“Eat the wealthy.” The ferocity of the words used by some demonstrators in London on the eve of the Group of 20 summit evokes the worst excesses of the French revolution. Anti-capitalist anger in the west is not confined to Europe. Alexis de Tocqueville's The Ancien Régime and the Revolutionis as relevant to understanding today's America as his deep and eye-opening thoughts on the young American republic in his Democracy in America.
“吃掉富人！”20国集团(G20)峰会前夜，伦敦的一些示威者使用的这句话的残忍程度，让人想起了法国大革命时期最残酷的暴行。西方的反资本主义的愤怒并不局限于欧洲。亚历克西斯•德•托克维尔(Alexis de Tocqueville)的《旧制度与大革命》(The Ancien Régime and the Revolutionis)对于理解当今美国的意义，与他在《论美国的民主》(Democracy in America)一书中关于年轻的美利坚共和国深刻且令人大开眼界的思想一样重要。
Of course, America in 2009 is not France in 1788, the year before the fall of the Bastille (the prison that embodied the oppressive nature of the monarchical regime) and the symbolic beginning of the French revolution. The fall of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 has nothing to do with the fall of the Bastille; symbols of wealth should not be confused with symbols of oppression. There is no guillotine around the corner and it would take a lot of imagination to compare President Barack Obama to Louis XVI, or Michelle Obama to Marie-Antoinette.
当然，2009年的美国不是1788年的法国。1789年,巴士底狱(Bastille)陷落，标志着法国大革命的开始。这座监狱象征着君主制的压迫本性。去年9月雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)的倒台与巴士底狱的陷落毫无关系；财富的象征不应与压迫的象征混淆。断头台不会出现，把美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)比作路易十六(Louis XVI)，或者把米歇尔•奥巴马(Michelle Obama)比作玛丽•安托瓦内特(Marie-Antoinette)，需要极富想象力。
Yet as a European living in America – watching news on television every night, talking to friends, colleagues or my students – I sensefear, angerand a deep feeling of injustice reminiscent of the climate on the eve of the French revolution. Just replace bread shortages with foreclosures, aristocrats with bankers, and privileges such as the right not to pay tax with stock options. Add to that support for the king but rejection of many of his ministers, and the comparison looks less far-fetched.
然而，作为一位居住在美国的欧洲人——每晚收看电视新闻，与朋友、同事或学生交谈——我察觉到人们的担心、愤怒和深深的不公正感，这让人想起法国大革命前夜的气氛。只不过现在面包短缺换成了房屋业主丧失抵押品赎回权，贵族换成了银行家，不必缴税等特权换成了股票期权。再加上对国王的支持和对他手下许多大臣的反对，这种比较看上去就不那么牵强了。
