TED演讲:如何让世界到2030年时变得更好(7)

What that tells us, quite simply, is that GDP is not destiny¹.

这也就很明确地告诉了我们，国内生产总值不是决定性的因素。

We have countries that are underperforming on social progress, relative to their wealth.

世界上有一些比较富有，然而社会进步得分比较低的国家。

Russia has lots of natural resource wealth, but lots of social problems.

俄罗斯有很多自然资源财富，但同时也有很多社会问题。

China has boomed² economically, but hasn't made much headway on human rights or environmental issues.

中国的经济发展欣欣向荣，但在人权和环境问题上还没取得很大的进步。

India has a space program and millions of people without toilets.

印度有太空计划，但也有上百万人无厕所可用。

Now, on the other hand, we have countries that are overperforming on social progress relative to their GDP.

另一方面，同样也存在国内生产总值不高，但是社会进步得分却比较高的国家。

Costa Rica has prioritized education, health and environmental sustainability,

哥斯达黎加在教育、医疗和环境可持续性上处于领先水平，

and as a result, it's achieving a very high level of social progress, despite only having a rather modest GDP.

所以尽管它的国内生产总值不高，但它的社会进步水平却很高。

And Costa Rica's not alone.

哥斯达黎加也并非个案。

From poor countries like Rwanda to richer countries like New Zealand,

从像卢旺达这样的穷国家到像新西兰这样的富国家，

we see that it's possible to get lots of social progress, even if your GDP is not so great.

我们发现了即使国家的国内生产总值不高，也有可能取得很大的社会进步。

And that's really important, because it tells us two things.

这一点很重要，因为它告诉了我们两件事。

First of all, it tells us that we already in the world have the solutions to many of the problems that the Global Goals are trying to solve.

首先，它告诉了我们在当今世界上，我们已经有了一些可以应对全球目标要解决的问题的方法。

It also tells us that we're not slaves to GDP.

而且，它还告诉了我们我们并不是国内生产总值的奴隶。

Our choices matter: if we prioritize the well-being³ of people,

我们如何选择是有决定性的：如果我们把人民的幸福放在首位，

then we can make a lot more progress than our GDP might expect.

那么我们就可以创造出比国内生产总值能创造的更多的进步。

1 destiny   

n.命运，定数，天命

参考例句：

• Nobody knows his own destiny.没有人知道自己的命运。
• It was her destiny to become famous.她命里注定出名。

2 boomed   

v.激增( boom的过去式和过去分词 )；猛涨；发出隆隆声；以低沉有力的声音说话

参考例句：

• The big man's voice boomed out above the rest. 这位大汉低沉的声音压过了其他人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chicano literature boomed in the social movements of the 1960s. 奇卡诺文学勃兴于20世纪60年代社会运动的高潮中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。