Ranking the Half-Century · 半世纪排名
The objective asks for a ranking
- Compare the relative significance of the major events of the first half of the 20th century in shaping American identity.
- Relative significance again — the task is to rank, exactly as in 5.12, and to state the criterion used.
- In shaping American identity narrows it: the measure is effect on how the nation understood itself.
这一目标要求排序
- 比较 20 世纪上半叶各重大事件在塑造美国认同方面的相对重要性。
- 又是相对重要性——任务是排序,与 5.12 完全相同,并要说明所使用的标准。
- 在塑造美国认同方面把它收窄了:衡量的是对这个国家如何理解自身的影响。
'Relative significance' means the task is to... · 'Relative significance'意味着任务是……
Exactly as in 5.12. · 正如5.12所示。
The candidate events
- The Spanish-American War and the empire debate; World War I and the refusal that followed it.
- The Great Depression and New Deal, which redefined liberalism and realigned the parties.
- World War II, which ended the Depression, opened and then closed wartime opportunities, and made the country the most powerful on Earth.
候选的诸事件
- 美西战争与那场帝国辩论;第一次世界大战以及随之而来的拒绝。
- 大萧条与新政,它们重新定义了自由主义并重组了政党。
- 第二次世界大战,它终结了大萧条、打开又关上了战时的机会,并使这个国家成为地球上最强大的国家。
Match each criterion to what it favours. · 将每个标准与其偏好的对象匹配。
Name the criterion before ranking. · 在排名前命名标准。
Two usable criteria
- Durability: which change lasted? The New Deal's regulatory agencies and political realignment are explicitly long-term in the CED.
- Reach: which change touched the most people's daily lives? Mass culture and the consumer economy of 7.7 touched nearly everyone.
- Name your criterion before you rank, and the ranking becomes an argument instead of a preference.
两条可用的标准
- 持久性:哪一项变化持续了下来?新政的监管机构与政治重组在 CED 中被明确称为长期的。
- 波及面:哪一项变化触及了最多人的日常生活?7.7 的大众文化与消费经济几乎触及了每一个人。
- 在排序之前先说出你的标准,排序就成了一个论证,而不是一种偏好。
Durability, reach, or identity? · 持久性、影响力还是身份认同？
Sort each event by the criterion it scores highest on. · 根据各事件得分最高的标准对其进行排序。
Because the objective says 'identity', the measure is... · 因为目标是'identity'（身份认同），所以衡量标准是……
7.1's first and third threads both describe arguments about that. · 7.1的第一和第三线索都描述了关于那一主题的争论。
Name your criterion before you rank. Durability favours the New Deal's explicitly long-term regulatory agencies and political realignment; reach favours 7.7's mass culture and consumer economy — and the strongest objection to any ranking is usually the criterion you did not choose.
在排序之前先说出你的标准。 持久性有利于新政那些被 CED 明确称为长期的监管机构与政治重组;波及面有利于 7.7 的大众文化与消费经济——而对任何排序最强的反对意见,通常就是你没有选择的那条标准。
Select both · 两者 strongest candidates by the identity measure. · 选择由身份认同标准得出的两个最强候选项。
Both changed what the country thought it was for. · 两者都改变了人们对国家使命的认知。
Identity is the measure here
- 7.1's first thread describes a country arguing over reform; the third describes it arguing over its role abroad.
- So the events that most shaped identity are those that changed what Americans thought the country was for.
- By that measure, the New Deal's redefinition of liberalism and the war's arrival at world power are the two strongest candidates.
这里衡量的是认同
- 7.1 的第一条线索描述了一个就改革争论不休的国家;第三条描述了它就自身在海外的角色争论不休。
- 因此最能塑造认同的事件,是那些改变了美国人认为这个国家为何而存在的事件。
- 按这一尺度,新政对自由主义的重新定义,以及这场战争抵达世界强权,是两个最强的候选。
The best objection to a ranking is usually the ____ you did not choose. · 对排名的最佳反驳通常是你未选择的____。
What lasted longest is rarely what touched the most people first. · 持续时间最长的往往不是最先触及最多人的。
Writing the comparison
- Pick two events, state one criterion, rank them, and answer the strongest objection to your ranking.
- The best objection is usually the other criterion: what lasted longest is rarely what touched the most people first.
- That is the whole method, and it is the same one 5.12 required — worth having learned once.
书写这次比较
- 选两个事件、说明一条标准、给它们排序,并回答对你这一排序的最强反对意见。
- 最强的反对意见通常就是另一条标准:持续最久的东西,很少是最先触及最多人的东西。
- 这就是全部的方法,而它与 5.12 所要求的相同——值得学一次。
One event changes what a government does for the next fifty years; another changes what a family listens to every evening. Which mattered more depends on whether you are measuring institutions or lives, and both are legitimate.
一个事件改变了此后五十年里一个政府所做之事;另一个事件改变了一个家庭每晚所听之物。哪一个更重要,取决于你衡量的是制度还是生活,而两者都是正当的。
Compare the relative significance of the major events of the first half of the 20th century in shaping American identity — the task is to rank against a stated criterion. Durability favours the New Deal's long-term regulatory agencies and political realignment; reach favours mass culture and the consumer economy; and since the measure is identity, the strongest candidates are the New Deal's redefinition of modern American liberalism and the war's arrival at world power with its renewed debate over the nation's role.
比较 20 世纪上半叶各重大事件在塑造美国认同方面的相对重要性——任务是按一条明说的标准排序。持久性有利于新政那些长期的监管机构与政治重组;波及面有利于大众文化与消费经济;而由于衡量的是认同,最强的候选是新政对现代美国自由主义的重新定义,以及这场战争抵达世界强权及其带来的关于国家角色的被重新激起的辩论。