29 Marx
29 马克思
…… a spectre is haunting Europe……
……在欧洲游荡的幽灵……
Hilde got off her bed and went to the window facing the bay. When she had started to read this Saturday, it was still Sophie's fifteenth birthday. The day before had been Hilde's own birthday.
席德起床走到面向海湾的窗户。今天是星期六，一早她就开始读有关苏菲十五岁生日的那一段。前一天则是她自己的生日。
If her father had imagined that she would get as far as Sophie's birthday yesterday, he had certainly not been realistic. She had done nothing but read all day long. But he was right that there would only be one more birthday greeting. It was when Alberto and Sophie had sung Happy Birthday to her. Very embarrassing, Hilde thought.
如果她爸爸以为她会在昨天读到苏菲生日那一段，他显然不太实际。她今天整天什么事也没做，只有读书。可是有一点他说对了：后来他只再向她说过一次生日快乐而已，就是当艾伯特和苏菲对她唱生日快乐歌的时候。席德心想，这真是太不好意思了。
And now Sophie had invited people to a philosophical garden party on the very day her father was due back from Lebanon. Hilde was convinced something would happen that day which neither she nor her father were quite sure of.
现在苏菲已经邀请朋友，在席德的爸爸预定从黎巴嫩回来的那一天，到她家参加一场哲学性的花园宴会了。席德相信那天一定会发生什么事，但究竟会如何不只是她，恐怕连她爸爸也不是很确定。
But one thing was certain: before her father got home to Bjerkely he would get a scare. That was the least she could do for Sophie and Alberto, especially after they had appealed for help ...
不过有一件事是可以确定的：她爸爸在回到柏客来山庄之前，一定会大吃一惊。这是她能为苏菲和艾伯特所尽的一点心力，尤其是在他们向她求助之后……
Her mother was still down in the boathouse. Hilde ran downstairs to the telephone. She found Anne and Ole's number in Copenhagen and called them.
妈妈仍在船屋那边。席德跑下楼走到电话旁。她查到了安娜和欧雷在哥本哈根的电话号码，并小心地按下那几个数字。
"Anne Kvamsdal."
“喂，我是安娜。”
"Hi, this is Hilde."
“嗨，我是席德。”
"Oh, how are you? How are things in Lillesand?"
“哦，太好了。你们在黎乐桑还好吧？”
"Fine, with vacation and everything. And Dad gets back from Lebanon in a week."
“很好，我们放假了。爸爸再过一个星期也要从黎巴嫩回来了。”
"Won't that be great, Hilde!"
“那真是太好了。”
"Yes, I'm looking forward to it. That's actually why I'm calling..."
“是啊，我好希望他赶快回来。所以我才打电话给你……”
"It is?"
“原来如此。”
"I think he's landing at Kastrup around 5 p.m. on Saturday the 23rd. Will you be in Copenhagen then?"
“我想他会在二十三号星期六下午五点左右在卡斯楚普机场着陆。那个时候你会不会在哥本哈根呢？”
"I think so."
“我想会吧。”
"I was wondering if you could do something for me."
“不知道你能不能为我做一件事情。”
"Why, of course."
“当然可以啦。”
"It's kind of a special favor. I'm not even sure if it's possible."
“这件事情满特别的，我甚至不确定是不是行得通。”
"Now you're making me curious ..."
“你可把我的好奇心给勾起来了……”
Hilde began to describe her plan. She told Anne about the ring binder, about Sophie and Alberto and all the rest. She had to backtrack several times because either she or Anne were laughing too hard. But when Hilde hung up, her plan was in operation.
席德开始把事情的始末——包括那讲义夹、苏菲和艾伯特等所有的事情——告诉安娜。这当中有好几次她和安娜都忍不住大笑，以至于她不得不重新讲过。但是当席德挂上电话时，她的计划也开始实行了。
She would now have to begin some preparations of her own. But there was still plenty of time.
她自己也得开始准备准备，还好时间仍很充裕。
Hilde spent the remainder of the afternoon and the evening with her mother. They ended up driving to Kris-tiansand and going to the movies. They felt they had some catching up to do since they had not done anything special the day before. As they drove past the exit to Kjevik airport, a few more pieces of the big jigsaw puzzle Hilde was constructing fell into place.
那天下午和晚上，席德都和妈妈在一起度过，最后她们开车去基督山看电影。由于前一天席德过生日时她们并没有特别庆祝，因此她们觉得应该利用今天补偿补偿。当她们的车子经过通往凯耶维克机场的出口时，席德计划中的神秘行动又向前推进了一步。
It was late before she went to bed that night, but she took the ring binder and read on.
当天晚上她上床时，夜已经深了，但是她仍拿起讲义夹，读了几页。
When Sophie slipped out of the den through the hedge it was almost eight o'clock. Her mother was weeding the flowerbeds by the front door when Sophie appeared.
苏菲从树篱钻出密洞时，时间已经快八点了。当她出现时，她的妈妈正在前门旁的花坛那儿除草。
"Where did you spring from?"
“你是从哪里冒出来的？”
"I came through the hedge."
“从树篱里。”
"Through the hedge?"
“从树篱里？”
"Didn't you know there was a path on the other side?"
“你不知道那边有一条小路吗？”
"But where have you been, Sophie? This is the second time you've just disappeared without leaving any message."
“你到底到哪里去了呢？这是你第二次无消无息就凭空消失了。”
"I'm sorry, Mom. It was such a lovely day, I went for a long walk."
“对不起，妈。因为今天天气实在太好了，所以我去散步散了很久。”
Her mother rose from the pile of weeds and gave her a severe look.
妈妈从那堆杂草上抬起身子，严厉地看着她。
"You haven't been with that philosopher again?"
“你该不是又跑去跟那个哲学家在一起吧？”
"As a matter of fact, I have. I told you he likes going for long walks."
“老实说，是的。我告诉过你他喜欢散步。”
"But he is coming to the garden party, isn't he?"
“他会来参加我们的花园宴会吧？”
"Oh yes, he's looking forward to it."
“会呀，他等不及要参加呢!”
"Me too. I'm counting the days."
“我也是，我正在算日子。”
Was there a touch of sharpness in her voice? To be on the safe side, Sophie said:
妈妈的声音里是否有一些恶意呢？为了安全起见，苏菲说：
"I'm glad I invited Joanna's parents too. Otherwise it might be a bit embarrassing."
“我很高兴我也邀请了乔安的爸妈。否则我真会有点不好意思!”
"I don't know ... but whatever happens, I am going to have a talk with this Alberto as one adult to another."
