Could new countries be founded – on the internet?
The Guardian（卫报）
2022年07月07日
注：中文翻译文本源自网络供参考
近几十年来，我们生活的世界每天都在不断地发生改变。各种新颖的科学技术在这几十年来如雨后春笋涌现。人们的生活方式也因新的科学技术而变得不同。特别是互联网技术的突飞猛进，它把世界万物都组织成了一张网，我们是这张网络的一个节点。毫不夸张地说，现代人类的生活，很大一部分都是基于互联网的。例如，每天出门前，在手机上看看当天的天气预报；上班工作时，通过邮件与身处另一个地方的人沟通交流；休息放松的时候，点开网页，浏览一下当天的实时新闻。毫无疑问，互联网生活，已经成为了人们生活不可分割且占据大量时间的一部分。也正因为如此，我们的政府、国家在互联网新技术快速发展的情况下，是否需要改革创新，来适应新技术的发展呢？
In The Network State, a buzzy new book by Balaji Srinivasan, the former chief technology officer of Coinbase, poses a devious question : how do you Larp a country into existence? Released provocatively this 4 July, the book presents Srinivasan's case for a new model of digital statehood run and managed in the cloud. A network state, as he describes it, is basically a group of people who get together on the internet and decide that they're going to start a country. With a social network to connect them, a leader to unite them, and a cryptocurrency to protect their assets, Srinivasan says a country can be born with laws, social services and all.
A network state is a country that 'anyone can start from your computer, beginning by building a following' – not unlike companies, cryptocurrencies , or decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). In a world where billionaires can run companies larger than countries, Srinivasan asks, could such a state achieve recognition from the United Nations?
Like all utopian visions, this one, too, is diagnostic – an answer to a growing list of 'wicked' social problems like surveillance capitalism , economic stagnation , political polarization , and conflict among great powers. Just when we need leaders to solve our problems, Balaji argues, they are failing, and the reason isn't just corruption or incompetence - the reason is technological. Central government is simply no longer capable of addressing our needs because the world for which it was designed has changed.
In The Network State, a buzzy new book by Balaji Srinivasan, the former chief technology officer of Coinbase, poses a devious question : how do you Larp a country into existence? Released provocatively this 4 July, the book presents Srinivasan's case for a new model of digital statehood run and managed in the cloud. A network state, as he describes it, is basically a group of people who get together on the internet and decide that they're going to start a country. With a social network to connect them, a leader to unite them, and a cryptocurrency to protect their assets, Srinivasan says a country can be born with laws, social services and all.
buzzy adj. 活跃的；令人兴奋的；
1. There's always a buzzy atmosphere in the restaurant. 这家餐厅的气氛总是非常活跃。
poses a devious question 提出了一个狡猾的问题；
1. pose vt. 提出（问题），质询；
2. When I finally posed the question, 'Why?' he merely shrugged. 当我最后问“为什么”时，他只是耸了耸肩。
3. devious adj. 会算计的，会耍手腕的；精心设计的；
4. You have to be devious if you're going to succeed in business. 要想在生意场上取得成功就必须会耍点手腕。
release vt. 公开；公布；发布；
provocatively adv. 有争议地；
参考译文
In The Network State, a buzzy new book by Balaji Srinivasan, the former chief technology officer of Coinbase, poses a devious question : how do you Larp a country into existence? Released provocatively this 4 July, the book presents Srinivasan's case for a new model of digital statehood run and managed in the cloud. A network state, as he describes it, is basically a group of people who get together on the internet and decide that they're going to start a country. With a social network to connect them, a leader to unite them, and a cryptocurrency to protect their assets, Srinivasan says a country can be born with laws, social services and all.
