During almost every one of the periodic crises that affect mercantile economies, voices are raised saying “Marx was right after all”. A few years ago Nicolas Sarkozy was seen ostentatiously clasping a copy of Das Kapital, while in recent weeks financial gurus, including Nouriel Roubini and George Magnus, have written articles referencing the communist thinker. When recovery occurs, the cry vanishes only to reappear next time there is an economic bust. The first thing wrong with the slogan is that it has little to do with Karl Marx. I remember the otherwise highly intelligent professional lady who, when asked why she was a Marxist, replied: “I got bored with my father’s friends.”
在幾乎每一次影響商業經濟的週期性危機期間，總會有人站出來說「還是馬克思說的對。」幾年前，人們曾看到尼古拉•薩科吉(Nicolas Sarkozy)頗有幾分賣弄地攥著一本《資本論》(Das Kapital)，而最近幾周，包括魯裏埃爾•魯比尼(Nouriel Roubini)和喬治•馬格納斯(George Magnus)在內的金融大師們，也都曾撰文提及這位共產主義思想家。而當經濟復甦時，這種聲音就會消失，下次再發生經濟衰退時又會再次出現。這種聲音第一個錯誤之處在於，它其實跟卡爾•馬克思(Karl Marx)沒有多大關係。我記得有一位在其他方面都十分聰慧的專業女性，在被問及爲什麼成爲馬克思主義者時答道：「我厭倦了我父親的朋友們。」