每當失業率有所下降 哪怕只是很輕微地下降 這聽起來似乎是個好消息
Whenever unemployment comes down – even if only very slightly – it sounds like really
因為這有利於經濟生產力的進展 從而
good news. It’s great that productive forces in the economy are growing and there’ll
更多的金錢會流入人們的口袋裡
be a little more money in people’s pockets soon
但要是有人對人類潛能比較有野心 那麼情況就變得更加複雜、
But if one gets more ambitious about human potential, the picture gets more complicated
更加讓人憂慮 比起政府所欲預想的那樣
and darker than what governments make out.
失業，一般來說，就是沒有工作。
Unemployment means being, generically, out of work.
但是，讓我們來創造一個新的詞彙，虛假就業
But let’s coin a new word: MISEMPLOYMENT
它的意思是，一個人雖然在工作，但是並沒有真正的滿足其他人的需求
It means being in work but of a kind that fails to tackle with any real sincerity the
取而代之的是，他的工作僅僅是刺激了其他人，讓他們得不到令人滿足的慾望和快樂
true needs of other people: merely exciting them to unsatisfactory desires and pleasures
比如普里馬克（品牌名）、百達翡麗、youporn（色情網站）他們可能做到的效果
instead; the way Primark, Patek Philippe and youporn.com might.
這個人就是虛假就業
This man is misemployed:
類似的，一個人受僱於拉斯維加斯的金沙賭場，他的工作是向旅客分發傳單
Similarly, a man employed by the Sands Casino in Las Vegas to hand out flyers to tourists
慫恿顧客使用自動販賣機，他名義上是沒被僱傭了的員工
in order to entice them to use slot machines is clearly ’employed’ in the technical sense.
他沒有在失業人員的名單上。他能拿到工資
He’s marked as being off the unemployment registers. He is receiving a wage in return
通過幫助他人解決一些問題，從而給僱主帶去利益
for helping to solve some (small) puzzle of the human condition of interest to his employers:
具體而言，就是（不這樣做的話），這些旅客就會因大街的藍天白雲和高溫的氣候
that not enough tourists might otherwise leave the blue skies and heat of main street to
而走進一個以埃及為主題的賭場，因為他們的大廳開了空調
enter the air-conditioned halls of an Egyptian-themed casino.
這個人，是真的受僱傭了的，但是有趣的真相是，他其實是虛假就業者
The man is indeed employed, but he’s also in truth dramatically misemployed.
他的勞動力確實帶來了資金，但是他對社會福利和社會經濟增長，沒有做出什麼實質性的貢獻
His labour is generating capital, but it is making no contribution to human welfare and
他被列入了虛假就業的範圍。這個範圍還包括了那些製造香菸的人，創作了很容易上癮
flourishing. He is joined in the misemployment ranks by people who make cigarettes, addictive
但是毫無意義的電視節目的人，建造了了粗製劣造的公寓大樓，設計了假冒偽劣又不合身的衣服的人
but sterile television shows, badly designed condos, ill-fitting and shoddy clothes, deceptive
製作虛假廣告的人，製造了吃了會導致動脈堵塞的餅乾和高含糖量飲料的那些人。
advertisements, artery-clogging biscuits and highly-sugared drinks.
虛假就業的比率在現代經濟中是非常高的
The rate of misemployment in modern economies is very high.
儘管，我們會因為得到一份工作而感恩戴德，但是，到頭來
While we may be genuinely grateful for any job we’re given, at the back of our minds
我們作為僱員，還是希望做些別的什麼
we all – as employees – hope for something else:
做些能夠給社會提供實際利益的工作
that our work can contribute in some real way to the common good; that we can make a
能夠給社會帶去一點點的不同
modest difference.
政府通過一些技術手段降低了總體的就業率，並取得了一定的成效
Governments have, with some success, been learning techniques to reduce the overall
用專業術語來說，就是他們刺激了需求
rate of unemployment. In the language of the field, they do this by ‘stimulating demand.’
雖然表面上這是有效的。但是這些舉措，沒有細緻的區分什麼是好的需求
Though technically effective, this method fails to draw any distinction between good
什麼不好的需求，也沒有區分真正地就業和虛假就業
and bad demand and therefore between employment and misemployment.
真正的能夠降低虛假就業的技巧本質上不僅僅是刺激需求
The real trick to bringing down the rate of misemployment isn’t just to stimulate demand
而是去刺激一些正確的需求，去鼓勵人們購買真正能讓人滿意的物品
per se, it’s to stimulate the right sort of demand: to excite people to buy the ingredients
去滿足那些真正重要的需求，並且，給個人
of true satisfaction, to want the things that really matter, and therefore to give individuals
給商業提供一個獲得直接勞動力和賺取利益的機會
and businesses a chance to direct their labour, and make profits, in meaningful areas of the
在有意義的經濟領域內
economy.
就業率並非不相關，相反，這個數據相當重要，這個是首先就要關注的數據。
Employment figures aren’t irrelevant – they matter a great deal. They are the first things
但是，這些原始數據掩蓋了我們在將來想要達到的指數，那是一個很高遠的目標
to be attended to. But these raw figures mask a more ambitious index we should get around
一個可以估量虛假就業，並因此能夠展示
to building in the future: one that measures misemployment and hence shows how intelligently
我們如何機智又負責地利用人力資本，將人力資本的利用率達到最大化的數據
and responsibly we are deploying human capital, that is, using up people’s lives.
