The price system allocates goods according to people’s preferences; it doesn’t assess those preferences as worthy or admirable or appropriate to the circumstance. But despite their protestations, economists increasingly find themselves entangled in moral questions.
价格手段根据人们的偏好分配商品，其中并不评估偏好的优劣性。可是，经济学家也在面临道德问题的拷问。
原因有二：1. 市场思维侵占了公民生活 2.经济学家economists have been recasting their discipline, making it more abstract and more ambitious.
他们认为经济中的许多理论也可以用于解释人类行为。
一个非常受关注的理论是：人类行为的成本效益法则，也就是，人们的选择建立在对于成本效益分析后胜出的那一方。
At the heart of this science is a simple but sweeping idea: In all domains of life, human behavior can be explained by assuming that people decide what to do by weighing the costs and benefits of the options before them, and choosing the one they believe will give them the greatest welfare,or utility. According to Becker, people act to maximize their welfare, whateveractivity they’re engaged in.
他们就此提出了解决一些棘手的社会问题的方法。比如给肥胖患者提供的减肥计划，如果完成就给予奖励。而无论是保守主义者还是自由主义者都对此有所异议。保守主义者认为政府不应该资助这些肥胖症患者，因为这是在用纳税人的钱去奖励一些本应该由公民自己承担的问题。这建立在每个人都可以控制好自己身体的理论上。
Paying someone to ditch bad habits is the ultimate in nanny state mentality, absolving them of any responsibility for their health.
而自由主义者则对另一种形式的健康计划提出了反驳。因为总有人客观上无法控制自己的健康状况。如果据此来设定不同人群的保费费率是不公平的，让这部分人群处于不利地位。
作者认为用钱来激励是一种贿赂。因为为了外部奖励的女人愿意丧失自己的生育能力，并不是为自己着想，在很多时候甚至是违背他们意愿的。在减肥计划中，这个论断似乎不成立。因为一方面他们得到了钱，同时又变得更加健康。这似乎不能称作贿赂。但是仔细想想，我们觉得担忧的原因可能在于，这实际上排挤走了更好的动机。也就是说，如果我们能够用正确的态度对待自己的健康，自尊自爱，那么用钱来保证这一行为就是在损害这一动机。为什么呢？
This is because bribes are manipulative. They bypass persuasion and substitute an external reason for an intrinsic one.
因为贿赂具有控制和依赖性。这是用外部激励措施取代通过劝导而产生的内部动机，可能发生的情况是：这种被动的态度并不会产生持续的效果，甚至会产生负作用。
Some think this calculating view takes the romance out of marriage. They argue that love, obligation, and commitment are ideals that can’t be reduced to monetary terms.
The idea that cash incentives can cure what ails our schools looms large in the movement for educational reform.
One might acknowledge the degrading effect of a market in refugees and still conclude that the scheme does more good than harm. But what the example illustrates is that
一些例子：美国cash-for-Green card scheme; assign each country a yearly refugee quota, based on national wealth.
一些人会argue , they do more good than harm ,但作者认为，markets are not mere mechanisms. They embody certain norms. They presuppose— and promote— certain ways of valuing the goods being exchanged.
Fines Versus Fees
Finland’s $217,000 speeding ticket shows that society not only wants to cover the costs of risky behavior; it also wants the punishment to fit the crime— and the bank balance of the perpetrator.
In most places, being pulled over and issued a speeding ticket still carries a stigma.
有个竞选者提出，让司机购买超速券，这是把fines变成了fees，当然最终被认为imperil public safety，而went down to defeat.
一些有争议，或者值得debate的例子还有
法国一群抗议公共交通费用机制的人建立了保险fund，为那些逃票被抓的人提供保险。
在Video Rentals 还overdue的东西就不会有这种guilty，因为这是business，而不是公共图书馆的公众资源。
所以，To decide whether a fine or a fee is appropriate, we have to figure out the purpose of the social institution in question and the norms that should govern it.
在中国，in China, the fine for violating the government’s one- child policy is increasingly regarded by the affluent as a price for an extra child.
Family- planning officials have sought to reassert • 重新发挥作用:the punitive aspect of the sanction by increasing fines for affluent offenders, denouncing celebrities who violate the policy and banning them from appearing on television, and preventing business executives with extra kids from receiving government contracts.
