2016考研英语经济学人：豪猪自由节和自由州项目

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PorcFest and the Free State Project

豪猪自由节和自由州项目

Anarchists get organised

无政府主义者组织起来了

The plot to liberate New Hampshire

策划解放新罕布什尔州

A YOUNG man in a leather loincloth saunters past awoman dressed like Alice in Wonderland. The tang ofpot wafts through the air, and a small remote-operated drone buzzes overhead (“Bought it inChina,” says the proud owner; “I'd use it to follow chicks,” marvels one chap). Guns areeverywhere; Bitcoin is the currency of choice. The Porcupine Freedom Festival, which ended onJune 29th, saw more than 1,500 libertarians and anarchists descend on Lancaster, NewHampshire. The event's mascot is a porcupine, which, though well-armed, only causes painwhen attacked.

一名身着皮革遮羞布的年轻男人漫步走过一个打扮得像梦游仙境的爱丽丝一样的女人。大烟的味道飘在风中，一家小型远程操控无人机在头顶嗡嗡作响(其所有者骄傲地说，“这是从中国带回来的，我用它来追踪我的小鸡们”，这让小伙子大感惊异)。在这里，枪支无处不在，比特币是一种货币选择。于6月29日结束的豪猪自由节(Porcupine Freedom Festival)期间，有1500名自由主义者和无政府主义者屈尊来到了新罕布什尔州的兰卡斯特。节日的吉祥物是一只豪猪，尽管全副武装，但遇袭时仍会疼痛。

New Hampshire is a natural stamping-ground for freedom-lovers. It has low taxes, leanbureaucracy and some of the loosest gun laws in America. Grown-ups can ride around withoutseat-belts or motorcycle helmets. The right to rebel when public liberty is “manifestlyendangered” is enshrined in the state constitution.

新罕布什尔州是自由爱好者的天然宝地。这里有着低廉的税收，稀薄的官僚意识和全美几乎最为宽松的枪支管制。成年人可以不系安全带或不带头盔地兜风。在州立宪法中，当公共自由“明显岌岌可危时”反抗的权利被奉若神明。

This is why it was chosen as the site for the Free State Project (FSP), which aims to lure at least20,000 like-minded people to this small state (population 1.3m) and make it even more“liberty-loving”. Since 2002 nearly 16,000 have pledged to come and help slash state and localbudgets, limit government meddling and legalise choices that do not harm others, such asdrugs, gay marriage and maybe prostitution. It will be a “Yankee Hong Kong”, says CarlaGericke, FSP's president. “The one place in America that is economically free, like a beacon tothe rest of the country—or even the world.”

这也就是为什么，这里会被选作自由州项目(FSP)的地点，这个项目汇集了至少20,000名志同道合的人，他们来到了这个(人口仅有130万的)小州，使这里变得更加“热爱自由”。自2002年起，约16,000人承诺来到这里，帮助大幅度削减州和地区的预算，限制政府干预以及使不妨害他人的选择合法化，比如毒品、同性恋婚姻甚至性行业。FSP项目主席卡拉·格里克评价道，这里就像一个“美国版的香港”。她说：“这是全美唯一一个经济自由的地方，对于整个国家——甚至整个世界来说，这里就像一块熏肉一样诱人。”

More than 1,600 “Free Staters” have already made New Hampshire their home. They arebeginning to have an effect. In 2012 the Granite State became the first to allow lawyers to telljuries they may acquit a defendant if they believe the law is unfair. In 2011 the state strippedaway much of the red tape that kept home brewers from selling their wares, spawning a boomof “nanobreweries”. And in January the state House was the first legislative body in thecountry to vote to legalise marijuana for recreational use, although lawmakers backed downwhen Governor Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, proved reluctant.

超过16,00名“自由州人”已经把新罕布什尔州看做自己的家。并且他们开始有影响力。2012年，花岗岩州成为首个允许律师在认为法律不公的情况下，告知陪审团他们已经宣判被告无罪的州。2011年，该州废除了禁止家庭酿酒者出售自家商品的大部分规定，带来了一批“纳米酿酒厂”的成长繁荣。1月份，州议会成为全国首个投票通过大麻娱乐用途合法化的法律机构，尽管当民主党州长玛吉·哈桑对此表示不情愿时，州议会又退缩了。

Some locals feel that the anti-government agitators have gone too far. A group in the smalltown of Keene tops up parking meters that have run out to stop traffic officers from issuingpenalty tickets. The traffic officers complain that activists sometimes harass them; a chargethe activists deny. Other protesters are accused of provoking cops into arresting them sothey can film the resulting altercation. An anti-libertarian group called “Stop Free Keene”grumbles about the public pot-smoking and rude street art that the newcomers bring.

然而，一些当地人觉得，反政府煽动者也许过火了。小镇基恩中的一个团体重新启动了废弃的停车收费器，来阻止交警开罚单。交警抱怨道，这些激进分子不时骚扰他们，而激进分子则否认这一指控。其他的抗议者则被责备激怒警察逮捕他们，以录下随之而来的争执过程。一个叫做“停止解放基恩”的反自由主义团体则对这些新来者带来的公众吸大麻行为和粗鲁的街道文化怨声不迭。

In the jovial atmosphere of PorcFest, where idealists bond over their shared mistrust of rulesand big institutions, the prospect of a future New Hampshire that can do without such thingsseems far-fetched. Tech geeks (who still dominate the Free State movement) enjoy home-made “bananarchy” ice cream while prattling on about the power of crypto-currencies. “Bitcoincan topple governments and end war,” gushes one fan.

在节日的欢快氛围中，理想主义者因他们对规则和大机构的不信任感而团结，而没有这些内涵的新罕布什尔州未来似乎遥不可及。电脑怪客(仍主导着自由州运动的人们)一边闲扯着神秘货币的力量，一边享受着家庭自制的“香蕉自由”冰激凌。一名狂热粉夸张地赞美着：“比特币能够推翻政府，结束战争!”

Others are more realistic. “I'm an incrementalist,” explains Jason Sorens, the subduedintellectual who dreamed up the Free State Project while he was getting his PhD from Yale.Now a lecturer at Dartmouth College in Hanover, he is eager to use New Hampshire to testlibertarian theories about enlightened self-interest and reciprocal altruism, small governmentand large networks of voluntary institutions. “We don't have all the answers,” he says, “butit's worth the experiment.”

但其他人则更为现实。在耶鲁大学读博士时设想出自由州项目、如今因担心而日渐沉默寡言的学者杰森索朗解释道：“我是一名渐进主义者”。如今在汉诺威市达特茅斯学院任讲师的他，急切地想用新罕布什尔州测试自由主义中，关于开明利己主义、互利主义、小型政府和庞大志愿组织网络等理论。他说：“我们没有得到所有的答案，但这次试验做得很值得。”

【重点解析】

1.more than 超过;多于

例句:Their replies were no more than grunts ofacknowledgement.

他们所谓的回答不过是表示承认的咕哝罢了。

2.pledge to 承诺

例句:In the treaty both sides pledge to respecthuman rights.

双方在条约中都承诺将尊重人权。

3.such as 例如;诸如

例句:Issues such as these were not really his concern.

他其实并不关心诸如此类的问题。

4.allow to 允许

例句:Add a little of the warmed milk and allow to froth a little.

加一点温牛奶，并让它起点儿沫。