This will most likely be the last time that I will speak at length as Prime Minister
这应该是我最后一次以首相身份发表长篇演说
And I would Like today to share some personal refections
今天我想谈谈一些个人看法
on the state of politics in our country and around the world
对英国政治现状以及世界政治状况的看法
Now I've lived politics for half a century
我从政已逾半个世纪
From stuffing envelopes for my local party in my school years
高中时代 我便帮助地方保守党 分装信封 派发传单
to serving as a local councillor, fighting a by-election, winning a seat
后来担任地方议员 参加补选 最终赢得席位
serving for 12 years on the opposition front bench
之后 任反对党前排议员12年有余
and for 9 years in the Cabinet as Home Secretary and Prime Minister
此后加入内阁 任内政大臣和首相整整9年
Throughout that time, in every job I have done
纵观我的政治生涯 我做过的每份工作
I've been inspired by the
我都一直深受鼓舞
enormous potential that working in politics and taking part in public life holds
参加政治工作 参与社会公共生活 拥有着极大的潜能
The potential to serve your country, to improve peoples' lives
让我们能够 服务于国家 改善人民生活
and - in however big or small a way - to make the world a better place
无论力量强大或微小 都有机会让整个世界变得更美好
Both domestically and internationally
但如今 无论英国国内 还是整个世界
in substance and in tone
无论实际行动 还是语言表达
I'm worried about the state of politics
我对当前的政治现状 感到忧心忡忡
That worry stems from a conviction that the values
这种担忧 源于这样一种信念
on which all of our successes have founded cannot be taken for granted
绝不可将 为我们带来成功的基本价值观 视作理所应当
They may look to us as old as the hills
我们或许认为 这些价值观 落伍陈旧
we might think that they will always be there
我们或许认为 这些价值观 自始至终一直都在
but estabilishing the superiority of those values over the althernatives
但实际上 确立这些价值观之于其他观念的优势地位
was the hard work of centuries of sacrifice
是用几个世纪来 奉献牺牲的艰苦工作换得的
And to ensure that liberal inheritance can endure for generations to come
为确保自由民主的价值遗产 能够延续传承几代人
we today have a responsibibility to be active in conserving it
我们现在必须肩负责任 积极保护这些价值观
if we do not, we will all pay the price
若不这么做 我们必将付出代价
rich an poor, strong and weak, powerful and powerless
贫穷悬殊 强弱分化 尊卑两极
As a politician
作为一名政客
my decisions and actions have always been guided by that conviction
我的一切决定和行动 自始至终 都以这一信念为指导
It used to be asked of applicants at Conservative candidate selection meetings
以前在保守党员的甄选会议上 侯选人会被问到一个问题
'are you a conviction politician or are you a pragmatist?'
你是一位有执着信念的政治家 还是一位实用主义者？
I've never accepted the distinction
我从不认为 这两者有别
Politics is the business of turning your convictions into reality
所谓政治 就是将你的信念变成现实
to improve the lives of the people you serve
以改善你服务的人民的生活
As a Conservative
作为保守党人
I have never had any doube about what I believe in
我从未怀疑过 自己的信仰
security, freedom and opportunity
安全 自由 机遇
Decency, moderation, patriotism
正派 中庸 爱国
Conserving what is of values
保存有价值的事物
but never shying away from change
但绝不规避改变
indeed, recognising that often change is the way to conserve
实际上要认识到 很多时候 改变也是保存的一种方式
Believing in business
对商业有信念
but holding businesses to account if they break the rules
但若企业违反规则 就必须承担责任
Backing ambition, aspiration and hard working
支持雄心壮志 抱负宏愿 和勤勉努力
Protecting our Union of nations
保护我们的联合王国
and being prepared to act in its interest
并时刻准备好 以其利益行事
even if that means steering a difficult political course
即使这意味着 要走上一条艰难的政治道路
And remaining always firmly rooted in the common ground of politics
并始终牢牢扎根于 共同的政治基础
where all great political parties should be
所有伟大的政党都应如此
I didn't write about those convictions in pamphlets
我倒没有将这些信念 写在小册子里
or make many theoretical speeches about them
也没有就这些信念 发表过理论性演说
I have sought to put them into action
