Soros, who at one stage after the fall of the Berlin Wall was providing more assistance to Russia than the US government, believes in practising what he preaches.His Open Society Institute has been pivotal in helping eastern European countries develop democratic societies and market economies. Soros has the advantage of an insider's knowledge of the workings of global capitalism, so his criticism is particularly pointed. Last year, the Soros foundation's network spent nearly half a billion dollars on projects in education, public health and promoting democracy, making it one of the world's largest private donors.
索罗斯在柏林墙倒塌后一段时间内向俄罗斯提供的援助曾一度超过美国政府的援助。他坚定地实施自己宣扬的观点。他的"开放社会研究所"在帮助东欧国家发展民主社会和市场经济方面发挥了重要作用。索罗斯具有业内人士的优势,了解全球资本主义的运行,因此他的批评会受到特别关注。去年索罗斯基金网络在教育、公共卫生、促进民主项目上花费了近5亿美元,使索罗斯基金成为世界上最大的私人捐助集团之一。
Soros credits the anti-globalisation movement for having made companies more sensitive to their wider responsibilities."I think [the protesters] have made an important contribution by making people aware of the flaws of the system, "he says."People on the street had an impact on public opinion and corporations which sell to the public responded to that."Because the IMF has abandoned billion dollar bailouts for troubled economies, he thinks a repeat of the Asian crisis is unlikely.The fund's new"tough love"policy--for which Argentina is the guinea pig -- has other consequences. The bailouts were a welfare system for Wall Street, with western taxpayers rescuing the banks from the consequences of unwise lending to emerging economies. Now the IMF has drawn a line in the sand, credit to poor countries is drying up."It has created a new problem--the inadequacy of the flow of capital from centre to the periphery, " he says.
索罗斯赞扬反全球化运动使各公司更加认识到自己更广泛的责任。他说:"我认为(反对者们)作出了重要贡献,使大众意识到这个体系的缺陷。大街上的人们对舆论会有所影响,而向公众推销商品的公司也会对舆论作出反应?"由于国际货币基金组织已经拒绝向经济困难的国家提供数十亿美元的救济,索罗斯认为亚洲经济危机不会重演。国际货币基金组织"既爱又严"的新政策---阿根廷是该政策的试验品---带来了其他后果。西方纳税人挽救了银行因不理智地向新兴国家提供贷款造成的恶果,而国际货币基金组织的那些救济金则成了华尔街的福利制度。现在国际货币基金组织对贫困国家的贷款正在枯竭。索罗斯说:"这就产生了一个新问题---资金从中心向周边流动不足。"
The one economy Soros is not losing any sleep about is the US."I am much more positive about the underlying economy than I am about the market, because we are waging war not only terrorism but also on recession, "he says."Although we don't admit it, we are actually applying Keynesian remedies, and I am a confirmed Keynesian. I have not yet seen an economy in recession when you are gearing up for war."He worries that the world's largest economic power is not living up to its responsibilities."I would like the United States to live up to the responsibilities of its hegemonic power because it is not going to give up its hegemonic power, "he says."The only thing that is realistic is for the United States to become aware that it is in its enlightened self-interest to ensure that the rest of the world benefits from their role."liuxuepaper.com