If you believe that every life has equal value, it's revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. We said to ourselves: "This can't be true. But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving."
如果你认为生命都是平等的,那么当你发现某些生命被挽救了,而另一些生命被放弃了,你会感到无法接受。我们对自己说:“事情不可能是如此。如果这是真的,那么它理应是我们努力的头等大事。”
So we began our work in the same way anyone here would begin it. We asked: "How could the world let these children die?"
所以,我们俩用在座任何人都会想到的方式开始工作。我们心存疑问:“这个世界怎么可以眼睁睁看着这些孩子死去?”
The answer is simple, and harsh. The market did not reward saving the lives of these children, and governments did not subsidize it. So the children died because their mothers and their fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system.
答案很简单,也很残酷。在市场,拯救儿童是一项没有利润的工作,政府也不会提供任何补助。这些儿童之所以会死亡,是因为他们的父母在经济上没有实力,在政治上没有发言权。
But you and I have both.
但是,你们和我在经济上有实力,在政治上有发言权。
We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalism-if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the great inequities. We also can press governmetns around the world to spend taxpayer money in ways that better reflect the values of the people who pay the taxes.
如果我们能够设计出一种更有创新性的资本主义制度——如果我们可以改变市场,让更多的人可以获得利润,或者至少可以维持生活 ——那么,这就可以帮到那些正在极端不平等的状况中受苦的人们;那么我们就可以让市场更好地为穷人服务。我们还可以向全世界的政府施压,要求他们将纳税人的钱,花到更体现纳税人价值的地方。
If we can find approaches that meet the needs of the poor in the ways that generate profits for business and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce inequity in the world. This task is open-ended. It can never be finished. But a conscious effort to answer this challenge can change the world.
如果我们能够找到这样一种方法,既可以帮到穷人,又可以为商人带来利润,为政治家带来选票,那么我们就找到了一种减少世界性不平等的可持续的发展道路。这个任务是永无止境的。它不可能全部完成,但是任何自觉地解决这个问题的尝试,都将会改变这个世界。