“我不知道……不过无论发生什么事，我都会和这个艾伯特谈一谈。”
"You can borrow my room if you like. I'm sure you'll like him."
“如果你愿意的话，可以用我的房间。我想你一定会喜欢他的。”
"And another thing. There's a letter for you."
“还有，今天你有一封信。”
"There is?"
“哦？”
"It's stamped UN Battalion."
“上面盖着联合国部队的邮戳。”
"It must be from Alberto's brother."
“一定是艾伯特的弟弟写来的。”
"It's got to stop, Sophie!"
“苏菲，事情不能再这样继续下去了。”
Sophie's brain worked overtime. But in a flash she hit on a plausible answer It was as though she was getting inspiration from some guiding spirit.
苏菲绞尽脑汁。突然间她灵光一闪，想到了一个可行的答案，仿佛有某个精灵指引她。给她灵感似的。
"I told Alberto I collect rare postmarks. And brothers also have their uses."
“我告诉艾伯特说我在搜集罕见的邮戳。所以他就叫他的弟弟写信给我。”
Her mother seemed to be reassured.
妈妈看起来好像放心了。
"Dinner's in the fridge," she said in a slightly more amicable tone.
“晚餐在冰箱里。”现在她说话的声调稍微柔和了一些。
"Where's the letter?"
“信在哪里？”
"On top of the fridge."
“在冰箱上。”
Sophie rushed inside. The envelope was stamped June 15, 1990. She opened it and took out a little note:
苏菲进屋里。信封上的邮戳日期是一九九O年六月十五日。她将它拆开，拿出了一张小纸条：
What matters our creative endless toil, When at a snatch, oblivion ends the coil?
“一世人劳苦奔忙有何益？到头来终究须把眼儿闭。”
Indeed, Sophie had no answer to that question. Before she ate, she put the note in the closet together with all the other stuff she had collected in the past weeks. She would learn soon enough why the question had been asked.
苏菲答不出来。在吃饭前，她把纸条放在柜子里，跟她这几个星期来搜集到的东西放在一起。她很快就会知道他为什么要问这个问题了。
The following morning Joanna came by. After a game of badminton, they got down to planning the philosophical garden party. They needed to have some surprises on hand in case the party flopped at any point.
第二天早晨，乔安来找她。在打完羽毛球之后，她们开始计划那场花园宴会。她们必须事先安排几个令人惊喜的节目，以备在宴会进行得不很理想时派上用场。
When Sophie's mother got home from work they were still talking about it. Her mother kept saying: "Don't worry about what it costs." And she was not being sarcastic!
当天苏菲的妈妈下班回到家时，他们仍然在讨论。妈妈一再地说：“我们要不惜工本。”同时话里并没有讽刺意味!
Perhaps she was thinking that a "philosophical garden party" was just what was needed to bring Sophie down to earth again after her many weeks of intensive philosophical studies.
也许她认为举办这个“哲学花园宴会”可以让苏菲在上了这么多星期密集的哲学课之后，重回现实世界来。
Before the evening was over they had agreed on everything, from paper lanterns to a philosophical quiz with a prize. The prize should preferably be a book about philosophy for young people. If there was such a thing! Sophie was not at all sure.
还不到晚上她们已经就纸灯笼、哲学有奖猜谜等每一件事情达成了协议。她们认为猜谜活动的奖品最好是一本写给年轻人看的哲学故事。如果有这样一本书就好了！可是苏菲也不确定到底有没有。
Two days before Midsummer Eve, on Thursday, June 21, Alberto called Sophie again.
距仲夏节还有两天时，也就是六月二十一日星期四那一天，艾伯特再度打电话给苏菲。
"Sophie."
“喂，我是苏菲。”
"And Alberto."
“我是艾伯特。”
"Oh, hi! How are you?"
“嗨！你好吗？”
"Very well indeed, thank you. I think I have found an excellent way out."
“很好，谢谢你。我已经想到一个很好的办法了。”
"Way out of what?"
“做什么的办法？”
"You know what. A way out of the mental captivity we have lived in for much too long."
“你知道的呀。挣脱我们长久以来所受的心灵桎梏的办法。”
"Oh, that."
“喔，是那件事呀。”
"But I cannot say a word about the plan before it is set in motion."
“不过在计划展开之前，我不能透露半点风声。”
"Won't it be too late then? I need to know what I am involved in."
“那样不会太迟吗？我需要知道才行，因为这件—事我也有份呀!”
"Now you're being na'i've. All our conversations are being overheard. The most sensible thing would be to say nothing."
“你看你又孩子气了!我们所有的对话都会被他听到，所以最明智的办法就是什么都不要说。”
"It's as bad as that, huh?"
“有那么严重吗？”
"Naturally, my child. The most important things must happen when we are not talking."
“当然。当我们不说话的时候一定就是那些最重要的事情发生的时候。”
"Oh."
“喔。”
"We are living our lives in a fictional reality behind the words in a long story. Each single letter is being written on an old portable typewriter by the major. Nothing that is in print can therefore escape his attention."
“我们是活在一个长篇故事当中，一个由文字虚构的现实世界里。每一个字都是少校用一个旧式的手提打字机打出来的，所以只要是印出来的字没有一个能逃得过他的眼睛。”
"No, I realize that. But how are we going to hide from him?"
“我明白，可是我们要怎样才能躲开他呢？”
"Ssh!"
“嘘!”
"What?"
“干嘛？”
"There's something going on between the lines as well. That's just where I'm trying to be tricky, with every crafty ruse I know."
“字里行间也有一些事情发生。这正是我想尽办法要做手脚的地方。”
"I get it."
“我懂了。”
"But we must make the most of the time both today and tomorrow. On Saturday the balloon goes up. Can you come over right now?"
“不过我们必须尽量利用今天和明天的时间。到了星期六我们的行动就要展开了。你能马上过来吗？”
"I'm on my way."
“好，我这就来了。”
Sophie fed the birds and the fish and found a large lettuce leaf for Govinda. She opened a can of cat food for Sher-ekan and put it out in a bowl on the step as she left.
苏菲喂了鸟和鱼，并且找出了一片大莴苣叶给葛文达吃。她打开了一罐给雪儿吃的猫食，并在她走时把它放在台阶上的一个碗里。
Then she slipped through the hedge and out to the path on the far side. A little way further on she suddenly caught sight of a spacious desk standing in the midst of the heather. An elderly man was sitting at it, apparently adding up figures. Sophie went over to him and asked his name.
