【推文】James Lindsay - The Left wants power. The solution is not coveting power.

這是 James Lindsay 最近寫的不算很長的推文串

連結

• 原推文 - x.com/conceptualjame...

• Thread Reader App版本（一頁版本） - threadreaderapp.com/...

原文及個人翻譯

So there's a pretty popular meme idea about power out there that's nothing short of propaganda. It goes like this:

The Left wants power. Conservatives want to be left alone. This is why the Left always wins. (So, conservatives should desire power.)

It's deeply wrong. 🧵

所以，有一個相當流行的權力迷思，幾乎可以說是宣傳。它這麼說：

左派想要權力。保守派想要被放著不管。這就是為什麼左派總是獲勝的原因。（所以，保守派也應該渴望權力。）

這完全是錯誤的。

Dialectical manipulation always mixes truths and lies, and it always screws up context. In this case, it is absolutely true that the Left covets (not just wants) power, and it's generally true that conservatives wish to be left alone. Those are the truths. The rest is misleading.

辯證式操縱總是混雜真與假，並總是混淆上下文。在這種情況下，左派確實貪戀（不只是想要）權力，這點絕對是真的；而保守派通常希望被放著不管，這也是事實。但其餘的論述都是誤導性的。

Leftism could be defined, in fact, by its relationship with power. The Left and normal people (particularly conservatives) have different relationships with power. The Left covets it and, failing to truly understand it, always abuses it. Conservatives don't.

For the Left, power is how you force people to be ways they don't want to be (oppressed or reeducated into "transformation"). They believe everyone abuses power against them (because they're narcissists) and covet power so they can claim it and abuse it back for themselves.

事實上，可以通過其與權力的關係來定義左派。左派和普通人（尤其是保守派）與權力有不同的關係。左派貪戀權力，由於無法真正理解權力，他們總是濫用權力。保守派則不會。

對左派而言，權力是強迫人們成為他們不願成為的方式（被壓迫或重新教育以「轉變」）。他們相信每個人都濫用權力來對付他們（因為他們是自戀者），並貪戀權力以便他們可以奪取並為自己濫用。

Again, to be absolutely clear on this point, we can (and should) define "Leftism" by this particular relationship to power. The Left is that (sociopolitical) faction that covets abusive (demiurgic) power so it can abuse it to force people to adhere to Leftist demands.

The meme (Left wants power, conservatives don't, so Left wins, so conservatives should want power) isn't wrong about Leftists, but it assumes the Leftist relationship to power overall when talking about conservatives, thus handing the whole terrain to the Left. It's propaganda.

再次明確指出，我們可以（並且應該）通過這種對權力的關係來定義「左派」。左派是那個（社會政治）派系，他們貪戀可被濫用的權力（造物主權力），以便濫用這種權力，強迫人們遵守左派的要求。

這個迷因（左派想要權力，保守派不想要，所以左派獲勝，所以保守派應該想要權力）對於左派來說並不是完全錯誤的，但它假設保守派與權力之間的關係與左派相同，從而將整個戰場讓給了左派。這就是宣傳。

Conservatives have a completely different relationship to power. Conservatives do not covet (want) power, and they aren't abusive with it. Conservatives are stewards of power. Conservatives see the correct role for power to be temporary, faithful stewards of universal standards.

It is neither that conservatives don't want power nor that they won't wield it when they have it. It's that conservatives view power much more cautiously and soberly than Leftists. They don't covet power; they see it as a necessary obligation to serve and serve faithfully.

保守派與權力之間有完全不同的關係。保守派不貪戀（不想要）權力，也不會濫用權力。保守派是權力的管理者。保守派認為權力正確的角色應該是臨時的、忠實的普遍標準管理者。

這並不是說保守派不想要權力，也不是說他們擁有權力後不會使用它。而是保守派比左派更謹慎、更清醒地看待權力。他們不貪戀權力；他們認為權力是服務和忠實服務的必要義務。

Christian conservatives will see any civic authority they step into as a conduit for them to serve people and the community by remaining faithful to God and that community. Secular conservatives will see it as serving those people they represent judiciously and honestly.

In other words, conservatives do not tend to have a utilitarian understanding of power and do not covet it. If they have such an understanding and/or covet power, they are not conservatives. They are Leftists. Leftism, remember, can be defined by its relationship to power.

基督教保守派將把他們所擁有的任何公民權力視為一個渠道，讓他們通過忠於上帝和該社區來為人民和社區服務。世俗保守派則將其視為公正、誠實地為他們所代表的人民服務。

換句話說，保守派通常不會從功利主義的角度理解權力，也不會貪戀它。如果他們有這樣的理解和/或貪戀權力，他們就不是保守派。他們是左派。請記住，可以通過左派與權力的關係來定義左派。

This meme, then, operates as propaganda by placing both the Left and conservatives in terms of the Leftist relationship to power in order to misdiagnose what's going on an invite conservatives to redefine themselves as power-covetous Leftists with "trad" values.

The solution is not coveting power. It is being willing to accept the mantle of power in faithful service while seeking to grow in information, wisdom, and discernment so that honorable and sacred duty can be discharged responsibly and to the betterment of society.

這個迷因因此作為宣傳運作，通過將左派和保守派都置於左派與權力的關係中來誤診發生了什麼，並邀請保守派重新定義自己為貪戀權力的左派，但擁有「傳統」價值觀。

解決方案不是貪戀權力。而是願意接受忠實服務的權力責任，同時尋求增長資訊、智慧和辨別力，以便能負責任地履行這項光榮而神聖的職責，並使社會變得更好。