我们将在新年开始的新一期经济学双语阅读课程，选取的阅读材料是米塞斯的经典之作《自由主义》。这是我个人读过的第一本米塞斯的著作，也始终是我最喜欢的一本。可以说，我是因为《自由主义》而成为了自由主义者，并开始关注奥地利学派。那么，米塞斯的《自由主义》有什么独特之处呢？说起来也非常简单，本书系统阐述了自由社会原理及其内外政策，特别是所可能面临的障碍和问题。这听起来平平无奇，是吗？远非如此。众所周知，米塞斯在1920年出版了关于社会主义经济体制的论文，后来于1922年扩展为《社会主义》一书。这是一部跨时代的巨著，米塞斯提出的计划经济的经济计算问题，深刻地影响了哈耶克，罗宾斯等当代经济学大师，也引发了20世纪20-30年代那场载入经济学思想史的大辩论。但提出问题只是一方面，另一方面，还需要正面回答论辩对方的问题，而这是那些质疑和批评自由市场制度的人未曾做到的。在米塞斯的年代，自由市场和资本主义已饱受攻击，但批评者们却从没有系统地阐述过他们所认为的超越资本主义的制度是什么样的，以什么原则运作，为什么是可取的，为什么能够行得通。而米塞斯恰恰与之相反，他以《自由主义》补充了《社会主义》，形成了有破有立的统一整体。本书文笔精炼，要言不烦，信息量却很大，字里行间闪耀着思想大师的睿智光芒。米塞斯针对大多数人对自由主义的种种问题、怀疑和困惑，以独到精辟的分析让读者衷心服膺。下面是路易斯·斯巴达罗在前言中归纳的本书涉及的24个主要问题，如果你有类似的看法或困惑，那这场《自由主义》的思想盛宴不容错过。1. The free market system has been in full operation, and over a long time, but has proved to be unworkable.
自由市场制度曾得到了全面实行，并持续了很长一段时间，但事实已证明自由市场是不可行的。2. Liberalism suffers from a fixation on the desirability of increasing production and material well-being and persistently overlooks man's spiritual needs.
自由主义的问题在于，它认为只有增加生产和物质福利才是可取的，而一直忽视人类的精神需求。3. Since people don't always act perfectly rationally, might we not do better, on some issues, to put less reliance on strictly logical arguments and to trust more to our intuitions, impulses, and so-called "gut" feelings?
既然人们并非总是以完全的理性来行事，那么在某些问题上，我们如果减少对严格逻辑论证的依赖，而更多地信任我们的直觉、冲动和所谓的“内在”感情，是否更好？4. There can be no denying that capitalism is essentially a system that is structured to favor the rich and propertied people at the expense of other classes.
不可否认资本主义本质上是有利于富人和有产阶级，而牺牲了其他阶级的利益的制度。5. Why defend a social system that does not enable each and every individual to realize what he dreams of, or to achieve everything he works for?
为什么要捍卫这种不能让每个人实现其梦想，或者获得其努力所得的社会制度？6. Is the private ownership of the means of production an obsolete piece of "excess baggage" carried over from earlier periods by people who find it difficult to accept and accommodate to changed conditions?
生产资料私有制是否是一件已过时的“多余行李”，由那些难以接受和适应情况变化的人从早期沿袭而来？7. By its very nature, doesn't a competitive market economy at best tend to work against international peace, and at worst, actually to promote wars?
就其本质，竞争性的市场经济往好里说，倾向于破坏国际和平，而往坏里说，甚至实际上会促进战争，难道不是吗？8. What possible defense can there be for a socio-economic system that produces such great inequalities in income and consumption?
这种社会经济制度产生了如此巨大的收入和消费的不平等，还有什么可为之辩护的？9. Pragmatism aside, can there be a morally defensible justification for private property rights?
除了实用主义的理由外，私有财产权有什么道德上站得住脚的辩护理由吗？10. In opposing government interventions, is liberalism not implicitly bound to advocate some form of anarchy in the end?
自由主义反对政府干预，难道不是意味着，到了最后必然会提倡某种形式的无政府状态？11. It is not self-evident that a stable, democratic society is any more possible under a system of decentralized planning, and decision-making than under a centrally planned economy.