然后她便钻过树篱，走向远处的小路。走了才几步路，苏菲看到石南树丛间有一张很大的书桌。一个老人正坐在桌前，似乎正在算账。苏菲走向前问他的姓名。
共产主义
"Ebenezer Scrooge," he said, poring over his ledgers again.
“我叫史古吉。”他说，一边仔细地盯着他的账本看。
"My name is Sophie. You are a businessman, I presume?"
“我叫苏菲。我猜你大概是个生意人吧。”
He nodded. "And immensely rich. Not a penny must go to waste. That's why I have to concentrate on my accounts."
他点点头。“而且我很有钱。我们不能浪费一分钱，所以我才要这么专心地算账。”
"Why bother?"
“为什么要这么麻烦呢？”
Sophie waved and walked on. But she had not gone many yards before she noticed a little girl sitting quite alone under one of the tall trees. She was dressed in rags, and looked pale and ill. As Sophie walked by, she thrust her hand into a little bag and pulled out a box of matches.
苏菲向他挥挥手，继续向前走。可是她走不到几码路又看到一个小女孩独自一人坐在一棵很高的树下。她的衣衫褴褛，脸色苍白，而且满面病容。当苏菲经过时，小女孩把手伸进一个小袋子里，掏出一盒火柴。
"Will you buy some matches?" she asked, holding them out to Sophie. Sophie felt in her pockets to see if she had any money with her. Yes--she found a crown.
“你要不要买一些火柴呢？”她问，拿着火柴的手伸向苏菲。苏菲摸摸口袋看看自己还有多少钱。有了。她找到一块钱。
"How much are they?"
“你要卖多少钱？”
"One crown."
“一块钱。”
Sophie gave the girl the coin and stood there, with the box of matches in her hand.
苏菲把那枚铜板拿给小女孩，并且站在那儿，手里拿着那盒火柴。
"You are the first person to buy anything from me for over a hundred years. Sometimes I starve to death, and other times the frost does away with me."
“你是一百多年来第一个向我买东西的人。有时我饿得要死，有时我又快被冻死了。”
Sophie thought it was perhaps not surprising if the sale of matches was not especially brisk here in the woods. But then she came to think of the businessman she had just passed. There was no reason for the little match girl to die of starvation when he was so wealthy.
苏菲心想，在这座树林里卖火柴，难怪生意不好。不过她又想到刚才她遇见的那个生意人。他这么有钱，为什么这个小女孩却得饿死呢？“来。”苏菲说。
"Come here," said Sophie.
她握住小女孩的手，把她拉到有钱人那儿。
She took the girl's hand and walked with her back to the rich man.
“你得想想办法让这个小女孩过好一点的生活。”她说。
"You must see to it that this girl gets a better life," she said.
有钱人从账本上抬起眼睛说道：“这种事情是要花钱的。我说过了，连一分钱也不能浪费。”
The man glanced up from his paperwork and said: "That kind of thing costs money, and I said not so much as a penny must go to waste."
“可是这不公平呀!你这么有钱，这个小女孩却这么穷。”
"But it's not fair that you're so rich when this girl is so poor," insisted Sophie. "It's unjust!"
苏菲不死心。“这是不公道的。”
"Bah! Humbug! Justice only exists between equals."
“胡说!只有地位相当的人才能谈得上公平。”
"What do you mean by that?"
“这话是什么意思？”
"I had to work my way up, and it has paid off. Progress, they call it."
“我是靠努力工作才出人头地的。只要工作，就不怕没饭吃。这就叫做进步。”
“可是你看看这个小女孩!”
"If you don't help me, I'll die," said the poor girl.
“如果你不帮我，我一定会死掉。”这个贫穷的小女孩说。
The businessman looked up again from his ledgers. Then he threw his quill pen onto the table impatiently.
生意人又把他的视线从账本往上移，然后很不耐烦地把他的羽毛笔扔在桌上。
"You don't figure in my accounts! So--be off with you--to the poorhouse!"
“你在我的账目里不算数呀!走吧，去做工吧！”
"If you don't help me, I'll set fire to the woods," the girl persisted.
“如果你不帮我，我就放火把树林烧了。”小女孩仍不死心。
That brought the man to his feet, but the girl had already struck one of her matches. She held it to a tuft of dry grass which flared up instantly.
生意人终于站了起来，可是小女孩已经擦亮了一根火柴。她把它拿到一丛干草边。干草马上就烧了起来。
The man threw up his arms. "God help me!" he shouted. "The red cock has crowed!"
生意人举起双手。“上帝请帮帮忙呀！”他大喊，“红公鸡已经叫了!”
The girl looked up at him with a playful smile.
女孩仰头看着他，一脸恶作剧的笑容。
"You didn't know I was a communist, did you?"
The next minute, the girl, the businessman, and the desk had disappeared. Sophie was once again standing alone while the flames consumed the dry grass ever more hungrily. It took her a while to put out the fire by stamping on it.
一转眼，小女孩、生意人和那张大书桌都消失了。苏菲又独自一人站在那儿，一旁的火愈发炽烈地烧着干草。苏菲开始用脚把火踩熄，过了一会儿后，火就完全被扑灭了。
Thank goodness! Sophie glanced down at the blackened grass. She was holding a box of matches in her hand.
谢天谢地！苏菲看着脚下已经被烧黑的草，手中仍拿着那盒火柴。
She couldn't have started the fire herself, could she?When she met Alberto outside the cabin she told him what had happened.
这场火该不是她引起的吧？苏菲在小木屋外面见到艾伯特后，便把这些事情告诉他。
"Scrooge was the miserly capitalist in A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. You probably remember the little match girl from the tale by Hans Christian Andersen."
“史古吉就是英国作家狄更斯的小说《圣诞颂歌》里面的那个吝啬的资本主义者。至于那个小女孩，你应该还记得安徒生的童话故事《卖火柴的小女孩》。”
"I didn't expect to meet them here in the woods."
“我居然在树林里遇见他们。这不是很奇怪吗？”
"Why not? These are no ordinary woods, and now we are going to talk about Karl Marx. It is most appropriate that you have witnessed an example of the tremendous class struggles of the mid-nineteenth century. But let's go inside. We are a little more protected from the major's interference there."
“一点也不奇怪，这片树林可不是普通的树林。既然我们要开始谈马克思，让你见识一下十九世纪中期激烈的阶级斗争，应该是再恰当不过了。不过，我们还是进屋里去吧。我们在那里比较不会受到少校的干扰。”
Once again they sat at the little table by the window facing the lake. Sophie could still feel all over her body how she had experienced the little lake after having drunk from the blue bottle.
