In Winnie-the-Pooh, there is a significant moment when the bear is asked whether he wants honey or condensed milk with his bread. He replies “both”. You can get away with this sort of thing if you are a much loved character in children's literature. But it is more problematic when great nations start behaving in a childish fashion. When Americans are asked what they want – lower taxes, more lavish social spending or the world's best-funded military machine – their collective answer tends to be “all of the above”.
在《小熊維尼》(Winnie-the-Pooh)的故事里，有一個頗有意義的時刻——當有人問維尼是想在面包上抹蜂蜜還是煉乳時，他的回答是“兩個都要”。如果你是兒童文學中深受人們喜愛的角色，這樣做是沒有任何問題的。但如果大國開始以孩子的方式行事，問題就嚴重得多。當美國人被問到想要什么——低稅、更大方的社會支出或全球資金最充足的軍事機器——的時候，他們的集體回答往往是“全都要”。
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