这并非是不言而喻不证自明的：相比在中央计划经济下，稳定的民主社会在分散计划和决策的制度下更可能实现。12. What reason is there to expect that a capitalist Society will necessarily be any more tolerant of dissension than a socialist one?
凭什么期望资本主义社会必然会比社会主义社会更能容忍异见？13. Capitalism creates and preserves a preferential position for a "leisure class" of resource owners who do not work or contribute in any significant way to the society.
资本主义创造并维持了资源所有者作为“有闲阶级”（leisure class）的优越地位，这些人不工作，也没做出什么值得一提的社会贡献。14. The reason the institution of private property has survived for so long is that it has been protected by the state; indeed, as Marx argued, the preservation of private property is the one and only function of the state.
私有财产制度之所以能够存续这么长时间，是因为它受到了国家的保护；的确，正如马克思所说，保护私有财产是国家的唯一职能。15. The argument that socialism cannot work by itself because it lacks the means of making the required economic calculations is interesting, but are there specific, concrete illustrations of this?
社会主义不能自我运作，因为它缺乏手段进行必要的经济计算，这一论点很有意思，但有没有具体的实例说明这一点？16. Also interesting is the suggestion that government interventions in the operation of private enterprise necessarily lead to distortions and are therefore self-defeating, but can it be shown by specific example that this is necessarily the case?
政府对私营企业运作的干预必然导致扭曲，因此会搬起石头砸自己的脚，这种意见也很有趣，但能否以具体例子证明确实如此？17. Apart from arguing that alternative proposed systems can be shown to be inferior, are there any direct and positive reasons for advocating a free-enterprise system?
除了论证拟议的替代制度可表明是更差的以外，是否有任何直接的正面的理由来支持自由企业制度？18. Since in order to be workable, all enterprise system requires a large number of relatively small firms in very active competition with each other, has it not been rendered largely obsolete by the development of giant corporations, monopolies, and the like?
任何企业制度要能正常运作，都需要有大量的企业相互之间积极竞争，而这些企业规模相对较小。那么，随着巨型公司、垄断企业之类的发展，这种制度是否在很大程度上已经过时了？19. Inasmuch as the managements of large Corporations tend to develop into bureaucracies, too, isn't the issue of private versus public control largely a distinction without a difference?
鉴于大型公司的管理层也趋于发展为官僚制度，私有控制与公有控制的问题是否在很大程度上已没有了区别？20. Is the coordination between domestic and foreign policies any more feasible or consistent under Liberalism than under some other system?
比起在其他制度下，自由主义下的国内和国外政策之间的协调是否更为可行或更为一致？21. Isn't the existence and protection of rights of private ownership a hindrance rather than a help in achieving and maintaining international peace and understanding?
存在私有产权、保护私有产权难道不是妨碍了而是有助于实现和维护国际间的和平与理解吗？22. It seems obvious that nationalism, colonialism, and imperialism could have evolved only under capitalism.
显而易见，民族主义、殖民主义和帝国主义只能在资本主义制度下得到发展。23. The self-interest of private enterprises is the main impediment in the way of developing a freer movement of goods and people among the world's regions.
私有企业的自利性是全球范围内商品和人员更自由地流动的主要障碍。24. Since it represents and fosters the special interests of one class—the resource owners or capitalists—Liberalism made a serious tactical blunder in not constituting itself a political party and in not pursuing its aims through compromise and accordance with political expediency.
自由主义代表并促进一个特定阶级的利益——资源所有者或资本家的利益，它自身没有组成一个政党，也没有通过妥协和顺应政治上的权宜之计来追求其目标，这是严重的战术失误。如果你对上面的内容感兴趣的话，欢迎加入本书的双语阅读课程！读名著，学英语，一举两得，收获满满。我们将于春节后开课，2024年1月1日前报名可享早鸟价半价优惠仅199元！每周腾讯会议上课，并提供长期有效的录播，课程将持续20-25周，总共50学时以上！详情可见欲穷千里目，更上一层楼——经济学双语阅读中级班报名报名可搜索风灵的微信号mefengling，或点击下面的二维码加好友。
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