他们再次坐在面湖的窗子旁的一张小茶几边。苏菲仍然记得她在喝下蓝瓶子的水后看到小湖时的感觉。
Today, both bottles were standing on the mantelpiece. There was a miniature model of a Greek temple on the table.
今天那两个瓶子都放在壁炉上方的架子上，茶几上则放着一座很小的希腊神庙复制品。
"What's that?" asked Sophie.
“那是什么？”苏菲问。
"All in good time, my dear."
“等一下你就知道了。”
Alberto began to talk:
艾伯特开始谈马克思。
When Kierkegaard went to Berlin in 1841, he might have sat next to Karl Marx at Schel-ling's lectures. Kierkegaard had written a master of arts thesis on Socrates. About the same time, Marx had written a doctoral thesis on Democritus and Epicurus--in other words, on the materialism of antiquity. Thus they had both staked out the course of their own philosophies.
“一八四一年祁克果到柏林听谢林的讲课时，说不定曾经坐在马克思的旁边。祁克果曾经写过一篇关于苏格拉底的硕士论文。在同一时期，马克思则正在写一篇关于德谟克里特斯和伊比鸠鲁的博士论文，讨论古代的唯物主义。他们两人就是如此创立他们自己的哲学的。”
"Because Kierkegaard became an existentialist and Marx became a materialist?"
“因为祁克果后来变成了一位存在主义者，而马克思变成了一位唯物主义者？”
"Marx became what is known as a historical materialist. But we'll come back to that."
“马克思后来变成了一位‘历史唯物主义者’。这个我们以后会再谈。”
"Go on."
“继续。”
"Each in his own way, both Kierkegaard and Marx took Hegel's philosophy as their point of departure. Both were influenced by Hegel's mode of thought, but both rejected his 'world spirit,' or his idealism."
“祁克果和马克思各自用自己的方式以黑格尔的哲学作为出发点。两人都受到黑格尔思考模式的影响，但两人都不同意他关于‘世界精神’的说法和他的理想主义。”
"It was probably too high-flown for them."
“那对他们可能太虚无缥缈了。”
"Definitely. In general, we usually say that the era of the great philosophical systems ended with Hegel. After him, philosophy took a new direction. Instead of great speculative systems, we had what we call an existential philosophy or a philosophy of action. This was what Marx meant when he observed that until now, 'philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.' These words mark a significant turning point in the history of philosophy."
“确实如此。一般来讲，我们通常说大哲学体系的时代到黑格尔为止。在他之后，哲学走到了一个新的方向，不再有庞大的思考体系，取而代之的是我们所称的‘存在哲学’与‘行动哲学’。马克思曾说，直到现在为止，‘哲学家只诠释了世界，可是重点在于他们应该去改变这个世界。’这些话显示了哲学史上的一大转折点。”
"After meeting Scrooge and the little match girl, I have no problem understanding what Marx meant."
“在遇见史古吉和那小女孩之后，我很能够了解马克思为什么会这样想。”
"Marx's thinking had a practical--or political--objective. He was not only a philosopher; he was a historian, a sociologist, and an economist."
“马克思的思想有一个实际的或政治的目标。我们可以说他不只是一个哲学家，同时也是一个历史学家、社会学家和经济学家。”
"And he was a forerunner in all these areas?"
“而他在这些领域中都是先驱吗？”
"Certainly no other philosopher had greater significance for practical politics. On the other hand, we must be wary of identifying everything that calls itself Marxism with Marx's own thinking. It is said of Marx that he only became a Marxist in the mid-1840s, but even after that he could at times feel it necessary to assert that he was not a Marxist."
“在实际的政治方面，当然没有一个哲学家比他的影响力更大。但是我们要小心，不要把每一种自称是‘马克思主义’的学说都当成马克思自己的思想。据说马克思本人是到一八四O年代中期才变成一个‘马克思主义者’。”
"Was Jesus a Christian?"
"That, too, of course, is debatable."
"Carry on."
“请继续。”
"Right from the start, his friend and colleague Friedrich Engels contributed to what was subsequently known as Marxism. In our own century, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and many others also made their contribution to Marxism, or Marxism-Leninism."
“从一开始，马克思有一个名叫恩格斯(Friedrich Engels)的朋友、同事，对被后人称为‘马克思主义’的理论就有很大贡献。除此之外，二十世纪的列宁、斯大林、毛泽东和其他许多人对‘马克思主义’或‘马克思——列宁主义’的形成也有贡献。”
"I suggest we try to stick to Marx himself. You said he was a historical materialist?"
“我们还是专门谈马克思好了。你说他是一个历史唯物主义者吗？”
唯物论
"He was not a philosophical materialist like the atomists of antiquity nor did he advocate the mechanical materialism of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. But he thought that, to a great extent, it was the material factors in society which determined the way we think. Material factors of that nature have certainly been decisive for historical development."
“他并不像古代的原子论者和十七、十八世纪的机械论唯物主义者一样是一个哲学性的唯物主义者。不过他认为我们的思考方式有一大部分受到社会中的物质因素的影响。此外，这类物质因素无疑也左右了历史的发展。”
"That was quite different from Hegel's world spirit."
“这和黑格尔所说的世界精神很不一样。”
"Hegel had pointed out that historical development is driven by the tension between opposites--which is then resolved by a sudden change. Marx developed this idea further. But according to Marx, Hegel was standing on his head."
“黑格尔曾指出，历史的发展是受到两种相反事物之间的紧张关系的驱动，因为这种紧张关系后来一定会被一个突然的改变消除。马克思把这个理论更进一步发扬，但他认为黑格尔的理论有本末倒置之嫌。”
"Not all the time, I hope."
“不完全是这样吧？”“
"Hegel called the force that drives history forward world spirit or world reason. This, Marx claimed, is upside down. He wished to show that material changes are the ones that affect history. 'Spiritual relations' do not create material change, it is the other way about. Material change creates new spiritual relations. Marx particularly emphasized that it was the economic forces in society that created change and thus drove history forward."
“黑格尔把推动历史前进的力量叫做‘世界精神’或‘世界理性’。马克思认为这种说法正好与事实相反。他想证明物质的变化才是推动历史的力量：‘精神关系’并不会造成物质的改变，而是物质的改变造成了新的‘精神关系’。马克思特别强调，促成改变并因此把历史向前推进的，其实是一个社会的经济力量。”
"Do you have an example?"
“你可以举个例子吗？”
"Antiquity's philosophy and science were purely theoretical in purpose. Nobody was particularly interested in putting new discoveries into practice."
