经济学人下载:沙特记者离奇失踪 疑遭王室杀手分尸(2)

Prince Muhammad's autocratic tendencies have economic consequences, too.
穆罕默德王子的专制倾向也会对经济造成影响。

He aims, ambitiously, to wean the kingdom off oil.
他制定国家摆脱对石油依赖的宏大目标。

But investors are warned off by the capricious way he takes decisions.
但是他举棋不定的决策方式吓跑了投资者们。

Last year he locked up and seized assets from hundreds of businessmen, officials and princes in an "anti-corruption" drive that lacked even a hint of due process.
去年，在一场“反腐败”运动中，他收缴了数百名商人、官员以及王子的资产。

His effort to spur the private sector is, oddly, top-down.
奇怪的是，他鼓励私营企业的举措由上而下发动。

The planned stockmarket listing of part of Aramco, the state oil giant, suffered from Prince Muhammad's micromanagement and has been postponed indefinitely.
国有石油巨头沙特阿美石油公司计划上市的部分饱受默罕默德王子的微观管理之苦，并被无限期推迟。

Other grandiose projects, such as NEOM, a futuristic city staffed by robots, seem ill-considered.
其他大项目，如由机器人组成的未来式城市NEOM项目，看起来也是不切实际。

But advisers dare not challenge the prince.
但顾问们不敢反驳王子。

In countries like America, where Mr Khashoggi lived, the instinct has been to offer the prince weapons and support.
在像哈苏吉居住的美国这样的国家，本应给默罕默德王子提供武器和支持。

Instead, the prince's allies should make clear that he does not have a blank cheque—and that his rule would benefit from more openness.
相反，王子的盟友应明确表示不仅是给出一张空头支票——他的统治将受益于更多的开放。

Mr Khashoggi, a former government adviser, often said that his criticism of the Saudi regime was nasiha, or friendly counsel.
哈苏吉是前政府顾问，经常表明自己对沙特政权的批评是真诚的，或者说是友好的建议。

He did not consider himself a dissident and disliked the idea of regime change.
哈苏吉认为自己不是持不同政见者，且不喜欢政权更迭的想法。

"It's just ridiculous," he told The Economist in July.
“这太荒谬了，”他在7月份《经济学人》采访时说道。

"I believe in the system—I just want a reformed system."
“我赞同这个系统——我只是希望它能改革。”

The Saudi regime should listen to its critics, not silence them.
沙特政权应当听取其批评者的意见，而不是封上他们的嘴巴。