|
楼主 |
发表于 2011-10-12 10:28:56
|
显示全部楼层
补上英文版,已经校对过中文版,还好没有差太多,What a relief!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOX POPULI: Disaster victims should watch out for thieves in business suits
People around the world praised the lack of large-scale looting in the immediate aftermath of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake. However, some abandoned stores and homes were broken into following the evacuation of stricken areas. Petty thieves were not the only ones to take advantage of the confusion.
According to "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism" by Naomi Klein, there are forces that use people's loss of homes and spiritual support as an opportunity to change the world to their own advantage. A Japanese translation of the 2007 book was recently published by Iwanami Shoten Publishers.
It argues that some forces cash in on war, civil strife and natural disasters to turn a profit in the name of reform. Klein, a Canadian journalist, says she was prompted to write the book after covering global corporations swarming into postwar Iraq to make a killing from reconstruction projects.
These forces take no heed of shocked citizens but ingratiate themselves with the authorities. They paint the pictures they want to paint on a white canvas. Such attempts to profit from disastrous situations are not limited to developing countries. As governments face financial difficulties, they are increasingly dependent on the private sector to implement projects, and this free market trend can help exploitative forces. The book raises the problems with "small government," a term that has become familiar to the lay ear and it leaves a bitter aftertaste.
The March disaster must also be a business opportunity. Residents in the stricken areas are struggling to rebuild their everyday lives, communities and industries. Once budgets are allocated, reconstruction projects worth more than 10 trillion yen ($130 billion) will start to be implemented. Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures need to watch out for thieves in business suits who will try to take advantage of their plight.
Freedom for the greedy is widening the gap between the rich and the poor across the world. The rage of unemployed young people has spread to the United States, which prides itself on being the land of the free. Free competition certainly has many merits, but excessive faith in the free market makes society unstable. The stricken areas have suffered serious damage. I hope outsiders don't prey on them.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 10 |
|