01 The Invisible Hand
An economy is a tricky thing to control, and governments are always trying to figure out how to do it.
经济向来是一个烫手的山芋，各国政府们也总是在寻求如果去处理这个山芋。
Back in 1776 economist Adam Smith shocked everyone by saying that what governments should actually do is just leave people alone to buy and sell freely among themselves.
让我们回到1776年，经济学家——亚当斯密提出，其实政府们所需要做的只是让大家自由交易罢了。在当时，这无疑震惊了所有人。
He suggested that if they just leave self-interested traders to compete with one another, markets are guided to positive outcomes 'as if by an invisible hand'.
他解释道，如果政府只是让自利的商人（经济人）之间自由竞争，那么市场自然而然会被指引向一个正面的结果，既无形的手。
If someone charges less than you - customers will buy from them instead – so you have to lower the price or offer something better.
如果A有人出价比B低，顾客们当然会从A那里购买，所以B必须提供更低的价格或者是更好的商品。
Wherever enough people demand something, they will be supplied by the market –like spoilt children – only in this case, everyoneʼs happy.
就像被宠坏的孩子，只要有足够多的人需要某个商品，市场就会无条件满足 —— 只有在这种情况下，每个人都是幸福的。
Later free-marketeers like Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek, argued that this ʻhands offʼ approach actually works better than any kind of central plan.
之后的自由经济论者，例如奥地利经济学家弗里德里希·哈耶克，提到这种方法实际上比任何形式的中央计划更好。
But the problem is, economies can take a long time to reach their ʻequilibriumʼ, and may even stall along the way. And in the meantime people can get a little frustrated, which is why governments usually end up taking things into their own more visible hands instead.
但是，问题是，经济需要很长的时间去达到平衡以及会难以控制。与此同时，民众们必定会有些许沮丧。这就是为什么政府通常会考虑伸入自己有形的手（如：宏观调控），效果岂不是更明显？！
经济向来是一个烫手的山芋，各国政府们也总是在寻求如果去处理这个山芋。
Back in 1776 economist Adam Smith shocked everyone by saying that what governments should actually do is just leave people alone to buy and sell freely among themselves.
让我们回到1776年，经济学家——亚当斯密提出，其实政府们所需要做的只是让大家自由交易罢了。在当时，这无疑震惊了所有人。
He suggested that if they just leave self-interested traders to compete with one another, markets are guided to positive outcomes 'as if by an invisible hand'.
他解释道，如果政府只是让自利的商人（经济人）之间自由竞争，那么市场自然而然会被指引向一个正面的结果，既无形的手。
If someone charges less than you - customers will buy from them instead – so you have to lower the price or offer something better.
如果A有人出价比B低，顾客们当然会从A那里购买，所以B必须提供更低的价格或者是更好的商品。
Wherever enough people demand something, they will be supplied by the market –like spoilt children – only in this case, everyoneʼs happy.
就像被宠坏的孩子，只要有足够多的人需要某个商品，市场就会无条件满足 —— 只有在这种情况下，每个人都是幸福的。
Later free-marketeers like Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek, argued that this ʻhands offʼ approach actually works better than any kind of central plan.
之后的自由经济论者，例如奥地利经济学家弗里德里希·哈耶克，提到这种方法实际上比任何形式的中央计划更好。
But the problem is, economies can take a long time to reach their ʻequilibriumʼ, and may even stall along the way. And in the meantime people can get a little frustrated, which is why governments usually end up taking things into their own more visible hands instead.
但是，问题是，经济需要很长的时间去达到平衡以及会难以控制。与此同时，民众们必定会有些许沮丧。这就是为什么政府通常会考虑伸入自己有形的手（如：宏观调控），效果岂不是更明显？！
