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1、李世默TED演讲稿(中英文) 作者： 日期：李世默TED：中国崛起与“元叙事”的终结Good morning. My name is Eric Li, and I was born here. But no, I wasnt born there. This was where I was born: Shanghai, at the height of the Cultural Revolution. My grandmother tells me that she heard the sound of gunfire along with my first cries. When I wa
2、s growing up, I was told a story that explained all I ever needed to know that humanity. It went like this. All human societies develop in linear progression, beginning with primitive society, then slave society, feudalism, capitalism, socialism, and finally, guess where we end up? Communism! Sooner
3、 or later, all of humanity, regardless of culture, language, nationality, will arrive at this final stage of political and social development. The entire worlds peoples will be unified in this paradise on earth and live happily ever after. But before we get there, were engaged in a struggle between
4、good and evil, the good of socialism against the evil of capitalism, and the good shall triumph. That, of course, was the meta-narrative distilled from the theories of Karl Marx. And the Chinese bought it. We were taught that grand story day in and day out. It became part of us, and we believed in i
5、t. The story was a bestseller. About on third of the entire worlds population lived under that meta narrative. Then, the world changed overnight. As for me, disillusioned by the failed religion of my youth, I went to America and became a Berkeley hippie. Now, as I was coming of age, something else h
6、appened. As if one big story wasnt enough, I was told another one. This one was just as grand. It also claims that all human societies develop in a linear progression towards a singular end. This one went as follows. All societies, regardless of culture, be it Christian, Muslim, Confucian, must prog
7、ress from traditional societies in which groups are the basic units to modern societies in which atomized individuals are the sovereign units, and all these individuals are, by definition, rational, and they all want one thing: the vote. Because they all rational, once given the vote, they produce g
8、ood government and live happily ever after. Paradise on earth, again. Sooner or later, electoral democracy will be the only political system for all countries and all peoples, with a free market to make them all rich. But before we get there, were engaged in a struggle between good and evil. The goo
9、d belongs to those who are democracies and are charged with a mission of spreading it around the globe, sometimes by force, against the evil of those who do not hold elections. Now. This story also became a bestseller. According to the Freedom House, the number of democracies went from 45 in 1970 to
10、 115 in 2010. In the last 20years, Western elites tirelessly trotted around the globe selling this prospectus: multiple parties fight for political power and everyone voting on them is the only path to salvation to the long-suffering developing world. Those who buy the prospectus are destined for su
11、ccess. Those who do not are doomed to fail. But this time, the Chinese didnt buy it. Fool me once The rest is history. In just 3p years, China went from one of the poorest agricultural countries in the world to its second-largest economy. Six hundred fifty million people were lifted out of poverty.
12、Eighty percent of the entire worlds poverty alleviation during that period happened in China. In other words, all the new and old democracies put together amounted to a mere fraction of what a single, one-party state did without voting. See, I grew up on this stuff: food stamps. Meat was rationed to
13、 a few hundred grams per person per month at one point. Needless to say, I ate my grandmothers portions. So I asked myself, whats wrong with this picture? Here I am in my hometown, my business growing leaps and bounds. Entrepreneurs are starting companies every day. Middle class is expanding in spee
14、d and scale unprecedented in human history. Yet, according to the grand story, none of this should be happening. So I went and did the only thing I could. I studied it. Yes, China is a one-party state run by the Chinese Communist Party, the Party, and they dont hold elections. There assumptions are
15、made by the dominant political theories of our time. Such a system is operationally rigid, politically closed, and morally illegitimate. Well, the assumptions are wrong. The opposites are true. Adaptability, meritocracy, and legitimacy are the three defining characteristics of Chinas one-party syste
16、m. Now, most political scientists will tell us that a one-party system is inherently incapable of self-correction. It wont last long because it cannot adapt. Now here are the facts. In 64 years of running the largest country in the world, the range of the partys policies has been wider than any other country in rece
