and nurses proceeded from one surgical operation to the next without washing their hands. Today billions of people daily wash their hands, not because they are afraid of the soap police, but rather because they understand the facts. I wash my hands with soap because I have heard of viruses and bacteria, I understand that these tiny organisms cause diseases, and I know that soap can remove them.
例如，用肥皂洗手。这是人类卫生有史以来最伟大的进步之一。这个简单的行动每年拯救数百万人的生命。虽然我们认为这是理所当然的，但直到19世纪科学家才发现用肥皂洗手的重要性。以前，甚至医生和护士从一个外科手术到另一个外科手术也不洗手。今天，数十亿人每天洗手，不是因为他们害怕肥皂警察，而是因为他们了解事实。我用肥皂洗手，因为我听说过病毒和细菌，我知道这些微生物会引起疾病，我知道肥皂可以去除它们。
But to achieve such a level of compliance and co-operation, you need trust. People need to trust science, to trust public authorities, and to trust the media. Over the past few years, irresponsible politicians have deliberately undermined trust in science, in public authorities and in the media. Now these same irresponsible politicians might be tempted to take the high road to authoritarianism, arguing that you just cannot trust the public to do the right thing.
但要达到如此程度的服从与合作，你需要信任。人们需要相信科学，相信公共当局，相信媒体。在过去的几年里，不负责任的政客们蓄意破坏了人们对科学、公共机构和媒体的信任。现在，同样是这些不负责任的政客可能会被引诱走上通往威权主义的大道，他们辩称，你就是不能相信公众会做正确的事情。
Normally, trust that has been eroded for years cannot be rebuilt overnight. But these are not normal times. In a moment of crisis, minds too can change quickly. You can have bitter arguments with your siblings for years, but when some emergency occurs, you suddenly discover a hidden reservoir of trust and amity, and you rush to help one another. Instead of building a surveillance regime, it is not too late to rebuild people’s trust in science, in public authorities and in the media. We should definitely make use of new technologies too, but these technologies should empower citizens. I am all in favour of monitoring my body temperature and blood pressure, but that data should not be used to create an all-powerful government. Rather, that data should enable me to make more informed personal choices, and also to hold government accountable for its decisions.
erode vt. 腐蚀，侵蚀 amity n. 友好；亲善关系；友好关系
通常，多年来被侵蚀的信任不可能在一夜之间重建。但现在不是正常时期。在危机时刻，人们的思想也会迅速改变。你可以和你的兄弟姐妹争吵多年，但当一些紧急情况发生时，你突然发现了一个隐藏着信任和友好的储水池，于是你们会赶紧互相帮助。与其建立一个监督机制，还不如重建人们对科学、公共当局和媒体的信任，这一点不晚。我们当然也应该利用新技术，但这些技术应该赋能公民。我完全赞成监测我的体温和血压，但这些数据不应该被用来建立一个全能的政府。相反，这些数据应该使我能够做出更明智的个人选择，并让政府对其决策负责。
If I could track my own medical condition 24 hours a day, I would learn not only whether I have become a health hazard to other people, but also which habits contribute to my health. And if I could access and analyse reliable statistics on the spread of coronavirus, I would be able to judge whether the government is telling me the truth and whether it is adopting the right policies to combat the epidemic. Whenever people talk about surveillance, remember that the same surveillance technology can usually be used not only by governments to monitor individuals — but also by individuals to monitor governments.
如果我能24小时跟踪自己的健康状况，我不仅会知道我是否对别人的健康造成了危害，还会知道哪些习惯对我的健康有帮助。如果我能获得和分析关于冠状病毒传播的可靠统计数据，我就能判断政府是否在告诉我真相，它是否采取了正确的政策来对抗这种流行病。当人们谈到监控时，请记住，同样的监控技术通常不仅可以被政府用来监控个人，也可以被个人用来监控政府。
The coronavirus epidemic is thus a major test of citizenship. In the days ahead, each one of us should choose to trust scientific data and healthcare experts over unfounded conspiracy theories and self-serving politicians. If we fail to make the right choice, we might find ourselves signing away our most precious freedoms, thinking that this is the only way to safeguard our health.
unfounded adj. 未建立的；没有事实根据的
因此，冠状病毒流行是对公民身份的重大考验。在未来的日子里，我们每个人都应该选择相信科学数据和医疗专家，而不是毫无根据的阴谋论和自私自利的政客。如果我们不能做出正确的选择，我们可能会发现自己放弃了最宝贵的自由，认为这是保护我们健康的唯一途径。
We need a global plan 我们需要全球性计划
The second important choice we confront is between nationalist isolation and global solidarity. Both the epidemic itself and the resulting economic crisis are global problems. They can be solved effectively only by global co-operation.