What’s at stake is the norm underlying the policy.
hopelessly high-minded彻底的情操高尚
suffer sth 经受... （the consequences ;blow）
suffer from 受...苦 （疾病）
ail
[eɪl]verb
CAUSE DIFFICULTY造成困难
■to cause difficulty and problems for困扰，使苦恼；使处境困难
•The government seems to have no understanding of what ails the country.政府好像不了解国家问题的症结所在。
honor roll
2. a list of the best students in a college or high school
•(大、中学的)优秀生名单,光荣榜
boondoggle
UK['bu:nˌdɒg.l]US[-ˌdɑ:.gl]USinformal
nouncountable
■an unnecessary and expensive piece of work, especially one which is paid for by the public（尤指由公众支付费用的）耗资巨大而无意义的工作
•The senator called the new highways proposal "...a fraud and aboondogglethat the taxpayer should not tolerate".参议员称新的道路建设计划是“…毫无意义的骗钱工程，纳税人不应该容忍”。
carrot and stick[ADJ: ADJ n]
If an organization has acarrot and stickapproach or policy, they offer people things in order to persuade them to do something and punish them if they refuse to do it.
Congress also wants to use a carrot and stick approach to force both sides to negotiate an end to the war.
repeated or infrequent decisions, large or minor decisions, emotional or mechanical ends
[mə'kæn.ɪ.kəl]
adjective
WITHOUT THOUGHT没有思考 disapproving
■without thinking about what you are doing, especially because you do something often机械的；习惯性的
•I was taught to read in a mechanical way.我接受的教育是机械地阅读。
brazen 对比bluntly
['breɪ.zən]adjective
■obvious, without any attempt to be hidden毫不隐瞒的，明目张胆的
•There were instances ofbrazencheating in the exams.考试中有人明目张胆地作弊。
•He told me abrazenlie.他恬不知廉耻地向我撒谎。
['breɪ.zən]verb
Phrasal Verbs[M]brazen sth out
■to act confidently and not admit that a problem exists厚着脸皮
•I decided tobrazenitout and hoped they wouldn't notice the scratch on the car.我决定厚着脸皮混过去，希望他们不会注意汽车上的刮痕。
3.keep (somebody) off somethingto not eat, drink, or take something that is bad for you, or to stop someone else from eating, drinking, or taking it:
a programme aimed at keeping teenagers off drugs
▪voice to talk publicly about your feelings or about whether you approve or disapprove of somethingformal:voice concern/support/doubt/fears etc:The president has already voiced his support for the proposal.|She voiced concern for the safety of the hostages.
Lines
Remark
countable a remark that is intended to entertain, persuade or deceive
•a speech full of memorable lines
•He keeps giving me that line about not being able to do any work because his computer isn't working properly.
•Who was it who came up with that famous line about "lies, damned lies and statistics"?
steep sth/sb in sth
[sti:p]
Phrasal Verbs[usually passive]
■If something or someone is steeped in something, they are completely surrounded by or involved in it, or they know a lot about it使沉浸于；使深深浸入；使精通
•The college is steeped in history/tradition.这所学院有着浓厚的历史／传统气息。
•These ancient scholars were steeped in poetry and painting, as well as maths and astronomy.这些古代学者精通诗歌和绘画，同时对数学和天文学也深有研究。
sustain
[sə'steɪn]verb transitive
CONTINUE继续
■to cause or allow something to continue for a period of time保持，维持，使持续，使继续
•The economy looks set to sustain its growth into next year.看来经济增长会持续到明年。
•He seems to find it difficult to sustain relationships with women.他似乎觉得和女人维持关系并不容易。
•US The judge sustained(= accepted) the lawyer's objection.法官接受了律师的反对意见。
■to keep alive维持…的生命，供养
•The soil in this part of the world is not rich enough tosustaina large population.这里的土地不够肥沃，无法供养大量人口。
[sə'steɪn]verb transitive
SUFFER遭受formal
■to suffer or experience, especially damage or loss经历，遭受（尤指破坏或损失）
•She sustained multiple injuries in the accident.她在这次事故中有多处受伤。
•Most buildings sustained only minimal damage in the earthquake.在这次地震中，大多数建筑物受到的破坏都很小。
•The company has sustained heavy losses this year.公司今年遭受严重的亏损。
[sə'steɪn]verbtransitive
SUPPORT支持
■to support emotionally（情感上）支持
•She was sustained by the strength of her religious faith.宗教信仰的力量支撑着她。
•The love of my family and friends sustained me through my ordeal.家人和朋友的爱支撑着我渡过难关。
accommodate
UK[ə'kɒm.ə.deɪt]US[-'kɑ:.mə-]verbtransitive
SUIT满足
■to give what is needed to someone为…提供方便；对…予以照顾性考虑
•The new policies fail to accommodate the disabled.新政策没有照顾到残疾人士的利益。
•We always try to accommodate(= help) our clients with financial assistance if necessary.必要时，我们总是尽力为我们的客户提供财政援助。
accommodate yourself
■to change yourself or your behaviour to suit another person or new conditions使适应，使顺应
•Some find it hard to accommodate themselves to the new working conditions.有些人觉得很难适应新的工作环境。
flout
[flaʊt]verbtransitive
■to intentionally not obey a rule, law, or custom公然藐视，无视，违背（规定、法律或习俗）
•Many motorcyclists flout the law by not wearing helmets.许多骑摩托车的人无视法律，不戴头盔。
•The orchestra decided to flout convention/tradition, and wear their everyday clothes for the concert.管弦乐队决定一改传统，在音乐会上穿日常服装。
habitual fare dodger逃票惯犯
absolve
To be absolved is to be let off the hook, to be set free from a certain obligation or to be forgiven for a wrongdoing. The Church may absolve you of your sins, but that won't absolve you of the need to attend mass.