我试图做的是 将这些信念付诸行动
And actually getting things done
要真正把事情做好
rather than simply getting them said
而不是简单地 空口承诺
requires some qualities that have become unfashinable of late
这就要求 我们拥有一些 如今看来有点过时的品质
One of them is willingness to compromise
其中之一 便是愿意妥协
That does not mean compromising your values
这并不意味者 要违背你的价值观
It does not mean accepting the lowest common denominator
也不意味着 要刻意迎合大众口味
or clinging to outmoded ideas out of apathy or fear
或是因冷漠或恐惧 而抱住落后的想法不撒手
It means being driven by, and when necessary standing up for
这意味着 要被你自己的价值观和信念所驱使
your values and convictions
并在必要时 坚决捍卫它们
But doing so in the real world - in the arena of public life
但在现实世界中 在公共生活的舞台上
where others are making there own case, pursuing there own interests
其他人都在自我展现 追名逐利
And where persuasion, teamwork and a willingness to make mutual concessions
在这样的舞台上 只有说服劝说 团队合作 并愿意做出相互让步
are needed to achieve an optimal outcome
才能实现最佳结果
Tha is politics at its best
这才是政治的最佳状态
The alternative is a politics of winners and losers
政治的另一选择是 非赢即输的极端状态
of absolutes and of perpetual strife
绝对主义 和永久的冲突
and that threatesn us all
这将威胁到 我们所有人
Today an inability to combine principles with progmatism
当前 政客们缺乏将原则和实用主义 结合起来的能力
and make a compromise when required
也不愿在必要时做出妥协
seems to have driven our whole political discourse down the wrong path
这似乎将我们的整个政治语言 推向了错误方向
It has led to what is in effect a form of "absolutism"
这导致了 某种形式的“绝对主义”
one which believes that
对这些绝对主义者来说
if you simply assert your view loud enought and long enought
只要你一直强调自己的观点 声音够大 坚强得够久
you will get your way in the end
最终 你就会如愿以偿 达成目的
or that mobilising your own faction
拉拢小团体 动员派系斗争
is more important than bringing others with you
比团结他人凝聚力量 更为重要
This is coarsening our public debate
这使我们的公共辩论 变得粗鄙不堪
Some are losing the ability to disagree without demeaning the views of others
对这些人来说 用贬低他人观点的方式 表达反对意见 已成为习惯
Online, technology allows
如今的网路技术
people to express their anger and anxiety
让人们得以 肆意泄愤和表达焦虑
without filter or accountablity
语言不经筛选 也不会被问责
Aggressive assertions are made
做出咄咄逼人的激进断言
without regard to the facts or the complexities of an issue
却从不考虑 事实或问题的复杂性
in an environment where the most extreme views tend to be the most noticed
而且通常是在 越极端的观点 越能吸引眼球的地方 发表此类言论
This descent of our debate into rancour and tribal bitterness
这导致我们的辩论陷入 怨怒敌意和族群仇恨
and in some cases even vile abuse at a criminal level
在某些情况下 甚至是犯罪层面的卑鄙虐待
is corrosive for the democratic values which we should all be seeking to uphold
这对我们都应力求维护的民主价值观 具有强烈的腐蚀性
It risks closing down the space for ressoned debate
不但给理性辩论空间 造成了威胁
and subverting the principle of freedom of speeches
也违反了言论自由的原则
And this does not just create an unpleasant environment
这不仅仅创造了一种不愉快的环境
Words have consequences
言语 会带来后果
and ill words that go unchanllenged
不受质疑的恶言
are the first step on a continuum towards ill deeds
是迈向恶行的第一步
towards a much darker place
掉进更黑暗的深渊
where hatred and prejudice drive not only what people say
在那个深渊里 仇恨和偏见 不仅掌握着人们的言语
but also what they do
也掌握着人们的行为
We are living through a period of profound change and insecurity
如今 我们身处一个社会巨变和缺乏保障的时代
The forces of globalisation and the pursuit of free markets
全球化的力量 和对自由市场的追求
have brought unprecedented levels of wealth and opportunity
给我们国家和整个世界 都带来了
for the country and for the world at large
前所未有的财富和机遇
But not everyone is reapping the benefits
但并非每个人 都得以从中受益
The march of technology is expanding the possibilities for humanity
技术的进步 正在以前所未有的方式
in ways that once could never have been conceived