我们面临的第二个重要选择是国家主义孤立与全球团结。疫情本身以及由此引发的经济危机都是全球性问题。只有通过全球合作才能有效地解决这些问题。
First and foremost, in order to defeat the virus we need to share information globally. That’s the big advantage of humans over viruses. A coronavirus in China and a coronavirus in the US cannot swap tips about how to infect humans. But China can teach the US many valuable lessons about coronavirus and how to deal with it. What an Italian doctor discovers in Milan in the early morning might well save lives in Tehran by evening. When the UK government hesitates between several policies, it can get advice from the Koreans who have already faced a similar dilemma a month ago. But for this to happen, we need a spirit of global co-operation and trust.
首先，为了战胜这种病毒，我们需要在全球范围内共享信息。这是人类相对于病毒的一大优势。中国的冠状病毒和美国的冠状病毒在如何感染人类的问题上无法交换意见。但是中国可以教给美国许多关于冠状病毒的宝贵经验以及如何应对。一名意大利医生清晨在米兰发现的情况，很可能会在傍晚挽救德黑兰的生命。当英国政府在几项政策之间犹豫不决时，它可以从一个月前已经面临类似困境的韩国人那里得到建议。但要实现这一点，我们需要一种全球合作和信任的精神。
Countries should be willing to share information openly and humbly seek advice, and should be able to trust the data and the insights they receive. We also need a global effort to produce and distribute medical equipment, most notably testing kits and respiratory machines. Instead of every country trying to do it locally and hoarding whatever equipment it can get, a co-ordinated global effort could greatly accelerate production and make sure life-saving equipment is distributed more fairly. Just as countries nationalise key industries during a war, the human war against coronavirus may require us to “humanise” the crucial production lines. A rich country with few coronavirus cases should be willing to send precious equipment to a poorer country with many cases, trusting that if and when it subsequently needs help, other countries will come to its assistance.
各国应愿意公开分享信息，谦恭地寻求建议，并应能够相信它们收到的数据和见解。我们还需要在全球范围内努力生产和分发医疗设备，尤其是检测设备和呼吸机。与其让每个国家都尝试在当地生产，并尽可能囤积设备，不如让全球协同努力，大大加快生产，并确保救生设备得到更公平的分配。正如国家在战争中对关键产业进行国有化一样，人类抗击冠状病毒的战争可能要求我们将关键的生产线“人性化”。一个很少有冠状病毒病例的富裕国家应该愿意向一个有很多病例的贫穷国家提供宝贵的设备，并相信如果它随后需要帮助，其他国家也会伸出援助之手。
We might consider a similar global effort to pool medical personnel. Countries currently less affected could send medical staff to the worst-hit regions of the world, both in order to help them in their hour of need, and in order to gain valuable experience. If later on the focus of the epidemic shifts, help could start flowing in the opposite direction.
我们可以考虑在全球范围内采取类似的行动来集中医疗人员。目前受影响较小的国家可以向世界上受影响最严重的地区派遣医务人员，以便在他们需要的时候帮助他们，并获得宝贵的经验。如果晚些时候疫情的中心转移，援助可能会开始向相反的方向流动。
Global co-operation is vitally needed on the economic front too. Given the global nature of the economy and of supply chains, if each government does its own thing in complete disregard of the others, the result will be chaos and a deepening crisis. We need a global plan of action, and we need it fast.
在经济领域，全球合作也是至关重要的。考虑到经济和供应链的全球化性质，如果每个政府都做自己的事情，完全无视其他国家，其结果将是混乱和危机的深化。我们需要一项全球行动计划，而且我们需要尽快实施。
Another requirement is reaching a global agreement on travel. Suspending all international travel for months will cause tremendous hardships, and hamper the war against coronavirus. Countries need to co-operate in order to allow at least a trickle of essential travellers to continue crossing borders: scientists, doctors, journalists, politicians, businesspeople. This can be done by reaching a global agreement on the pre-screening of travellers by their home country. If you know that only carefully screened travellers were allowed on a plane, you would be more willing to accept them into your country.
trickle vi. 滴；细细地流 a trickle of 很少的 pre-screen 预先筛查
另一个要求是就旅行达成全球协议。暂停所有国际旅行数月将造成巨大的困难，并妨碍与冠状病毒的战争。各国需要进行合作，以便让一小部分重要的科学家、医生、记者、政治家和商人等能够继续跨越边境。这可以通过就本国对旅行者进行预先筛查达成全球协议来实现。如果你知道只有经过仔细筛选的旅客才允许登机，你会更愿意接受他们入境。
Unfortunately, at present countries hardly do any of these things. A collective paralysis has gripped the international community. There seem to be no adults in the room. One would have expected to see already weeks ago an emergency meeting of global leaders to come up with a common plan of action. The G7 leaders managed to organise a videoconference only this week, and it did not result in any such plan.
