“The US governs the international system to protect its own economy. It is not in charge ofprotecting other economies, ”he says.“ So when America goes into recession, you haveantirecessionary policies. When other countries are in recession, they don't have the ability toengage in antirecessionary policies because they can't have a permissive monetary policy,because money would flee . ”In person , he has the air of a philosophy professor rather than agimlet-eyed financier. In a soft voice which bears the traces of his native Hungary, he argues that itis time to rewrite the so-called Washington consensus — the cocktail of liberalisation, privatisationand fiscal rectitude which the IMF2 has been preaching for 15 years. Developing countries nolonger have the freedom to run their own economies, he argues, even when they follow perfectlysound policies. He cites Brazil, which although it has a floating currency and manageable public debtwas paying ten times over the odds to borrow from capital markets.

　　Soros, who at one stage after the fall of the Berlin Wall3 was providing more assistance to Russiathan the US government, believes in practising what he preaches. His Open Society Institute hasbeen pivotal in helping eastern European countries develop democratic societies and marketeconomies. Soros has the advantage of an insider's knowledge of the workings of globalcapitalism, so his criticism is particularly pointed. Last year, the Soros foundation's network spentnearly half a billion dollars on projects in education, public health and promoting democracy, makingit one of the world's largest private donors.

　　Soros credits the anti-globalisation movement for having made companies more sensitive to theirwider responsibilities.“ I think [ the protesters] have made an important con tribution by makingpeople aware of the flaws of the system, ”he says. “ People on the street had an impact on publicopinion and corporations which sell to the public responded to that. ”Because the IMF hasabandoned billion dollar bailouts for troubled economies, he thinks a repeat of the Asian crisis isunlikely. The fund's new“ tough love ”policy — for which Argentina is the guinea pig — has otherconsequences. The bailouts were a welfare system for Wall Street, with western taxpayers rescuingthe banks from the consequences of unwise lending to emerging economies. Now the IMF hasdrawn a line in the sand, credit to poor countries is drying up. “ It has created a new problem — theinadequacy of the flow of capital from centre to the periphery, ”he says.

　　The one economy Soros is not losing any sleep about is the U. S.“ I am much more positive aboutthe underlying economy than I am about the market, because we are waging war not onlyterrorism but also on recession, ”he says.“Although we don't admit it, we are actually applyingKeynesian4 remedies, and I am a confirmed Keynesian. I have not yet seen an economy inrecession when you are gearing up for war. ”He worries that the world's largest economic power isnot living up to its responsibilities. “ I would like the United States to live up to the responsibilities ofits hegemonic power because it is not going to give up its hegemonic power, ”he says.“The onlything 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 . ”

　　練習題：

　　Ⅰ. Plea se pick out sente nces from th e p assa ge e xp ress in g the following mea nings:

　　1. 就算發展中國家實行很完善的機制, 它們的經濟也有可能被國際游資打擊。

　　2. 索羅斯在冷戰結束后向俄羅斯提供的資助比美國政府給的要多。

　　3. 索羅斯是國際資本運作的行家里手, 所以他的觀點總是切中要害。

　　4. 只要打仗, 國民經濟就會景氣。

　　Ⅱ. Question :

　　Where is Soros'motherland?