“古代的哲学和科学纯粹是为理论而理论的。没有人有兴趣把新发明派上实际用场。”
"They weren't?"
“哦？”
"That was because of the way the economic life of the community was organized. Production was mainly based on slave labor, so the citizens had no need to increase production with practical innovations. This is an example of how material relations help to affect philosophical reflection in society."
“这是受到当时团体经济结构影响的缘故。古代的生产工作主要是由奴隶来做，所以一般人没有必要去发明一些实用的器物来增进生产力。这个例子显示物质条件如何影响一个社会的哲学思想。”
"Yes, I see."
“喔，我明白了。”
"Marx called these material, economic, and social relations the basis of society. The way a society thinks, what kind of political institutions there are, which laws it has and, not least, what there is of religion, morals, art, philosophy, and science, Marx called society's superstructure."
“马克思将这些物质、经济和社会方面的条件称为社会的基础，并将社会思想、政治制度、法律规章、宗教、道德、艺术、哲学和科学等称为社会的上层构造。”
"Basis and superstructure, right."
“对，一个是基础，一个是上层构造。”
"And now you will perhaps be good enough to pass me the Greek temple."
“现在请你把那座希腊神庙拿过来好吗？”
Sophie did so.
苏菲照他的话做。
"This is a model of the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis. You have also seen it in real life."
“这是高城巴特农神殿的迷你复制品。你见过它的真面貌不是吗？”
"On the video, you mean."
“你是说在录影带上？”
"You can see that the construction has a very elegant and elaborate roof. Probably the roof with its front gable is what strikes one first. This is what we call the superstructure."
“你可以看到这座建筑有一个非常优雅、精巧的屋顶。当你看到这座神殿时，也许第一眼看到的就是这个屋顶和它前面的山形墙。这就是我们所说的‘上层结构’。”
"But the roof cannot float in thin air."
“可是屋顶不会在空中飘浮。”
"It is supported by the columns."
“对，它必须有柱子支撑。”
"The building has very powerful foundations--its bases--supporting the entire construction. In the same way, Marx believed that material relations support, so to speak, everything in the way of thoughts and ideas in society. Society's superstructure is in fact a reflection of the bases of that society."
“这座建筑有非常强而有力的基础支撑着整个架构。同样的，马克思相信物质条件‘支持’着一个社会里的每一种思想和看法。事实上，一个社会的上层结构正好反映那个社会的基础。”
"Are you saying that Plato's theory of ideas is a reflection of vase production and wine growing?"
“你是说柏拉图的概念理论反映了现实生活中制造花瓶和酿酒等过程？”
"No, it's not that simple, as Marx expressly points out. It is the interactive effect of society's basis on its superstructure. If Marx had rejected this interaction, he would have been a mechanical materialist. But because Marx realized that there was an interactive or dialectic relation between bases and superstructure, we say that he is a dialectical materialist. By the way, you may care to note that Plato was neither a potter nor a wine grower."
“不，马克思认为事情并没有这么简单。他指出社会的基础与它的上层结构之间有一种互动关系。如果他否认了这种互动关系的存在，那他就是一个‘机械论的唯物主义者’。但正因为马克思体认到社会的基础与它的上层结构之间有一种互动的辩证关系存在，我们才说他是一个辩证的唯物主义者。还有，柏拉图既不是个陶工，也不是个酒厂老板。”
"All right. Do you have any more to say about the temple?"
“好吧。关于这座神殿，你还有什么要说的吗？”
"Yes, a little. Could you describe the bases of the temple?"
“还有一些。你不妨仔细观察这座神殿的基础，然后告诉我它是什么样子。”
"The columns are standing on a base that consists of three levels--or steps."
“那些柱子是立在一个由三层台阶组成的基座上。”
"In the same manner we will identify three levels in the bases of society. The most basic level is what we may call society's conditions of production. In other words, the natural conditions or resources that are available to society. These are the foundation of any society, and this foundation clearly determines the type of production in the society, and by the same token, the nature of that society and its culture in general."
“同样的，我们也可以把社会的‘基础’分成三个阶层。最‘根本’的一个阶层就是一个社会的‘生产条件’，也就是这个社会可以利用的自然条件与资源。我所谓条件指的是气候、原料等因素。这些东西是每一个社会的基础，而这个基础明显决定这个社会的生产种类，同样的，也决定这个社会的性质与它的整体文化。”
"You can't have a herring trade in the Sahara, or grow dates in northern Norway."
“就像在撒哈拉沙漠不会有买卖鲱鱼的生意，在挪威北部也不可能种枣子一样。”
"You've got it. And the way people think in a nomadic culture is very different from the way they think in a fishing village in northern Norway The next level is the society's means of production. By this Marx meant the various kinds of equipment, tools, and machinery, as well as the raw materials to be found there."
“对了。除此之外，一个游牧民族的思考方式和挪威北部渔村的渔民也有很大的不同。‘生产条件’之外的另一个阶层就是一个社会里的‘生产工具’。在这里马克思指的是设备、工具和机器这些东西。”
"In the old days people rowed out to the fishing grounds. Nowadays they use huge trawlers to catch the fish."
“在古时候，人们是用划船的方式捕鱼，而今天我们则使用拖网船捕鱼。”
"Yes, and here you are talking about the next level in the base of society, namely, those who own the means of production. The division of labor, or the distribution of work and ownership, was what Marx called society's 'production relations.' "
“是的，这里我们就要谈到社会基础的下一个阶层，也就是那些拥有生产工具的人。人们分工的方式和财产的分配就是马克思所谓的社会的‘生产关系’。”
"I see."
“喔，原来如此。”
"So far we can conclude that it is the mode of production in a society which determines which political and ideological conditions are to be found there. It is not by chance that today we think somewhat differently--and have a somewhat different moral codex--from the old feudal society."
“到这里我们可以得出一个结论：一个社会的政治情况与意识形态是由它的生产模式决定的。现代人的思想、道德尺度和古代封建社会之所以有很大的差距并不是偶然的。”
"So Marx didn't believe in a natural right that was eternally valid."
“这么说马克思并不认为人一定能够享有自然权利哼。”
"No, the question of what was morally right, according to Marx, is a product of the base of society. For example, it is not accidental that in the old peasant society, parents would decide whom their children married. It was a question of who was to inherit the farm. In a modern city, social relations are different. Nowadays you can meet your future spouse at a party or a disco, and if you are sufficiently in love, you'll find somewhere to live."
