At a time when so many commentators hark back to 1929, it is worth recalling more recent history, and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The contrast between the end of communism then and the much-exaggerated death of capitalism now is telling. Then, a popular movement swept away a brutal and long-discredited regime amid scenes of jubilation; now, voters are not celebrating, simply fretting that the good times might be over. Then, the hoped-for alternative to communism was clear: democracy and a market economy. Today, there is no convincing alternative.
“自由!”是一個(gè)持久不衰的戰(zhàn)斗口號(hào),而“自由市場(chǎng)!”卻從未具有同樣的號(hào)召力,即便在自由市場(chǎng)狀況上佳的那些年亦是如此。今年算不上其中的一年。那么,2008年是資本主義滅亡的一年嗎?如果答案是否定的,那么2009年我們是否該把資本主義從苦難中解救出來嗎?我們對(duì)上述兩個(gè)問題的答案都是否定的。