4月16日《经济学人》给读者的一封公开信，相当耐人寻味

这封信出自《经济学人》女主编Zanny Minton Beddoes之手，言辞比较恳切，今年是《经济学人》创刊175周年。

信试译如下：

亲爱的读者：

今年，《经济学人》将迎来创刊175周年。

1843年9月，一个名叫詹姆斯·威尔逊的苏格兰制帽匠为了对抗英国《谷物法》而创立了本刊，当时《谷物法》规定，要对国外进口的谷物征收惩罚性关税。自那时起，我们就一直倡导自由市场、自由贸易和开放社会。

多年以来，我们在很多有争议的议题上诸如私有化、毒品立法和同性恋婚姻等发声捍卫我们的价值观。有志于此，本刊一直以来都基于古典自由主义理念：对人类进步之信念、对强权利益之质疑和对个人自由的尊重。

这是19世纪伟大的自由主义哲学家密尔的核心理念。（让人困惑的是，在美国“liberal”自由这个词已经和左翼大政府主义成了同义词，然而这并不是我们所坚持的。）

虽然当今世界相比1843年已经发生了剧烈变化，但我们坚信经济学人所秉承的价值观和以往一样意义重大。的确，一段时间以来，世界上的很多地区民粹主义抬头，权威主义滋长，自由主义价值观遭到多年以来前所未有的阻抗力。在对不平等的汹汹怒气、移民和文化变迁的背景下，那些基本的自由主义信条，诸如全球化和言论自由正遭到左翼和右翼的双重夹击。

于是，我们开辟了“开放未来”（Open Future）这个栏目，这项举措旨在在21世纪重申自由主义价值观和政策。我们希望这些有冲击力的观点深入到我们的评论和忠实粉丝心中，尤其是要感染年轻读者。我们会在各个平台上，如纸媒、网站、播客、短视频和社交媒体组织和读者展开对话。而且我们将在全球范围内举办“开放未来节”，把这项规划推向高潮，届时我们将在9月15日周六这天，在香港、伦敦和纽约同时举办这个节日。

我们的网站是“开放未来”讨论环节的联结点。在这里你会看到网络辩论，此中许多杰出的外界捐助者会在一些有争议性的话题中和我们的读者展开针锋相对的辩论。同时我们还增设投票和评论环节。本周我们第一场辩论会的主题是“大学是否应该禁掉那些带有冒犯言论的演说者”。同时，读者们可以读到《经济学人》编纂的文章讨论集。而且编辑部将和著名的自由主义者共同庆祝和纪念自由主义历史，届时，《经济学人》还会发布一本有关讨论自由主义未来的特刊。

在和读者对话环节中，我们安排了五个主题。“开放市场”版块探讨的是资本主义的未来；“开放理念”版块讨论自由言论；“开放社会”版块讨论多样化、身份政治和政治正确；“开放边界”版块集中讨论移民问题；“开放进步”版块思考的是技术是否仍然可以作为人类进步的路径。

当詹姆斯·威尔逊在1843年创办本刊时，他说“我们的愿景是致力于一场严酷的斗争，一方是勇于向前的理智，另一方是阻挡我们前进的无知——此等无知毫无价值且怯懦。”

不过，这封信发表之后，在Facebook的评论区引发了不少读者的嘲讽。读者的吐槽其实已经是《经济学人》文章下面的一大特色，选两个顶的两个比较热门的评论：

终于，你们承认你们写出来的玩意儿其实都是带有节奏的。不报道事实，而进行意识形态宣传，你们怎么吸引读者呢？

至少公开承认了他们是在搞宣传

《经济学人》在新媒体时代，纸媒的发行量每年不降反增，在圈里也绝对是个奇迹了。写作的逼格一直很高，而且编辑部还出过一本写作“秘笈和宝典”，其实是编辑部内部恶搞的自嘲性刊物。

的确，这本杂志的文风确实独树一帜，严肃而不失俏皮，凝练却带三分合理的散漫。

主编Zanny Minton Beddoes

这本杂志的一大特色是每篇文章都没有署名，你不知道谁写的。按照他们编辑部的说法，文章的内容比文章出自谁之手更重要。不少评论认为，撰写的人很可能都特别年轻，比如20岁出头，就可以写文章怼那些经济学界的大佬，有一种以下犯上的快感。不管如何，《经济学人》借着创刊175周年大张旗鼓搞各种线下读者活动和全球“巡演”，高调给“自由主义”鸣锣开道，是颇耐人寻味的。

这封信其实并不长，但全部加起来“自由”就多达9处，“开放”有11处，旗帜鲜明从不遮掩。俗话说，卖什么吆喝什么，《经济学人》的声嘶力竭，恰恰说明整个编辑部上下都觉得这个世界确实有点真正开始不“自由”、不“开放”了。（翻页请看原文）

Dear Reader,

This year The Economist celebrates its 175th anniversary. James Wilson, a hatmaker from Scotland, founded this newspaper in September 1843 to argue against Britain’s Corn Laws, which imposed punitive tariffs on grain. We have advocated free trade, free markets and open societies ever since. 

Over the years we have also championed many controversial causes, from privatisation to drug legalisation and same-sex marriage. In doing so, we have always been guided by classical liberal values: a belief in human progress, distrust of powerful interests and respect for individual freedom. This is the liberalism of great 19th-century thinkers such as John Stuart Mill. (Confusingly, in America the term “liberal” has become synonymous with big-state leftism. That is not what we stand for.) 

Although the world has changed dramatically since 1843, we believe that the values that guide The Economist are as relevant as ever. Yet, in a period of rising populism and, in many parts of the world, of growing authoritarianism, they face greater resistance today than they have for many years. Amid anger over inequality, immigration and cultural change, basic elements of the liberal credo, from globalisation to free speech, are assailed from right and left.

So we have launched Open Future, an initiative to remake the case for liberal values and policies in the 21st century. We want this exploration of ideas to involve our critics as well as our supporters, and to engage a young audience in particular. We are conducting the conversation across all The Economist’s platforms: in the newspaper, on this site, through podcasts, films and on social media. The initiative will culminate in a global event, the Open Future Festival, held simultaneously in Hong Kong, London and New York on Saturday September 15th.

This site is the hub for the Open Future discussions. Here you will find regular online debates, in which prominent outside contributors take sides on a controversial subject and you, our readers, can vote and comment. (Our first debate this week is on whether universities should ban offensive speakers.) You will find details of an essay contest for young people, with entries due by July 15th. And you will find a rich array of articles on free markets and open societies. Over the coming months we will publish guest contributions as well as new articles from Economist staff. We will celebrate liberalism’s history with a series of briefings on great liberal thinkers. And we will look ahead with a special report on the future of liberalism.

We have organised the conversation around five themes. Open Markets will examine the future of capitalism; Open Ideas will look at free speech; Open Society will discuss the balance between diversity, identity politics and political correctness; Open Borders will focus on immigration and Open Progress will consider whether technology is still a route to human progress. 

When James Wilson launched this newspaper in 1843, he said its mission was to “take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.” Open Future is the latest iteration of that mission.