“没错。根据马克思的理论，是非对错的观念乃是社会基础的产物。举例来说，在古老的农业社会里，父母有权决定子女结婚的对象，这并不是偶然的。因为这牵涉到谁会继承他们的农庄的问题。在现代城市的社会关系就不同了。在今天，你可能会在宴会或迪斯科舞厅里遇到你未来的对象。如果你们爱得够深的话，两个人可能就找个地方同居了。”
"I could never have put up with my parents deciding who I was to marry."
“我才不能忍受让我的父母决定我要嫁给谁呢!”
"No, that's because you are a child of your time. Marx emphasized moreover that it is mainly society's ruling class that sets the norms for what is right or wrong. Because 'the history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles.' In other words, history is principally a matter of who is to own the means of production."
“没错，那是因为你活在这个时代。马克思更进一步强调说：一个社会的是非标准主要是由那个社会里的统治阶级来决定的，因为‘人类社会的历史就是一部阶级斗争史’。换句话说，历史所牵涉的主要就是一个谁拥有生产工具的问题。”
"Don't people's thoughts and ideas help to change history?"
“人们的想法和观念不也会促成历史的改变吗？”
"Yes and no. Marx understood that conditions in society's superstructure could have an interactive effect on the base of society, but he denied that society's superstructure had any independent history of its own. What has driven historical development from the slave society of antiquity to the industrial society of today has primarily been determined by changes in the base of society."
“可以说是，也可以说不是。马克思明白社会上层结构与社会基础之间可能有互动的关系，可是他否认社会的上层结构能够有其独立的历史。他认为，使我们的历史能够从古代的奴隶社会发展到今天的工业社会的因素主要是社会基础的改变。”
"So you said."
“这点你说过了。”
阶级斗争
"Marx believed that in all phases of history there has been a conflict between two dominant classes of society. In antiquity's slave society, the conflict was between free citizen and slave. In the feudal society of the Middle Ages, it was between feudal lord and serf; later on, between aristocrat and citizen. But in Marx's own time, in what he called a bourgeois or capitalist society, the conflict was first and foremost between the capitalists and the workers, or the proletariat. So the conflict stood between those who own the means of production and those who do not. And since the 'upper classes' do not voluntarily relinquish their power, change can only come about through revolution."
“马克思认为在历史的各个阶段，社会的两个主要阶级彼此之间都会有冲突存在。在古代的奴隶社会，这种冲突是存在于一般人和奴隶之间。在中世纪的封建社会，则存在于封建贵族和农奴之间，后来则存在于贵族与一般人之间。但在马克思那个时代的中产阶级资本主义社会，这种冲突主要存在于资本主义者和工人(或无产阶级)之间。因此冲突乃是存在于那些拥有生产工具的人和那些没有生产工具的人之间。既然‘上层阶级’不会自愿放弃权力，因此唯有透过革命才能改变社会现况。”
"What about a communist society?"
“那共产主义的社会又是什么样子呢？”
"Marx was especially interested in the transition from a capitalist to a communist society. He also carried out a detailed analysis of the capitalist mode of production. But before we look at that, we must say something about Marx's view of man's labor."
“马克思对资本主义社会转移到共产主义社会的现象特别有兴趣。他并且详细描述了资本主义的生产方式。但在我们讲到这个之前，必须谈谈马克思对人的劳动的看法。”
"Go ahead."
“请说。”
"Before he became a communist, the young Marx was preoccupied with what happens to man when he works. This was something Hegel had also analyzed. Hegel believed there was an interactive, or dialectic, relationship between man and nature. When man alters nature, he himself is altered. Or, to put it slightly differently, when man works, he interacts with nature and transforms it. But in the process nature also interacts with man and transforms his consciousness."
“在成为一个共产主义者之前，年轻的马克思专心一意地研究人在工作时所发生的现象。黑格尔也曾经分析过这点。黑格尔认为，人与自然之间有一种互动或‘辩证’的关系。当人改造大自然时他本身也被改造了。换句话说，人在工作时，就是在干涉大自然并影响大自然，可是在这个过程中，大自然同时也干涉人类并影响他们的心灵。”
"Tell me what you do and I'll tell you who you are."
“这么说，从一个人的工作就可以看出他的个性啰。”
"That, briefly, was Marx's point. How we work affects our consciousness, but our consciousness also affects the way we work. You could say it is an interactive relationship between hand and consciousness. Thus the way you think is closely connected to the job you do."
“简单来说，这正是马克思的观点。我们的工作方式影响我们的心灵，但我们心灵也影响我们的工作方式。可以说这是人手与人心的一种互动关系。因此你的思想与你的工作是有密切的关系的。”
"So it must be depressing to be unemployed."
“这么说，失业一定是一件很令人沮丧的事。”
"Yes. A person who is unemployed is, in a sense, empty. Hegel was aware of this early on. To both Hegel and Marx, work was a positive thing, and was closely connected with the essence of mankind."
“是的。从某个角度说，一个失业的人就是一个空虚的人。黑格尔很早就体认到这点了。对于黑格尔和马克思而言，工作是一件具有正面意义的事情，并且与人类的本质有密切的关系的。”
"So it must also be positive to a worker?"
“所以说工作对于工人来说也是一件具有正面意义的事情吗？”
"Yes, originally. But this is precisely where Marx aimed his criticism of the capitalist method of production."
“最初是这样。可是这也正是马克思严厉批评资本主义生产方式的地方。”
"What was that?"
“为什么呢？”
"Under the capitalist system, the worker labors for someone else. His labor is thus something external to him--or something that does not belong to him. The worker becomes alien to his work--but at the same time also alien to himself. He loses touch with his own reality. Marx says, with a Hegelian expression, that the worker becomes alienated."
“在资本主义制度下，工人是为别人工作。因此他的劳动对他而言是外在的事物，是不属于他的。工人与做的工作之间有了隔阂，同时与自我也有了隔阂。他与他自己的现实脱节了。马克思用黑格尔的话来说，就是工人被疏离了。”
"I have an aunt who has worked in a factory, packaging candy for over twenty years, so I can easily understand what you mean. She says she hates going to work, every single morning."
“我有个姨妈在工厂做包装糖果的工作做了二十几年，所以我很容易了解你的意思。她说她每一天早上都不想去上班。”
"But if she hates her work, Sophie, she must hate herself, in a sense."
“而如果她讨厌自己的工作，从某一方面来说，她也一定讨厌她自己。”
"She hates candy, that's for sure."
“我只知道她很不喜欢吃糖果。”
"In a capitalist society, labor is organized in such a way that the worker in fact slaves for another social class. Thus the worker transfers his own labor--and with it, the whole of his life--to the bourgeoisie."
