◇◇新语丝(www.xys.org)(newxys8.com)(groups.google.com/group/xinyusi)◇◇ 我们的子孙应当拥有的未来 The future our grandchildren deserve   作者:比尔·盖茨   I turned 67 in October. It’s hard to believe I’m that old—in America, most people my age are retired!   今年十月我都已经67岁了。很难相信我已经这么老了——在美国,大部分我 这个年龄的人已经退休了!   But I won’t be slowing down anytime soon. I’m still going full speed on the project I began more than two decades ago, which is to give the vast majority of my resources back to society.   Although I don’t care where I rank on the list of the world’s richest people, I do know that as I succeed in giving, I will drop down and eventually off the list altogether.   但在可见的未来,我不会放慢脚步。我仍在全速推进二十多年前启动的项目, 即把我的绝大部分资源回馈给社会。   虽然我并不在乎自己在世界富豪榜上的排名,我知道当我在慈善方面取得成 功,我的排名就会不断下降,并且最终从榜单消失。   I’ve always viewed my philanthropy as a way to help reduce the awful inequities I see around the world. I also feel a responsibility to give my wealth back to society in ways that do the most good for the most people.   But I started looking at the world through a new lens recently— when my older daughter gave me the incredible news that I’ll become a grandfather next year.   我一直将我的慈善视作一种途径,用以帮助减少我在世界各地所看到的可怕 的不平等现象。我也感到有责任将我的财富以对大多数人最有益的方式回馈给社 会。   不过,最近我开始通过一个新的视角来看待这个世界——当我的大女儿告诉 我一个天大的好消息,那就是明年我要当祖父了。   Simply typing that phrase, “I’ll become a grandfather next year,” makes me emotional. And the thought gives a new dimension to my work. When I think about the world my grandchild will be born into, I’m more inspired than ever to help everyone’s children and grandchildren have a chance to survive and thrive.   仅仅是打出“明年我要当祖父了”这句话,就使我情绪激动。而这种想法给 我的工作带来了新的维度。当我想到我的外孙或外孙女将要诞生在的世界,我比 以往任何时候都更有动力去帮助每个人的子孙后代能有机会去生存和发展。   This is a long-term project that requires patience; in the effort to make the world more equitable, success is measured in years and decades. Maybe age makes it easier to understand this.   When I was in my twenties, I didn’t think that anyone my grandparents’ age had anything useful to offer the world at large. As I get older, though, I see how wrong I was.   这是一个需要耐心的长期项目;在使世界更加公平的事业中,成功是以几年 甚至几十年的尺度来衡量的。也许年龄使人更容易理解这一点。   当我20来岁时,我不觉得我祖父母这个年龄段的人能对整个世界做出有什么 有用的贡献。不过随着我年龄的增长,我发现我错得离谱。   I do almost all of my work through the Gates Foundation, though most of my efforts on climate and clean energy are housed at Breakthrough Energy and I fund research on Alzheimer’s disease separately. Global health is a major focus for the foundation because it’s the worst inequity on the planet and it's a solvable problem.   More than two decades ago, Melinda and I were shocked to learn how little money and effort were put into saving the lives of children in poor countries, and we thought the world should do more.   虽然我在气候和清洁能源方面的大部分努力都集中在突破能源,而且我还另 外资助了阿尔兹海默症的研究,但我几乎所有的工作都是通过盖茨基金会完成的。 全球健康是基金会的主要关注点,因为这是地球上最严重的不平等,也是一个可 以攻克的问题。   二十多年前,梅琳达和我震惊地了解到,用于拯救贫穷国家儿童生命的资金 和努力是如此之少,我们认为世界应该做得更多一些。   The world has been doing more—and it shows. Since 2000, when the foundation began, the childhood death rate has been cut by half.   这个世界已经做得多一些了——而且它展示了这一点。自2000年基金会成立 以来,儿童死亡率已经减少了一半。   Tragically, recent events are slowing and even reversing this progress. The COVID-19 pandemic caused millions of deaths and severely hampered efforts to immunize children. Russia’s war on Ukraine is inflicting terrible suffering in Eastern Europe and driving up food and energy prices around the world. Rich countries are cutting foreign aid, partly because they need to spend more on the military, electricity subsidies, and support for refugees displaced by the war.   Inflation is rising and economic growth is slowing. Climate change is leading to more frequent extreme weather. And in the United States, our politics are more polarized than ever. In my lifetime, the only other period that felt this turbulent was the 1960s.   可悲的是,最近的事件在减缓甚至逆转这一进展。新冠疫情大流行造成了数 百万人死亡,严重阻碍了为儿童提供免疫接种的努力。俄罗斯对乌克兰的战争正 在东欧造成可怕的灾难,并使世界各地的食品和能源价格上涨。   富裕国家正在削减对外援助,部分原因是他们需要在军事、电力补贴和支持 因战争而流离失所的难民方面花费更多。通货膨胀正在上升,经济增长正在放缓。 气候变化正在导致更频繁的极端天气。而在美国,我们的政治比以往更加极化。 在我的一生中,唯一可与之相比的动荡时期是还是1960年代。   The people who were already worst off are bearing most of the pain of these setbacks, and the worst thing we could do is retreat from supporting them. I’m stubborn in my belief that with the right innovations, we can continue to reduce inequity in spite of the headwinds.   