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托马斯·马尔萨斯:人口论·摘录 47
托马斯·马尔萨斯《人口论》· An Essay on the Principle of Population · 投资
The labourer who earns eighteen pence a day and lives with some degree of comfort as a single man, will hesitate a little before he divides that pittance among four or five, which seems to be but just sufficient for one. Harder fare and harder labour he would submit to for the sake of living with the woman that he loves, but he must feel conscious, if he thinks at all, that should he have a large family, and any ill luck whatever, no degree of frugality, no possible exertion of his manual strength could preserve him from the heart-rending sensation of seeing his children starve, or of forfeiting his independence, and being obliged to the parish for their support. The love of independence is a sentiment that surely none would wish to be erased from the breast of man, though the parish law of England, it must be confessed, is a system of all others the most calculated gradually to weaken this sentiment, and in the end may eradicate it completely.
出处:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4239
定位:Excerpt 47 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录
白话
一个每天挣十八便士、单身时过得还算舒适的劳工,在把这点微薄收入分给四五口人之前会犹豫,因为那点钱似乎只够一个人用。为了和心爱的女人生活,他愿意承受更差的食物和更苦的劳动,但他若稍加思考就会意识到,一旦有了大家庭又遇到任何不幸,无论怎样节俭、怎样拼命卖力气,都无法避免看着孩子挨饿,或失去独立、不得不靠教区救济的心碎感受。热爱独立是没人愿意从人心中抹去的情感,但英国的教区法恰恰最会逐渐削弱这种情感,最终可能彻底根除它。这说明底层婚姻决策受独立感和贫困救济制度的深刻影响。
上下文
马尔萨斯《人口论》讨论英国劳工因收入微薄和教区救济法而不敢结婚,担心失去独立、沦为救济对象。
今日一问
福利救济制度在帮助穷人的同时,是否可能削弱他们自立的意愿?我们该如何设计更合理的支持方式?
公版作品;原文逐字取自 Project Gutenberg,仅摘录段落并附全书链接。
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