George Soros The Financial Crocodile
The speculator, George Soros, whose assault on sterling1 ejected Britain from the European exchange rate mechanism that September of 10 years ago has a mission — to use his estimated ￡5 billion fortune and his fame to help tackle what he sees as the failures of globalisation. The idea that a man who made billions betting on the financial markets sides with the anti-globalisation movement might strike some as ironic . Soros is clearly genuinely appalled at the damage wrought on vulnerable economies by the vast sums of money which flow across national borders every day.
“The US governs the international system to protect its own economy. It is not in charge of protecting other economies, ”he says.“ So when America goes into recession, you have antirecessionary policies. When other countries are in recession, they don't have the ability to engage in antirecessionary policies because they can't have a permissive monetary policy, because money would flee . ”In person , he has the air of a philosophy professor rather than a gimlet-eyed financier. In a soft voice which bears the traces of his native Hungary, he argues that it is time to rewrite the so-called Washington consensus — the cocktail of liberalisation, privatisation and fiscal rectitude which the IMF2 has been preaching for 15 years. Developing countries no longer have the freedom to run their own economies, he argues, even when they follow perfectly sound policies. He cites Brazil, which although it has a floating currency and manageable public debt was paying ten times over the odds to borrow from capital markets.
Soros, who at one stage after the fall of the Berlin Wall3 was providing more assistance to Russia than the US government, believes in practising what he preaches. His Open Society Institute has been pivotal in helping eastern European countries develop democratic societies and market economies. Soros has the advantage of an insider's knowledge of the workings of global capitalism, so his criticism is particularly pointed. Last year, the Soros foundation's network spent nearly half a billion dollars on projects in education, public health and promoting democracy, making it one of the world's largest private donors.
Soros credits the anti-globalisation movement for having made companies more sensitive to their wider responsibilities.“ I think [ the protesters] have made an important con tribution by making people aware of the flaws of the system, ”he says. “ People on the street had an impact on public opinion and corporations which sell to the public responded to that. ”Because the IMF has abandoned billion dollar bailouts for troubled economies, he thinks a repeat of the Asian crisis is unlikely. The fund's new“ tough love ”policy — for which Argentina is the guinea pig — has other consequences. The bailouts were a welfare system for Wall Street, with western taxpayers rescuing the banks from the consequences of unwise lending to emerging economies. Now the IMF has drawn a line in the sand, credit to poor countries is drying up. “ It has created a new problem — the inadequacy of the flow of capital from centre to the periphery, ”he says.
The one economy Soros is not losing any sleep about is the U. S.“ I am much more positive about the underlying economy than I am about the market, because we are waging war not only terrorism but also on recession, ”he says.“Although we don't admit it, we are actually applying Keynesian4 remedies, and I am a confirmed Keynesian. I have not yet seen an economy in recession when you are gearing up for war. ”He worries that the world's largest economic power is not living up to its responsibilities. “ I would like the United States to live up to the responsibilities of its hegemonic power because it is not going to give up its hegemonic power, ”he says.“The only thing that is realistic is for the United States to become aware that it is in its enlightened self-interest to ensure that the rest of the world benefits from their role . ”
练习题：
Ⅰ. Plea se pick out sente nces from th e p assa ge e xp ress in g the following mea nings:
1. 就算发展中国家实行很完善的机制, 它们的经济也有可能被国际游资打击。
2. 索罗斯在冷战结束后向俄罗斯提供的资助比美国政府给的要多。
3. 索罗斯是国际资本运作的行家里手, 所以他的观点总是切中要害。
4. 只要打仗, 国民经济就会景气。
Ⅱ. Question :
Where is Soros'motherland?
Ⅰ. 1. Developing countries no longer have the freedom to run their own economies, he argues, even when they follow perfectly sound policies.
2. Soros, who at one stage after the fall of the Berlin Wall was providing more assistance to Russia than the US government.
3. Soros has the advantage of an insider’s knowledge of the workings of global capitalism, so his criticism is particularly pointed.
4. I have not yet seen an economy in recession when you are gearing up for war.
Ⅱ. Hungary.