扩大人类的可能性
But it is changing the nature of the workplace
它正在改变 我们工作场所的性质
and the types of jobs that people will do
以及 人们未来从事的工作类型
More and more working people are feeling anxious
如今 越来越多的普通劳动者 都在深感焦虑
over whether they and their children and grandchildren
他们为自己 也为自己的子孙后代 而忧心忡忡
will have the skills and the opportunities to get on
不知未来能否拥有 维持生计的技能和机遇
And although the problems were building before the finanical crisis
尽管这些问题 早在金融危机前 便已存在形成
that event brought years of hardship from which we are only now emerging
而金融危机带来的 长达多年的经济困境 如今才刚刚开始显现
Populist movements have seized the opportunity to capitalise on that vacuum
民粹主义运动 抓住机会 利用这一真空
They have embraced the politics of division
他们宣扬政治分裂
identifying the enemies to blame for our problems
鼓吹我们的问题所在 都是由于敌方的存在
and offering apparently easy answers
对于复杂的问题 给出简单轻率的答案
In doing so, they promote a polarised politics
在这过程中 他们推动了一种两极分化的政治
which views the world through the prism of "us" and "them"
将敌我对立 通过“我们”和“他们”分化的棱镜 看待世界
a prism of winners and losers
一种非赢即输的棱镜
which views compromise and cooperation through international instituions
在他们看来 与国际机构合作与妥协
as signs of weakness not strength
便是软弱无能 而非力量的象征
We are here today at St James' Square
我们今天在这里 在圣詹姆斯广场
the location from which Dwight Eisenhower led the planning for D-day
德怀特 艾森豪威尔 领导诺曼底计划 就是在这里完成的
It was standing on the beaches of Normandy with other world leaders last month
上个月 我与世界各国领导人一起站在诺曼底海滩
remembering together all that was given in defence of our liberty and our values
共同铭记 为捍卫自由和价值观 我们所付出的一切
that most inspired me to come here today to give this speeches
这也是激励着我 今天选择这里 发表演说的原因所在
Eisenhower once wrote:
艾森豪威尔曾写道
"People talk about the middle of the road as though it were unacceptable"
人们在谈论中间路线时 似乎都将其视为不可接受的
"Things are not all black and white"
但这世界并不是 非黑即白
"There have to be compromises"
我们必须有所妥协
"The middle of the road is all of the usable surface"
其实 道路中央 才是可供行走的路面
"The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters"
而左右极端 才会被困于路边的沟壑中
I believe that seeking the common ground
我认为 寻求共同点
and being prepared to make compromises in order to make progress
并为取得进展 而准备做出妥协
does not entail a rejection of our values and convictions by one iota
这丝毫不意味着 要拒绝我们的价值观和信念
rather it is precisely the way to defend them
相反 这恰恰是捍卫价值观和信念的方式
Not by making promises you cannot keep
不是做出你无法兑现的承诺
or by just telling people what you think they want to hear
也不是告诉人们 你认为他们想听到的事情
But by addressing the concerns people genuinely holding
而是真正解决 人们所忧虑的问题
and showing that co-operation no absolutism
并向他们展现 只有通力合作 而非绝对主义
is the only way to deliver for everyone
才是为服务于每个人的唯一方式
For the future
对于未来
if we can recapture the spirit of common purpose - as I believe we must
如果我们能重拾共同目标的精神 我坚信我们必须这样做
then we can be optimistic about what toghether we can achieve
那么 我们便可以乐观期待 未来能够共同取得的成就
We can find the common ground that
我们必须求同
will enable us to forge new, innovative global agreements
从而才能达成 全新的创新的全球协议
on the most cucial challenges of our time
并迎接这个时代 最关键的挑战
from protecting our planet
从保护我们的地球
to harnessing the power of technology for good
到持续利用技术的力量
We can renew
我们才能重新赢得
popular support for liberal democratic values and international co-operation
民众对于自由民主价值和国际合作的支持
And in so doing, we can secure our freedom, our prosperity
由此以来 我们便可确保 我们的自由 我们的繁荣
and our ability to live together peacefully now and for generations to come
以及我们现在和未来几代人 和平共处的稳定生活
Thank you!
谢谢
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