專欄作家：杰西卡·皮爾斯·羅通蒂
"Why do you have five kids and a huge mortgage and three cars if you have to compromise everything (including the time you spend with them) in order to pay for it all?"
“假如你不得不對一切進(jìn)行妥協(xié)來支付所擁有的一切（包括你花在他們身上的時(shí)間），你為什么一定非要有五個(gè)孩子、一處大房產(chǎn)和三輛車呢？”
That's the question Lisa Napoli raised today on Forbes Woman, and she hits a nerve even for those of us who rent an apartment and take public transportation. In the age of overwork, when quality of life can slip away so easily, is a bigger salary the reason to choose one job over another?
這是今天在刊登在《福布斯婦女》雜志上的一個(gè)問題，提問者名叫莉莎·納波利。莉莎的問題甚至對我們這些租住公寓，乘公交車上下班的人也有所觸動。在這個(gè)超負(fù)荷工作的時(shí)代，我們的生活質(zhì)量就這樣輕易地下滑著，我們不禁要問，高薪確實(shí)是我們選擇一個(gè)新職位的理由嗎？
In a recession especially, going for the position with higher pay is tempting. But if it drains you in too many ways to count, is the higher paying job really more valuable to you? Can we assign a dollar value to the restorative powers of a vacation with friends, or the satisfaction you feel from having time to pursue interests outside of the office?
特別是在經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退期，找尋一個(gè)高薪職位確實(shí)是個(gè)誘惑。可是，如果這個(gè)新職位將在各個(gè)方面將你榨干，它對你會是真正有價(jià)值的嗎？我們果然可以花一美元來買到和朋友渡假后那種煥然一新重新出發(fā)的精神頭嗎？或者花一美元來享受那種在工作之余花時(shí)間在興趣愛好上所獲得的滿足感嗎？
The state of Maryland is giving it a try, using something called the "Genuine Progress Indicator,"or GPI. Turning what "makes sense" in people's life decisions into actual cents, GPI assigns a dollar value to things like housework, volunteering, and commute time, while subtracting from GPI the cost of crime, divorce, and water pollution. The goal of GPI is to look beyond bottom lines to take into account the many disparate economic, environmental and social elements that make up our lives and using that data as an indicator of social progress.
馬里蘭州利用“真實(shí)進(jìn)步指數(shù)”GPI在這方面做出嘗試。該指數(shù)將人們生活的決定因素?fù)Q算成真錢，GPI指數(shù)將諸如家務(wù)、志愿服務(wù)、與人交際時(shí)間等事項(xiàng)視同有一美元價(jià)值，而將犯罪、離婚、水污染等視作價(jià)值減少項(xiàng)。GPI的目標(biāo)是要超越底線而將許許多多彼此分離的經(jīng)濟(jì)、環(huán)境及社會因素綜合起來考慮（正是這些因素構(gòu)成了我們的生活），以此做為衡量我們社會進(jìn)步的數(shù)據(jù)參考量。
Putting a price tag on these aspects of life may sound a bit mercenary, but as Frank Skinner, Director of Special Projects in the Maryland Department of Labor, explained to Marketplace:"We're looking at the economic impact of the reduction in amount of discretionary time an individual may have. What we assume is that when folks have leisure they'll engage in productive activities, social events with family, exercise ... but when they have more work commitments what happens is that due to the reduction in leisure time there's an economic value that we can assess from that."
馬里蘭州利用“真實(shí)進(jìn)步指數(shù)”GPI在這方面做出嘗試。該指數(shù)將人們生活的決定因素?fù)Q算成真錢，GPI指數(shù)將諸如家務(wù)、志愿服務(wù)、與人交際時(shí)間等事項(xiàng)視同有一美元價(jià)值，而將犯罪、離婚、水污染等視作價(jià)值減少項(xiàng)。GPI的目標(biāo)是要超越底線而將許許多多彼此分離的經(jīng)濟(jì)、環(huán)境及社會因素綜合起來考慮（正是這些因素構(gòu)成了我們的生活），以此做為衡量我們社會進(jìn)步的數(shù)據(jù)參考量。
But lawmakers in Maryland aren't the first to take the quality of their citizen's lives into account when measuring prosperity. If you aren't sold on GNP or GPI as be-all, end-all measures of success, try GNH (Gross National Happiness). Napoli points out that the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has attempted to quantify well-being since the 1970s, drawing on Buddhist spiritual values to "offer a subjective reality check to traditional economic indicators by injecting societal and individual happiness." GNH lays out seven categories of wellness: economic, environmental, physical, mental, workplace, social, and political, and GNH is calculated by directly surveying the population on their level of fulfillment in these areas.
