中国PK美国 谁将问鼎21世纪

President Obama’s visit to China inevitably invites comparisons between the world’s two leading powers. You know what they say: Britain owned the 19th century, America owned the 20th century, and, it’s all but certain that China will own the 21st century. Maybe, but I’m not ready to cede the 21st century to China just yet.
奥巴马此次访华，不免引起人们对中美两大强国的比较。有道是，英国主宰十九世纪，美国主宰二十世纪，而中国最有可能主宰二十一世纪。可能，但我还不想就这样将二十一世纪拱手让与中国。

Why not? It has to do with the fact that we are moving into a hyper-integrated world in which all aspects of production — raw materials, design, manufacturing, distribution, fulfillment, financing and branding — have become commodities that can be accessed from anywhere by anyone. But there are still two really important things that can’t be commoditized. Fortunately, America still has one of them: imagination.
为什么？因为我们正在进入一个高度一体化的世界，其中生产过程的各方面——原材料、设计、制造、销售、实施、筹资以及品牌创建——都已成为任何人皆可随地获取的商品。然而有两样非常重要的食物尚未被商品化。幸运的是，美国仍然拥有其中之一：想象力。

What your citizens imagine now matters more than ever because they can act on their own imaginations farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before — as individuals. In such a world, societies that can nurture people with the ability to imagine and spin off new ideas will thrive. The Apple iPod may be made in China, but it was dreamed up in America, and that’s where most of the profits go. America — with its open, free, no-limits, immigrant-friendly society — is still the world’s greatest dream machine.
人们想象的内容比以往更加意义重大，作为独立的个体，他们能够依据自己的想象，比以前走得更远更快，探索得更深，同时花费得更少。在这样的世界里，能培养人们的想象力并催发新想法的社会才会繁荣。苹果iPod也许是在中国制造的，但其构想出自美国，大多数的利润也归于美国。美国凭其开放、自由、无限制、欢迎移民的社会环境，始终是世界上最伟大的梦想工厂。

But while our culture of imagination is still vibrant, the other critical factor that still differentiates countries today — and is not a commodity — is good governance, which can harness creativity. And that we may be losing. I am talking about the ability of a society’s leaders to think long term, address their problems with the optimal legislation and attract capable people into government. What I increasingly fear today is that America is only able to produce “suboptimal” responses to its biggest problems — education, debt, financial regulation, health care, energy and environment.
然而，虽说我们重视想象力的文化传统活力依旧，另外一个至今仍区别国力的关键因素——也未被商品化——便是能充分调动创造力的，优良执政能力。我们也许正在失去这一能力。我所说的，是社会领导者做长远打算、以最佳立法方案解决问题、选才执政的能力。而眼下我越来越担心的，是美国在面对其最棘手的问题——教育、负债、金融制度、医疗保健、能源和环境危机——时，仅能提供“亚最佳”方案。