在《网络国家》中，Coinbase前首席技术官巴拉吉·斯里尼瓦桑（Balaji Srinivasan）的一本热门新书提出了一个狡猾的问题：你如何让一个国家诞生？该书于7月4日挑衅性地发布，介绍了斯里尼瓦桑关于在云端运行和管理的数字国家新模式的案例。按照他的描述，网络国家基本上是一群人在互联网上聚在一起，决定建立一个国家。斯里尼瓦桑说，有了连接他们的社交网络，有了团结他们的领导人，有了保护他们资产的加密货币，一个有法律、社会服务和所有的国家就可以诞生。
A network state is a country that 'anyone can start from your computer, beginning by building a following' – not unlike companies, cryptocurrencies , or decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). In a world where billionaires can run companies larger than countries, Srinivasan asks, could such a state achieve recognition from the United Nations?
cryptocurrency n. 加密电子货币；
decentralize vi. 分散管理，分权管理；将（权力）下放；
1. Modern technology has made it easy for us to decentralize. 现代技术已经使分散管理变得简单易行。
参考译文
A network state is a country that 'anyone can start from your computer, beginning by building a following' – not unlike companies, cryptocurrencies , or decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). In a world where billionaires can run companies larger than countries, Srinivasan asks, could such a state achieve recognition from the United Nations?
一个网络国家是一个 '任何人都可以从你的电脑开始，从建立一个追随者开始 '的国家—与公司、加密货币或去中心化自治组织（DAO）相同。斯里尼瓦桑问道，在一个亿万富翁可以经营比国家更大的公司的世界里，这样的国家能得到联合国的承认吗？
Like all utopian visions, this one, too, is diagnostic – an answer to a growing list of 'wicked' social problems like surveillance capitalism , economic stagnation , political polarization , and conflict among great powers. Just when we need leaders to solve our problems, Balaji argues, they are failing, and the reason isn't just corruption or incompetence - the reason is technological. Central government is simply no longer capable of addressing our needs because the world for which it was designed has changed.
diagnostic adj. 诊断的；用于诊断的；
1.An intelligent computer will be an indispensable diagnostic tool for doctors. 智能计算机将成为医生不可或缺的诊断工具。
wicked adj. 邪恶的；坏的；缺德的；
1. She gave a highly creditable performance as the wicked queen. 她演邪恶的王后演得非常逼真。
surveillance n. 监视，盯梢；
1. More banks are now installing surveillance cameras. 现在更多的银行开始安装监控摄像机。
capitalism n. 资本主义；
1. The cyclical economic crises inheres in capitalism. 周期经济危机是资本主义制度所固有的。
stagnation n. 停滞；滞止；萧条；
1. Stagnation in home sales is holding back economic recovery.国内销售的停滞不前正阻碍着经济复苏。
polarization n. 两极分化；
1.None of these countries has found a way yet to get around the problem of the polarization of wealth. 这些国家都还没有找到办法来解决贫富分化的问题。
corruption n.（尤指当权者的）贪污，腐败，堕落；
1. Here was corruption on a grand scale. 这里的腐败现象曾十分严重。
incompetence n. 无能力；不胜任，不称职；
1. It was not a question of bad luck, it was simply incompetence. 这并不是运气不好的问题, 而完全是他缺乏能力的问题。
参考译文
Like all utopian visions, this one, too, is diagnostic – an answer to a growing list of 'wicked' social problems like surveillance capitalism , economic stagnation , political polarization , and conflict among great powers. Just when we need leaders to solve our problems, Balaji argues, they are failing, and the reason isn't just corruption or incompetence - the reason is technological. Central government is simply no longer capable of addressing our needs because the world for which it was designed has changed.
像所有的乌托邦愿景一样，这个愿景也是指导的 —对越来越多的 '邪恶 '社会问题的答案，如监视资本主义、经济停滞、政治两极化和大国之间的冲突。巴拉吉认为，正当我们需要领导人来解决我们的问题时，他们却失败了，原因不仅仅是腐败或无能——原因是技术。中央政府根本不再有能力解决我们的需求，因为它所设计的世界已经改变。
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