Through the foundation and my personal work, I am trying to make sure that, even with everything else going on, the world continues to do more to help the poorest. Getting more support for this is a key goal.   那些原本就处境最差的人正在承受这些倒退所带来的大部分痛苦,而最糟糕 的事情就是在支持他们方面退缩。我固执地认为,通过正确的创新,我们可以逆 势而上,减少不平等。   通过基金会和我个人的工作,我正努力确保即使面临种种困难,这个世界也 会继续做更多的事情来帮助最贫穷的人。为此获得更多支持是一个关键目标。   For its part, the Gates Foundation is putting much more money into the areas where we work. In July we announced that we intend to increase our spending by half, from nearly $6 billion per year before COVID to $9 billion per year by 2026. To help make this spending increase possible, I transferred $20 billion to the foundation's endowment.   We know we will keep the same priorities, and in our recent strategy reviews, we allocated about half of the increase. We will allocate the other half in future reviews so we can stay flexible, directing the additional money to the areas of greatest need over the next couple of years.   就其本身而言,盖茨基金会正在向我们工作的领域投入更多资金。7月,我 们宣布计划将我们的支出增加一半,从疫情前的每年近60亿美元增加至到2026年 前的每年90亿美元。为了使这一支出增长成为可能,我向基金会转入了200亿美 元。   我知道我们会保持一直以来的优先事项,在最近的战略回顾中,我们已经分 配了大约一半新增资金。我们将在未来的回顾中分配另一半,以便能够保持灵活 性,在未来几年将额外的资金用于最需要的领域。   Our secret weapon, which should not be secret at all, is the incredible generosity of Warren Buffett. Since 2006, his gifts to the foundation have totaled about $45 billion, if you count the appreciation of Berkshire Hathaway stock after it was given.   I believe this is the largest gift ever given, and thinking about it fills me with awe and gratitude and a sense of responsibility to make sure it is spent well.   我们的秘密武器——这就不该是什么秘密——是沃伦·巴菲特不可思议的慷 慨。自2006年以来,如果算上伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司股票在捐赠后的增值,他对 基金会的捐赠总额约为450亿美元。   我相信这是有史以来最大的一笔捐赠,想到这一点,我就充满了敬畏和感激, 并由衷地有一种责任感,要确保这笔钱物尽其用。   Thinking about what matters as we head into 2023.   在我们进入2023年时,想想什么是重要的事情   With the pandemic, war in Ukraine, and downturn in the economy, the past three years have been some of the hardest in recent memory. Everyone in the world has experienced loss during this time—of loved ones, financial security, or a way of life.   Because of my position, I’m insulated from many of these hardships. But I too have hit some personal low points over the past few years, including the death of my father and the end of my marriage.   由于大流行、在乌克兰的战争和经济下滑,过去三年可谓是最近记忆中最艰 难的时期。在这段时间里,世界上每个人都经历了失去——失去所爱的人、财务 安全或生活方式。   由于我所处的位置,我没有受到这许多苦难的影响。但在过去几年里,我也 遭遇了一些个人的低谷,包括我父亲的去世和我婚姻的终结。   As I reflect on the past and look ahead to next year, I’m feeling grateful for the people in my life who support me in difficult moments.   They remind me of what’s important, and they inspire me to be a better father and friend. Being wealthy makes my life much more comfortable, but not more fulfilling.   For that, I need family, friends, and a job where I work on things that matter. I’m grateful to have all three.   当我回顾过去并展望明年时,我对我生命中那些在困难时刻支持我的人感到 感激。   他们提醒我什么是重要的,他们激励我成为一个更好的父亲和朋友。富裕使 我的生活更加舒适,但并非更加充实。   为此,我需要家庭、朋友和一份能让我为重要事情而奋斗的工作。我很感激 自己能拥有这三者。   One of the joys of getting older is to see my three children welcome wonderful new people into our family.   Last year I gained a son-in-law, and next year I’ll become a grandfather. I hope I can be as good with my grandchildren as my dad was with his.   变老的乐趣之一是能看到我的三个孩子迎来美好的新伙伴进入我们的家庭。   去年我有了一个女婿,明年我将成为一名祖父。我希望我能够像我父亲一样 和孙辈们融洽相处。   I also hope that, through my work, I can help make the better world that future generations deserve.   I am in awe of the caliber of people who have dedicated their lives to making the world a more equitable place, and I feel lucky to be able to support their efforts.   My goal of keeping the world’s attention and resources on the poorest people is only possible because of their commitment.   我还希望,通过我的工作,我可以去帮助创造子孙后代应当拥有的更好世界。   我对那些为使世界变得更加公平而奉献一生的人感到敬畏,我为能够支持他 们的努力感到幸运。   正因有了他们的奉献,我将世界的注意力和资源集中在最贫穷人身上的目标 才变得可能。   The opportunities to reduce inequity, even at this tumultuous moment, are out there. Success is a long-term prospect, but it starts with actions we take now.   I’ll spend 2023 trying to make the most of these opportunities, and whenever I get the chance, I will urge others to do the same.   即使在这个动荡的时刻,减少不平等的机会也是存在的。成功是一个长远目 标,但它始于我们现在采取的行动。   我将在2023年充分利用这些机遇,只要有机会,我也会敦促其他人也这样做。   I hope you have a happy end to 2022 and a healthy and peaceful 2023.   我祝愿你有一个2022年的圆满收尾,以及一个健康、平安的2023年。 (XYS20230207) ◇◇新语丝(www.xys.org)(newxys8.com)(groups.google.com/group/xinyusi)◇◇