The Latin absolvere, which means "to set free," is the root of the wordabsolve. In the religious sense, to be absolved means to be truly forgiven in the eyes of the Lord, which must feel like being set free. In a more mundane everyday usage,absolve can be used to describe being let off the hook. For instance, putting a campaign poster in your window does not absolve you of the responsibility to vote.
pieceworkalsopiece-work.[N-UNCOUNT]
If you do piecework, you are paid according to the amount of work that you do rather than the length of time that you work.
All my men are on piece-work.
The tobacco workers were paid on a piecework basis.
compliance
[kəm'plaɪ.ənts]noununcountableformal
■when people obey an order, rule or request服从；遵守；依从
•It is the job of the inspectors to enforce compliance with the regulations.强制人们遵守法规是督察的责任。
•The company said that it had always acted in compliance with environmental laws.该公司称其一向遵守环境法。
persistence
UK[pə'sɪs.tənts]US[pɚ-]noununcountable
■when someone or something persists持续存在；坚持不懈，执意
•Most financial analysts have been surprised by the persistence of the recession.大多数金融分析师都对这种持续的衰退感到惊讶。
•Her persistence and enthusiasm have helped the group to achieve its international success.她的坚持不懈和满腔热忱帮助该集团在国际上获得成功。
◘'wean sb off / from sth
• to make sb gradually stop doing or using sth
•使逐渐戒除恶习(或避免依赖…):
»The doctor tried to wean her off sleeping pills.
医生设法使她逐渐停止服用安眠药片。
The obvious worry is that the payment may habituate children to think of reading books as a way of making money, and so erode, or crowd out, or corrupt the love of reading for its own sake.
be far removed from sth formal
■to be very different from something与…大相径庭；与…迥然不同；和…有天壤之别
•It's a wonderful experience but it's far removed from reality.这是一次美妙的经历，但是和现实生活有天壤之别。
Relentless is sometimes close to remorse less in this sense, but it is usually less severe and is not always damning by any means. In general use, it may apply to anyone or anything that shows no mercy and cannot be stopped by entreaty or appeal: a relentless prosecutor; the relentless passing of time. Specifically,relentless is sometimes used as in intensification of tireless. As such, it can imply a refusal to yield under punishing pressure: He pressed on relentlessly, trying to meet the deadline.
un∙flinch∙ing
◙adj.
• remaining strong and determined, even in a difficult or dangerous situation
• 不屈不挠的；果敢的；坚定的；不畏缩的
【SYN】steadfast:
»unflinching loyalty
坚贞不渝的忠诚
»an unflinching stare
毫不畏惧的注视
wellspring
['wel.sprɪŋ]literary
nounonly singular
■the place something comes from or starts at, or the cause of something; thesource源头；泉源
•thewellspringof the creative spirit创新精神的泉源
vogue
UK[vəʊg]US[voʊg]noun[S or U]
■a fashion or general liking, especially one which is temporary流行；时尚；时髦
•In the 1920s, short hair for women became the vogue.20世纪20年代，女性留短发成为时尚。
•The postwar vogue fo rtearing down buildings virtually destroyed the city's architecture.战后盛行的拆毁建筑行为实际上破坏了该城市的建筑风格。
•The short hemline is very much in vogue(= fashionable) this spring.今年春天短裙非常时兴。
•"Community" is one of the vogue words of the new government.“社区”是新政府使用最多的词语之一。