金融大鳄乔治·索罗斯
在十年前的那个9 月份狙击英镑迫使英国退出欧洲汇率机制的投机商乔治· 索罗斯有一项使命——— 利用他大约五十亿英镑的财产和他的名声来帮助解决他所认为的全球化失败问题。一个在全球金融市场上的投机大赚几十亿的人会支持反全球化运动, 这对许多人来说极具讽刺意味。很明显, 对于每天在各国之间流动的大量资金给经济脆弱国家造成的伤害, 索罗斯从心底感到震惊。
索罗斯说:“ 美国管理国际经济体系是为了保护本国利益, 它并不负责保护其他国家的经济。因此, 当美国陷入衰退后, 美国会出台反衰退政策。而其他国家陷入衰退时, 却无力这样做, 因为一旦这些国家实行自由开放的金融政策, 资金就会外流。”索罗斯本人并不像一个目光敏锐的金融家, 他更具有哲学教授的气质。带着匈牙利母语口音, 他用柔和的嗓音提出主张: 现在是修改所谓的“ 华盛顿共识”的时候了。那是国际货币基金组织十五年来宣扬的自由化、私有化和财政透明的一种混合机制。他认为, 发展中国家即使执行非常合理的政策, 也不能再自由地控制本国经济。他援引巴西的例子说, 尽管巴西实行了浮动汇率制和可控国债, 但它向资本市场借款还是付出了比正常条件下高出十倍的成本。
索罗斯在柏林墙倒塌后一段时间内向俄罗斯提供的援助曾一度超过美国政府的援助。他坚定地实施自己宣扬的观点。他的“ 开放社会研究所”在帮助东欧国家发展民主社会和市场经济方面发挥了重要作用。索罗斯具有业内人士的优势, 了解全球资本主义的运行,因此他的批评会受到特别关注。去年索罗斯基金网络在教育、公共卫生、促进民主项目上花费了近五亿美元, 使索罗斯基金成为世界上最大的私人捐助集团之一。
索罗斯赞扬反全球化运动使各公司更加认识到自己更广泛的责任。他说:“ 我认为( 反对者们) 做出的重要贡献是使大众意识到这个体系的缺陷。大街上的人们对舆论会有所影响, 而向公众推销商品的公司也会与舆论保持一致。”由于国际货币基金组织已经拒绝向经济困难的国家提供数十亿美元的救济, 索罗斯认为亚洲经济危机不会重演。国际货币基金组织首次在阿根廷试验的“ 既爱又严”的新政策带来了其他后果。国际货币基金组织用西方纳税人的钱承担了银行因不理智地向新兴国家提供贷款造成的恶果, 从而使那些救济金给华尔街带去丰厚福利。现在国际货币基金组织对贫困国家的贷款正在枯竭。索罗斯说:“ 这就产生了一个新问题——— 资金从中心向周边流动不足。”
索罗斯最不担心的就是美国经济。他说:“ 我对美国的经济潜力比对现在的市场更有信心, 因为我们正在进行的战争不仅是对付恐怖主义, 而且也是在向经济衰退开战。尽管我们不承认, 但我们实际是在使用凯恩斯主义药方, 我是一个坚定的凯恩斯主义者。我从来没见过哪个国家在准备战事时还会陷入经济衰退。”他担心这个世界上最大的经济大国不 能承担起自己的责任。他说:“ 我希望美国能够承担起作为霸权国家的职责, 因为美国不会放弃自己的霸权地位。惟一现实的是, 美国应意识到, 保证世界上其他国家能从他们自己所承担的角色中受益, 显然是符合美国自身利益的。”
1. sterling n. 英国货币体系, 英镑。它也可作形容词, 意思为“英国货币的( 写在金额之后,通常略作s. 或stg. ) , 英镑的”, 如: five pounds sterling 英币五镑正( 略￡5s. 或￡5stg. )
2. 即International Monetary Fund ( 联合国国际货币基金组织) 。1945 年成立的联合国专门机构, 总部设在华盛顿, 以发放认缴基金筹措资金, 并以特别提款权为单位计算基金。会员国中美国认缴份额最多, 所以美国政府最能左右该机构的方针政策。它的宗旨是协调各会员国的货币政策, 并通过贷款来维持货币稳定和贸易平衡。
3. 柏林墙倒塌。二战后在德国及其首都柏林施行分区占领: 前苏联控制区成立东德, 美英法区成立西德, 东西柏林之间建成柏林墙, 很长时间内成为意识形态斗争的象征。随着1990 年苏联解体, 两德统一, 柏林墙也被拆除, 成为冷战结束的标志。
4. Keynesian adj. 凯恩斯主义的n. 凯恩斯主义者。John Maynard Keynes ( 约翰·梅纳德·凯恩斯, 1883—1946) , 英国经济学家和作家。他主张对过宽的经济放任政策施行类似社会主义国家的计划管理方式, 提高社会福利标准以减少社会矛盾。在他的理论引导下,西方国家在二战后特别是20 世纪60 年代实施国家资本主义体制, 将大量关系国计民生的行业企业收归国有, 或者改为国有控股, 这样做就拉长了原本几年一次的经济危机周期, 但同时经济容易出现滞胀.