“马克思指出，在资本主义社会的工厂制度中，工人实际上是为另外一个社会阶级在做牛做马。在这种制度下，工人把他的劳动成果以及他的整个生命都转移给中产阶级。”
"Is it really that bad?"
“有这么糟糕吗？”
"We're talking about Marx, and we must therefore take our point of departure in the social conditions during the middle of the last century. So the answer must be a resounding yes. The worker could have a 12-hour working day in a freezing cold production hall. The pay was often so poor that children and expectant mothers also had to work. This led to unspeakable social conditions. In many places, part of the wages was paid out in the form of cheap liquor, and women were obliged to supplement their earnings by prostitution. Their customers were the respected citizenry of the town. In short, in the precise situation that should have been the honorable hallmark of mankind, namely work, the worker was turned into a beast of burden."
“这是马克思的看法。从十九世纪中期的社会情况来看，工人所受的待遇确实很糟糕。当时的工人可能每天必须在冰冷的工厂里工作十二个小时，而且薪资通常都很微薄，以至于孩童和孕妇往往也必须工作，造成了许多惨不忍睹的社会现象。有许多地方的工厂老板甚至用廉价的酒来代替一部分工资。有些妇女不得不靠卖淫来补贴家计，而她们的顾客却是那些‘在镇上有头有脸的人’。简而言之，工作原本应是人类光荣的标记，但在当时工人却变成了牛马。”
"That infuriates me!"
“真是令人愤怒。”
"It infuriated Marx too. And while it was happening, the children of the bourgeoisie played the violin in warm, spacious living rooms after a refreshing bath. Or they sat at the piano while waiting for their four-course dinner. The violin and the piano could have served just as well as a diversion after a long horseback ride."
“马克思也对这些现象感到非常愤怒。况且，在工人们受苦受难、不得温饱的同时，那些中产阶级人士的子女却可以洗一个舒服的澡，然后在温暖、宽敞的客厅中拉着小提琴，或坐在钢琴旁边等着吃有四道菜的晚餐，或者一整天骑马打猎，无所事事。”
"Ugh! How unjust!"
“哼!太不公平了。”
"Marx would have agreed. Together with Engels, he published a Communist Manifesto in 1848. The first sentence in this manifesto says: A spectre is haunting Europe--the spectre of Communism."
“马克思一定会同意你的话。一八四八年时，他和恩格斯共同发表了一篇共产主义者宣言。其中第一句话就是：共产主义的幽灵已经在欧洲出现。”
"That sounds frightening."
“听起来挺吓人的。”
"It frightened the bourgeoisie too. Because now the proletariat was beginning to revolt. Would you like to hear how the Manifesto ends?"
“当时的中产阶级的确被吓到了，因为无产阶级已经开始要反抗了。你想不想听听共产主义者宣言的结尾呢？”
"Yes, please."
“嗯。请念吧！”
"The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!"
“共产主义者不屑隐藏他们的看法与目标。他们公开宣称他们的目标只能透过强行推翻现有的社会情况而达成。让统治阶级因共产主义革命而颤抖吧!无产阶级身上只有锁链，因此无惧任何损失，却可借此赢得全世界。各国的劳动工人们，团结起来吧!”
"If conditions were as bad as you say, I think I would have signed that Manifesto. But conditions are surely a lot different today?"
“如果情况真像你所说的那么糟，我想我也会签署这份宣言的。不过到了今天，情况应该大大的不同了吧？”
"In Norway they are, but they aren't everywhere. Many people still live under inhuman conditions while they continue to produce commodities that make capitalists richer and richer. Marx called this exploitation."
“在挪威是如此，但在其他地方则不尽然。许多人仍生活在非人的情况下，继续制造各种商品，让那些资本主义者更加富有。马克思称此为剥削。”
"Could you explain that word, please?"
“请你解释一下这个名词好吗？”
"If a worker produces a commodity, this commodity has a certain exchange-value."
“一个工人所制造的商品一定有若干销售价值。”
"Yes."
“是的。”
"If you now deduct the workers' wages and the other production costs from the exchange-value, there will always be a certain sum left over. This sum was what Marx called profit. In other words, the capitalist pockets a value that was actually created by the worker. That is what is meant by exploitation."
“如果你把工人的工资和其他的生产成本从销售价值里扣除，一定还会有一些剩余价值。这个剩余价值就是马克思所称的利润。换句话说，资本主义者把事实上是由工人创造的价值放进了自己的口袋。这就叫做剥削。”
"I see."
“我明白了。”
"So now the capitalist invests some of his profit in new capital--for instance, in modernizing the production plant in the hope of producing his commodity even more cheaply, and thereby increasing his profit in the future."
“然后资本主义者又把一部分的利润拿来做为资本，将工厂加以现代化，以期生产成本更低廉的商品，并借此增加他将来的利润。”
"That sounds logical."
“这很合理呀!”
"Yes, it can seem logical. But both in this and in other areas, in the long term it will not go the way the capitalist has imagined."
“是的。听起来可能很合理。但就长期来讲，情况却不会如这个资本主义者想象的那样。”
"How do you mean?"
“怎么说呢？”
"Marx believed there were a number of inherent contradictions in the capitalist method of production. Capitalism is an economic system which is self-destructive because it lacks rational control."
“马克思相信资本主义的生产方式本身有若干内在的矛盾。他说，资本主义是一种自我毁灭式的经济制度，因为它缺少理性的控制。”
"That's good, isn't it, for the oppressed?"
“这对被压迫者来说不是一件好事吗？”
"Yes; it is inherent in the capitalist system that it is marching toward its own destruction. In that sense, capitalism is 'progressive' because it is a stage on the way to communism."
“是的。资本主义制度的内在因素会驱使它逐步走向灭亡。就这种意义来说，资本主义是‘前进的’，因为它是迈向共产主义的一个阶段。”
"Can you give an example of capitalism being self-destructive?"
“你可不可以举一个资本主义自我毁灭的例子？”
"We said that the capitalist had a good surplus of money, and he uses part of this surplus to modernize the factory. But he also spends money on violin lessons. Moreover, his wife has become accustomed to a luxurious way of life."
“我们刚才说到资本主义者有很多剩余的金钱。他用其中的一部分来使工厂现代化，可是他也会花钱让孩子去学小提琴，同时他的太太也已经习惯了奢侈的生活方式。”
"No doubt."
“哦？”
"He buys new machinery and so no longer needs so many employees. He does this to increase his competitive power."
“他购买新的机器后，就不再需要这么多员工了。他这样做是为了要提高他的竞争力。”
"I get it."