不過，馬里蘭州議會并非在衡量社會進(jìn)步時(shí)將其市民的生活質(zhì)量考慮其中的第一人。如果不是將終極成功標(biāo)準(zhǔn)定義在GNP或是GPI上，來試試GNH（全民幸福指數(shù)）。納波利指出位于喜瑪拉雅山脈的布丹王國自1970年代起就在試圖要考量人民的幸福質(zhì)量，依照布丹人的精神價(jià)值觀是要“利用注入社會及個(gè)人幸福水平這一方法以提供某種主觀的現(xiàn)實(shí)來修正傳統(tǒng)的經(jīng)濟(jì)指標(biāo)。”GNH設(shè)有七類幸福指標(biāo)：經(jīng)濟(jì)、環(huán)境、健康、精神、職場、社會及政治，并且直接調(diào)查人們在這些領(lǐng)域內(nèi)不同水平的履行情況來計(jì)算GNH值。
Have the people of Bhutan discovered the secret to fulfillment beyond purely economic means? The New York Times reports: "While household incomes in Bhutan remain among the world's lowest, life expectancy increased by 19 years from 1984 to 1998, jumping to 66 years." Speaking to The Times, Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley, Bhutan's home minister and ex-prime minister, said, "We have to think of human well-being in broader terms... material well-being is only one component."
布丹人是否發(fā)現(xiàn)了超越單純經(jīng)濟(jì)因素而獲取幸福的秘密？紐約時(shí)報(bào)報(bào)道說：“盡管布丹國的家庭收入仍位于全球最低水平，但自1984年至1998年期間其人口平均壽命延長了19年，躍至66歲。”布丹國內(nèi)政部長也是前首相Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley在接受紐約時(shí)報(bào)采訪時(shí)說：“我們在更廣闊的范圍內(nèi)考慮人類的幸福，物質(zhì)滿足僅僅是其中一項(xiàng)。”
The idea is gaining traction, according to Pavan K Verma, India's ambassador to Bhutan, who told The Telegraph:"There are limits to the satisfaction economic growth by itself provides... There's a search to look beyond material fulfilment. There are many aspects of social life in countries as diverse as China and the United Kingdom which are falling apart, like family relations and community life. It is becoming an atomised, individualistic world. The Gross National Happiness looks at the quality of life, how much leisure time you have, what's happening in your community, and how integrated you feel with your culture."
根據(jù)印度駐布丹國大使Pavan K Verma的說法，布丹國的這一思想正在獲得更廣闊范圍的認(rèn)同。他接受每日電訊報(bào)采訪時(shí)說：“人們對于自身的經(jīng)濟(jì)增長的滿足總存在著一些限制……是有超越物質(zhì)滿足的探尋的。社會生活是有很多方面的，好像家庭關(guān)系和社區(qū)生活，他們在中國和英國這兩個(gè)相距遙遠(yuǎn)的國家就很不一樣。世界正在變成一個(gè)分散如原子的，極端個(gè)人主義的地方。而全民幸福指數(shù)著眼于生活質(zhì)量，著眼于你有多少閑暇時(shí)間、在你的社區(qū)發(fā)生了什么新鮮事、以及你感覺在多大程度上與你的文化相融合。”
The search to measure something beyond material fulfillment as a sign of progress may be coming to a society near you: In New York on July 19, 2011, The UN adopted a resolution entitled, "Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development," a resolution premised on the idea that "the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal" that embodies the spirit of the Millenium Development Goals.
尋求超越物質(zhì)滿足的測量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)被視為社會進(jìn)步的一個(gè)標(biāo)志正在接近你所處的社會。聯(lián)合國于2011年7月19日在紐約做出決議，題為“幸福：發(fā)展的全方位思考”，這項(xiàng)決議基于“追求幸福是人類的基本目標(biāo)”這一體現(xiàn)了千年發(fā)展計(jì)劃的精神的思想而提出的。
What do you think: Can we can assign a dollar value to happiness? During a recession, it may seem like we can't afford to ask this question, though to that I'd reply: when it comes to our well-being and the well-being of our families in difficult times, can we afford not to?
“我們能花錢買來幸福嗎？”你對這個(gè)問題怎么想？在經(jīng)濟(jì)蕭條期，我們好像都沒本錢來問這么個(gè)問題，盡管如此，我的回答將會是這樣的：困難時(shí)期，要談及我們的個(gè)人及家庭幸福，我們究竟能不能負(fù)擔(dān)得起？
