愛的經(jīng)濟學家，
Dear Economist,
喬治o索羅斯(George Soros)留出了在金融賭博中獲得的一部分利潤，用于資助教育基金會和做其它善事。鄙人也做了同樣的事。我那不多的五位數(shù)股票投資組合表現(xiàn)很好，我從利潤中拿出500英鎊，給了我成年的孩子和當?shù)氐慕烫谩?BR> George Soros sets aside a proportion of the profits from his financial gambles to fund educational foundations and other good works. In a humble way, I do the same. My modest five-figure portfolio of shares has performed well, and I give my adult children and the local church an occasional ￡500 out of the profits.
我本以為自己是在做善事，但是我的滿足感最近被打破了。一份左翼報紙上的一篇文章指出，索羅斯每一筆成功的大額交易，都必然導致由大量無辜小投資者分攤的等額損失。換言之，他傷害的人比他幫助的人多。
I had imagined I was doing good, but my satisfaction was recently punctured by an article in a left-wing journal which suggested that every successful mega-deal made by Soros is necessarily set off by an equivalent loss divided between a multitude of innocent little punters further down the line. In other words, he harms more people than he helps.
這樣說對么？我是否也是一個偽君子、一個壞人？
Is this correct? Am I also a hypocrite and a bad man?
約翰(John)，德國
John, Germany
親愛的約翰，
Dear John,
你寫得就好像你和索羅斯是在玩兒輪盤賭一樣。但是，金融市場不是零和游戲；如果市場運轉(zhuǎn)良好，產(chǎn)生的贏家就會比輸家多--或者，更準確地說，贏的比輸?shù)亩唷?BR> You write as if you and Soros have been playing roulette. But financial markets are not a zero-sum game; if they work they create more winners than losers - or, more accurately, more winnings than losses.
想想索羅斯在外匯方面的投機。
Think of Soros's speculations on currencies.
如果說外匯投機為他掙了錢，那是因為他高拋低吸。在高位拋售，可降低貨幣幣值的峰值，在低處吸納，則會抬高低谷。因此，在掙錢的同時，索羅斯也減少了貨幣的波動性。有多少央行可以夸口說有同樣的（贏利）記錄呢？
If they make money for him, it is because he bought low and sold high. Selling high reduces the height of peaks in a currency's value, while buying low makes the troughs more shallow. So, while making money, Soros is also smoothing out currency fluctuations. How many central banks can boast of the same (profitable) record?
從更普遍的意義上講，金融市場的終極目的，是將資金引向支出或投資價值的地方。當它們發(fā)揮效力時，整個世界就會更富裕。導致市場不穩(wěn)定的，是那些不合格的投資者。少擔心點你是如何掙的錢，多考慮一下教區(qū)牧師把你的利潤投到了哪里。
More generally, the ultimate purpose of financial markets is to direct capital to where it is most valued for spending or investment. When they work, the world is better off. It is incompetent investors who destabilise markets. Worry less about how you make the money, and more about where the vicar invests your profits.
Dear Economist,
喬治o索羅斯(George Soros)留出了在金融賭博中獲得的一部分利潤，用于資助教育基金會和做其它善事。鄙人也做了同樣的事。我那不多的五位數(shù)股票投資組合表現(xiàn)很好，我從利潤中拿出500英鎊，給了我成年的孩子和當?shù)氐慕烫谩?BR> George Soros sets aside a proportion of the profits from his financial gambles to fund educational foundations and other good works. In a humble way, I do the same. My modest five-figure portfolio of shares has performed well, and I give my adult children and the local church an occasional ￡500 out of the profits.
我本以為自己是在做善事，但是我的滿足感最近被打破了。一份左翼報紙上的一篇文章指出，索羅斯每一筆成功的大額交易，都必然導致由大量無辜小投資者分攤的等額損失。換言之，他傷害的人比他幫助的人多。
I had imagined I was doing good, but my satisfaction was recently punctured by an article in a left-wing journal which suggested that every successful mega-deal made by Soros is necessarily set off by an equivalent loss divided between a multitude of innocent little punters further down the line. In other words, he harms more people than he helps.
這樣說對么？我是否也是一個偽君子、一個壞人？
Is this correct? Am I also a hypocrite and a bad man?
約翰(John)，德國
John, Germany
親愛的約翰，
Dear John,
你寫得就好像你和索羅斯是在玩兒輪盤賭一樣。但是，金融市場不是零和游戲；如果市場運轉(zhuǎn)良好，產(chǎn)生的贏家就會比輸家多--或者，更準確地說，贏的比輸?shù)亩唷?BR> You write as if you and Soros have been playing roulette. But financial markets are not a zero-sum game; if they work they create more winners than losers - or, more accurately, more winnings than losses.
想想索羅斯在外匯方面的投機。
Think of Soros's speculations on currencies.
如果說外匯投機為他掙了錢，那是因為他高拋低吸。在高位拋售，可降低貨幣幣值的峰值，在低處吸納，則會抬高低谷。因此，在掙錢的同時，索羅斯也減少了貨幣的波動性。有多少央行可以夸口說有同樣的（贏利）記錄呢？
If they make money for him, it is because he bought low and sold high. Selling high reduces the height of peaks in a currency's value, while buying low makes the troughs more shallow. So, while making money, Soros is also smoothing out currency fluctuations. How many central banks can boast of the same (profitable) record?
從更普遍的意義上講，金融市場的終極目的，是將資金引向支出或投資價值的地方。當它們發(fā)揮效力時，整個世界就會更富裕。導致市場不穩(wěn)定的，是那些不合格的投資者。少擔心點你是如何掙的錢，多考慮一下教區(qū)牧師把你的利潤投到了哪里。
More generally, the ultimate purpose of financial markets is to direct capital to where it is most valued for spending or investment. When they work, the world is better off. It is incompetent investors who destabilise markets. Worry less about how you make the money, and more about where the vicar invests your profits.