That capitalism has been shown, in practice, to be endemically flawed should come as no surprise. That is the nature of mankind. What is more important is that history, notably the history of the world after the second world war, has demonstrated beyond dispute that every other system of economic organisation is far worse. So capitalism both deserves to survive, and will survive, just as it did after the even greater economic disaster of the 1930s.

　　实践已表明，资本主义存在固有缺陷，这一点不足为奇。那是人类的天性。更重要的是，历史——尤其是二战之后的世界历史——已无可辩驳地证明，其他所有经济组织制度都要糟糕得多。因此，资本主义既应当继续存在下去，也将会继续存在下去，正如上世纪30年代那场甚至比目前更为严重的经济灾难之后的情况。

　　But there is another lesson of the 1930s. It is that although capitalism survives it is capable of retreating behind a protectionist shell, at great cost to global prosperity. This is a real danger today. The “Buy American” provisions in President Barack Obama's fiscal boost are an ominous sign. The impulse to resort to protection when economic hardship suddenly strikes is, of course, always present. But there is today a dangerous new factor which magnifies the threat. The leaders of some of America's largest corporations have already joined up with organised labour (the AFL-CIO) to urge Congress to impose tariffs against imports from countries (such as China, for example) which are understandably unwilling to bear the heavy costs of an obligation to curb their carbon dioxide emissions. There is considerable support in Europe, notably within the European Commission and in France, for a similar approach.

　　但上世纪30年代还有一个教训：尽管资本主义幸存了下来，但它会缩进一个保护主义的壳里，让全球繁荣付出了惨重代价。目前这是一种真切存在的危险。美国总 统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)财政刺激方案中的“买美国货”条款就是一个不祥之兆。自然，当经济困厄骤然来袭之际，人们总会产生一种求助于保护主义的冲动。但目前存在一种 危险的新因素，加大了这种威胁。美国一些大企业领袖已联合有组织的工人(美国劳工联合会-产业工会联合会，AFL-CIO)，敦促国会对来自相关国家(如 中国)的进口商品加征关税，这些国家不愿承担限制本国二氧化碳排放的沉重成本，这也是可以理解的。类似的做法在欧洲颇受支持，尤其是在欧盟委员会(EC) 内部和法国。

　　It is essential, both in the US and in Europe, that this is resolutely rejected. The first and most important requirement for the future of capitalism is the preservation of globalisation, and the massive benefits it confers on mankind, in particular in the developing world. There are, inevitably, costs of globalisation; but they are hugely outweighed by the benefits. So resistance to protection, whatever arguments may be used in its favour, must be rigorously maintained. Nor is this an exclusively economic argument. It is a moral imperative, as well. Moreover, a trade war with China could well have unpredictable, and potentially highly damaging, political consequences.

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