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As I have mentioned, culturally we have been taught by those in power to be humble. That their teachings have been largely accepted when what they advocate is so obviously self-serving is a tribute to how effective they have been in getting their message across. But also, because we want power so badly, we often support those who are stronger in the hope that they will share a little of what they have with us. And if they are wise, they do. Successful politicians are masters of this approach and the same expertise is not unknown in business, higher education and even religion.
正如我所说的，在文化上那些掌权的人已经向我们灌输了谦卑的美德。虽然他们宣扬的东西显然是为了满足他们自身的利益，但其学说已被大众广泛接受，这一事实证明了他们对自己观点的宣扬是多么有效。由于我们也迫切地需要权力，我们常常支持那些较强的人，希望他们会与我分享一点他们的权力。如果他们明智的话，他们会这样做。成功的政治家熟练地掌握了这一方法，在商界、高等教育界甚至是宗教界也不乏类似的伎俩。
If you look around in any society, you cannot fail to see the all-pervasive effect of this need. Families band together for power, but if they succeed in becoming very powerful, they tend in almost all cases to fight among themselves for the lion's share of what they have. Rather than go over what seems so obvious, just ask yourself one question: Who do you know is so completely satisfied with his life that he can go a week without complaining that someone has gotten in the way of what he wanted to do? Most of us cannot get through a day without complaint; to be satisfied with how others have treated us for a week would seem like an eternity.
如果你环顾周围，你就会发现，不管在哪个社会，这种需求造成的影响无处不在。皇族为争取权力而结合在一起，但是一旦他们成功了并变得有权势，家庭成员之间几乎毫无例外地会去争夺他们所拥有的最大份额。暂不去回顾那些看上去显而易见的事，先问你自己这样一个问题：你认识这样一个人吗？他对生活感到十分满意，能够在一个星期里都不抱怨有人阻碍他做他想做的事。大多数人没有一天不在抱怨：连续一个星期都对别人对待我们的方式感到满意，这似乎像永生一样不可能。
We are intensely competitive. If we think that we have any chance at all to move beyond bare survival, we are almost all ambitious.
我们处在激烈的竞争状态下。如果我们认为自己有机会过更好的生活的话，那么我们都会变得雄心勃勃。