paralysis n. 麻痹；无力；停顿 grip vt. 紧握;抓住
不幸的是，目前各国几乎不做这些事情。国际社会陷入集体瘫痪。房间里似乎没有成年人。人们可能希望看到数周前召开的全球领导人紧急会议能够达成一个共同的行动计划。七国集团(G7)领导人只是在本周才组织了一次视频会议，但并没有产生任何这样的计划。
In previous global crises — such as the financial crisis and the Ebola epidemic — the US assumed the role of global leader. But the current US administration has abdicated the job of leader. It has made it very clear that it cares about the greatness of America far more than about the future of humanity.
abdicated vt. 退位；放弃
在以往的全球危机——如金融危机和埃博拉疫情中，美国承担了全球领导者的角色。但现任美国政府已经放弃了领导人的角色。已经非常清楚地表明，它关心美国的伟大远远超过人类的未来。
This administration has abandoned even its closest allies. When it banned all travel from the EU, it didn’t bother to give the EU so much as an advance notice — let alone consult with the EU about that drastic measure. It has scandalized Germany by allegedly offering $1bn to a German pharmaceutical company to buy monopoly rights to a new Covid-19 vaccine. Even if the current administration eventually changes tack and comes up with a global plan of action, few would follow a leader who never takes responsibility, who never admits mistakes, and who routinely takes all the credit for himself while leaving all the blame to others.
scandalize vt. 使震惊；诽谤；使愤慨 allegedly adv.据说，据称
本届政府甚至放弃了最亲密的盟友。当它禁止所有来自欧盟的旅行时，它甚至没有提前通知欧盟，更不用提与欧盟商讨这一激烈措施了。据称，美国政府向一家德国制药公司提供10亿美元，以购买一种新型Covid-19疫苗的专卖权，这令德国感到震惊。即使现任政府最终改变方针，拿出一个全球行动计划，也很少有人会追随一个从不承担责任、从不承认错误、总是把所有功劳都揽在自己身上、却把所有责任都留给别人的领导人。
If the void left by the US isn’t filled by other countries, not only will it be much harder to stop the current epidemic, but its legacy will continue to poison international relations for years to come. Yet every crisis is also an opportunity. We must hope that the current epidemic will help humankind realize the acute danger posed by global disunity.
legacy n. 遗赠，遗产 acute adj. 严重的，[医] 急性的；敏锐的；激烈的
如果美国留下的空白不能被其他国家填补，不仅将更难阻止当前的疫情，而且其遗留问题将在未来几年继续毒害国际关系。然而，每一次危机也是一次机遇。我们必须希望，目前的流行病将有助于人类认识到全球不团结所造成的严重危险。
Humanity needs to make a choice. Will we travel down the route of disunity, or will we adopt the path of global solidarity? If we choose disunity, this will not only prolong the crisis, but will probably result in even worse catastrophes in the future. If we choose global solidarity, it will be a victory not only against the coronavirus, but against all future epidemics and crises that might assail humankind in the 21st century.
assail vt. 攻击
人类需要做出选择。我们是走不团结的道路，还是走全球团结的道路? 如果我们选择不团结，这不仅会延长危机，而且可能在未来导致更严重的灾难。如果我们选择全球团结，这将是一场胜利，不仅战胜了冠状病毒，而且战胜了未来可能威胁到21世纪人类的所有流行病和危机。
编者按：这是一篇关于新冠疫情中政府强力监管与公民权利之间关系的思考，带有明显的西方个人权利保护倾向，虽然作者是以色列人。起源于17世纪的启蒙运动席卷了整个西方，影响几百年直到现在，西方主导世界引领世界发展，其公民与权利意识也成为其他国家或者地区的一面旗帜，作者也不例外受到影响，根植于血液。
整篇以此为基调。在面对全球新冠疫情的时候，西方国家并没有及时有效地控制疫情的发展，相比于东亚各国，西方各个国家显得混乱与无序，这方面作者没有进行反思，着眼点显得有些老生常谈。他们发展到现在，已经出现了各种严峻的问题，在疫情面前集中地表现了出来，政党派别的纠缠，以疫情为题材攻讦对方政党，不把大众生命安全放在第一位；所谓科学的结论变化莫测，一开始告诉大众口罩没有作用，看到疫情越来越严重，又改口鼓励公共场合戴口罩，社交距离要保持6英尺，但是又有实验结论为24多英尺内都会感染；各个邦或者地区各自为政，缺乏统一行动；购买医疗物资需要竞价，没有统一调度分配；由于公民权利意识强，疫情发展初期强制隔离措施很难开展，造成大面积传播；制造业空心化，医疗物资严重供应不足；对中国与生俱来的偏见和傲慢，不积极采纳中国的成功经验.......这些问题的根源，都是作者需要深入分析的。
