来源：《每日电讯报》
原文刊登日期：2023年3月25日
As France descended into riots over the extension of the state retirement age, there was a clear warning for the future of Britain. To some, the spectacle of France’s longstanding “revolutionary itch” returning in full force is an occasion to pat ourselves on the back. Can we not place Britain’s relative political stability in contrast to the fiery reception of Emmanuel Macron’s reforms?
随着法国因延长国家退休年龄而陷入骚乱，英国的未来得到了明确的警告。对一些人来说，法国长期以来的“革命之痒”全面回归的景象是一个值得我们自我表扬的机会。我们能不能将英国相对的政治稳定与埃马纽埃尔·马克龙的改革受到的强烈反对进行对比？
Such comparisons have a long history. In 1793, a cartoon set French and British liberty side by side. Across the Channel, mob rule was busy agitating rebellion, idleness and both national and private ruin. In our home islands, a prosperous calm reigned, with strong protections for private property and inheritance guaranteeing national prosperity.
这样的比较由来已久。1793年，一幅漫画将法国和英国的自由并列在一起。在英吉利海峡对岸，暴民统治正忙于煽动叛乱、游手好闲和对国家和个人的毁灭。在我们的家园岛屿上，出现了繁荣的平静，对私有财产和遗产的强有力保护保证了国家繁荣。
In today’s something-for-nothing Britain, however, we cannot afford such easy consolation. France’s revolt against reality shows every sign of becoming our own overentitled future.
然而，在如今不劳而获的英国，我们不能轻易得到这样的安慰。法国反抗现实的种种迹象表明，它将成为我们自己被高估的未来。
Happily, on pensions, we are not facing the same crisis as our continental cousins. Our rules only require 35 years of work to qualify for the state pension, as opposed to 42 and rising in France.
令人高兴的是，在养老金方面，我们没有像欧洲大陆的兄弟国家那样面临同样的危机。我们的规定要求工作满35年才有资格领取国家养老金，而法国则要求工作满42年，而且还在不断提高。
If Mr Macron succeeds, the minimum age for receiving France’s state pension will rise from 62 to 64 by the year 2030. In the UK, we already have a minimum pension age of 66, set to rise to at least 67 by 2028, with no sign of protest in the streets of Westminster. Equally, our state pension spending in 2022-23 is only about 5.5 per cent of GDP, while France’s pension bill is nearly three times larger, hovering at about 14 per cent of GDP.
如果马克龙成功，到2030年，领取法国国家养老金的最低年龄将从62岁提高到64岁。在英国，最低领取养老金的年龄已经是66岁，到2028年将至少提高到67岁，而威斯敏斯特(Westminster)的街道上还没有出现抗议的迹象。此外，我们在2022-23财年的国家养老金支出仅占GDP的5.5%左右，而法国的这一数字几乎是英国的三倍，徘徊在GDP的14%左右。
Yet on issue after issue, Britain is already engaged in its own revolt against reality. We insist on ever-higher house prices and refuse to build the homes that young people desperately need. We talk of growth, while chaining the economy down with record levels of taxation. We attack the wealthy, and demand that the state should spend more and more, as if one did not depend on the other.
然而，在一个又一个问题上，英国已经开始对现实进行反抗。我们坚持要不断提高房价，拒绝建造年轻人迫切需要的住房。我们谈论的是增长，却用创纪录的税收水平束缚经济。我们攻击富人，要求国家增加支出，就好像两者不相互依赖一样。
Having recklessly committed ourselves to net zero, we have refused to support the expansion of nuclear power that could have made the transition practical. Instead, as green initiatives sent our energy bills skyward, the cry went up for more tax-funded handouts.
在不计后果地承诺实现净零排放后，我们拒绝支持本可以使过渡切实可行的核电扩张。相反，随着绿色倡议使我们的能源价格飙升，要求更多税收出资的救济呼声高涨。
Fiery protests have never been the British way. With rare exceptions, we have avoided such public rage by cultivating personal responsibility and reaping the collective benefits of economic liberty. The more we lose touch with these traditions, demanding instead that the state’s generosity solve every problem, we risk stumbling into a future racked not just by public disorder but economic ruin.
激烈的抗议从来不是英国人的方式。除了极少数例外，我们通过培养个人责任感和从经济自由中获得集体利益，避免了公众的愤怒。我们越是失去这些传统，转而要求政府的慷慨解决所有问题，我们就越有可能陷入一个不仅公共秩序混乱，而且经济崩溃的未来。