“我明白。”
"But he is not the only one thinking in this way, which means that production as a whole is continually being made more effective. Factories become bigger and bigger, and are gradually concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. What happens then, Sophie?"
“可是他不是唯一这么想的人。这就表示整个社会的生产方式不断变得愈来愈有效率。工厂也愈盖愈大，而且在愈来愈少的人手里集中。那我问你，接下来会发生什么事呢？”
"Er. . ."
“呃……”
"Fewer and fewer workers are required, which means there are more and more unemployed. There are therefore increasing social problems, and crises such as these are a signal that capitalism is marching toward its own destruction. But capitalism has a number of other self-destructive elements. Whenever profit has to be tied up in the means of production without leaving a big enough surplus to keep production going at competitive prices . . ."
“工厂所需的工人愈来愈少，表示失业的人愈来愈多，社会问题将因此而增加。出现这些危机，就象征资本主义正迈向毁灭的道路。但是，资本主义的自我毁灭因素还不止于此。当愈来愈多利润必须花在生产工具上，而生产的产品数量又不足以压低价格时……”
"Yes?"
“怎么样？”
"……what does the capitalist do then? Can you tell me?"
“……这时资本主义者会怎么做呢？你能告诉我吗？”
"No, I'm afraid I can't."
“恐怕不能。”
"Imagine if you were a factory owner. You cannot make ends meet. You cannot buy the raw materials you need to keep producing. You are facing bankruptcy. So now my question is, what can you do to economize?"
“假设你是一个工厂老板，当你的收支无法平衡，正面临破产的命运时，你要怎么做才能省钱？”
"Maybe I could cut down on wages?"
“我可能会削减工资？”
"Smart! Yes, that really is the smartest thing you could do. But if all capitalists were as smart as you--and they are--the workers would be so poor that they couldn't afford to buy goods any more. We would say that purchasing power is falling. And now we really are in a vicious circle. The knell has sounded for capitalist private property, Marx would say. We are rapidly approaching a revolutionary situation."
“聪明!是的，在这种情况下，最精明的算盘莫过于此。但是如果所有的资本主义者都像你一样聪明(事实上他们也是)，工人们就会变得很贫穷，以至于买不起东西了。这样一来，购买力就降低了，而这种情况会变成一种恶性循环。马克思说：‘资本主义私有财产制的丧钟已经响了。’社会正很快地步向革命。”
"Yes, I see."
“嗯，我懂了。”
"To make a long story short, in the end the proletariat rises and takes over the means of production."
“简而言之，到最后，无产阶级会起来接收生产工具。”
"And then what?"
“然后呢？”
"For a period, we get a new 'class society' in which the proletarians suppress the bourgeoisie by force. Marx called this the dictatorship of the proletariat. But after a transition period, the dictatorship of the proletariat is replaced by a 'classless society,' in which the means of production are owned 'by all'--that is, by the people themselves. In this kind of society, the policy is 'from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.' Moreover, labor now belongs to the workers themselves and capitalism's alienation ceases."
“有一段时期会出现新的‘阶级社会’，由无产阶级以武力镇压中产阶级。马克思称此为无产阶级专政。但在这段过渡期后，无产阶级专政会被一个‘不分阶段的社会’所取代。在这个社会当中，生产工具是由‘众人’，也就是人民所拥有。在这种社会中，国家的政策是‘各尽其才，各取所需’。这时劳动成果属于劳工，资本主义的疏离现象也就到此终止。”
"It all sounds wonderful, but what actually happened? Was there a revolution?"
“听起来是很棒，但实际的情况是怎样呢？后来真的发生革命了吗？”
"Yes and no. Today, economists can establish that Marx was mistaken on a number of vital issues, not least his analysis of the crises of capitalism. And he paid insufficient attention to the plundering of the natural environment--the serious consequences of which we are experiencing today. Nevertheless . . ."
"Nevertheless?"
"Marxism led to great upheavals. There is no doubt that socialism has largely succeeded in combating an inhumane society. In Europe, at any rate, we live in a society with more justice--and more solidarity--than Marx did. This is not least due to Marx himself and the entire socialist movement."
“马克思主义造成了社会上很大的变动。毫无疑问的，社会主义已经大致上改善了社会上不人道的现象。无论如何，我们所生活的社会已经要比马克思的时代更公平、更团结。这一部分要归功于马克思和整个社会运动。”
"What happened?"
"After Marx, the socialist movement split into two main streams, Social Democracy and Leninism. Social Democracy, which has stood for a gradual and peaceful path in the direction of socialism, was Western Europe's way. We might call this the slow revolution. Leninism, which retained Marx's belief that revolution was the only way to combat the old class society, had great influence in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. Each in their own way, both movements have fought against hardship and oppression."
"But didn't it create a new form of oppression? For example in Russia and Eastern Europe?"
"No doubt of that, and here again we see that everything man touches becomes a mixture of good and evil. On the other hand, it would be unreasonable to blame Marx for the negative factors in the so-called socialist countries fifty or a hundred years after his death. But maybe he had given too little thought to the people who would be the administrators of communist society. There will probably never be a 'promised land.' Mankind will always create new problems to fight about."
"I'm sure it will."
"And there we bring down the curtain on Marx, Sophie."
"Hey, wait a minute! Didn't you say something about justice only existing among equals?"
"No, it was Scrooge who said that."
"How do you know what he said?"
"Oh well--you and I have the same author. In actual fact we are more closely linked to each other than we would appear to the casual observer."
"Your wretched irony again!"
"Double, Sophie, that was double irony."
"But back to justice. You said that Marx thought capitalism was an unjust form of society. How would you define a just society?"
"A moral philosopher called John Rawls attempted to say something about it with the following example: Imagine you were a member of a distinguished council whose task it was to make all the laws for a future society."
"I wouldn't mind at all being on that council."
"They are obliged to consider absolutely every detail, because as soon as they reach an agreement--and everybody has signed the laws--they will all drop dead."
"Oh . . ."
"But they will immediately come to life again in the society they have legislated for. The point is that they have no idea which position they will have in society."
"Ah, I see."
"That society would be a just society. It would have arisen among equals."
"Men and women!"
"That goes without saying. None of them knew whether they would wake up as men or women. Since the odds are fifty-fifty, society would be just as attractive for women as for men."
"It sounds promising."
"So tell me, was the Europe of Karl Marx a society like that?"
"Absolutely not!"
"But do you by any chance know of such a society today?"
"Hm ... that's a good question."
"Think about it. But for now there will be no more about Marx."
"Excuse me? "
"Next chapter!"