剖析爱情中的经济学规则：用情专一如手握独家债券

Lessons in Love, by Way of Economics

    As my fine professor of economics used to tell us, economics is the study of the allocation of scarce goods and services. But what could be scarcer or more precious than love? It is rare, hard to come by and often fragile.

    My primary life study has been about love. Second comes economics, so here, in the form of a few rules, is a little amalgam of the two fields: the economics of love.

    理论一：付出与回报成正比

    In general, and with rare exceptions, the returns in love situations are roughly proportional to the amount of time and devotion invested. The amount of love you get from an investment in love is correlated, if only roughly, to the amount of yourself you invest in the relationship. If you invest caring, patience and unselfishness, you get those things back. (This assumes, of course, that you are having a relationship with someone who loves you, and not a one-sided love affair with someone who isn’t interested.)

    一般说来，恋爱中的回报向来跟你投入的时间与精力大致呈正比。你得到的爱取决于你为这段恋情的付出。但前提是你爱的那个人也爱你，单方面的爱不属此范畴。

    理论二：好的爱情就像“绩优债券”

    High-quality bonds consistently yield more return than junk, and so it is with high-quality love. Stay with high-quality human beings. And once you find that you are in a junk relationship, sell it immediately. Junk situations can look appealing and seductive, but junk is junk. Be wary of it unless you control the market.

    “绩优债券”会比“垃圾债券”为你带来更多收益，同样，好的爱情也会带来更高的回报。要和高素质的人交往，并且一旦发现你陷入了一段垃圾恋情，马上放手。这样你的“沉没成本”不至于太大。

    理论三：用情专一犹如手握“独家债券”

    In every long-term romantic situation, returns are greater when there is a monopoly. If you have to share your love with others, if you have to compete even after a brief while with others, forget the whole thing. You want to have monopoly bonds with your long-term lover. At least most situations work out better this way.

    The returns on your investment should at least equal the cost of the investment. If you are getting less back than you put in over a considerable period of time, back off.

    若想维持一段长久、稳定的恋情，用情专一是必要的。谁都想握着一张“独家债券”——跟自己的情人长相厮守，因为往往这样能带来比较好的结局。

    理论四：“长线投资”收益高

    Long-term investment pays off. The impatient day player will fare poorly without inside information or market-controlling power. He or she will have a few good days but years of agony in the world of love. To coin a phrase: Fall in love in haste, repent at leisure.

    “长线投资”往往会得到较高的收益，而那些耐不住性子的散户由于得不到内部消息，也缺乏操控市场的能力，往往会陷入困境。在爱情中也是一样：短暂的欢愉难以换来长久的幸福。

    理论五：“收益证券”永远是最有价值的

    When you have a winner, stick with your winner. Whether in love or in the stock market, winners are to be prized.

    不管在爱情还是证券交易中，手握“收益证券”就像拥有助你“百战不殆”的王牌。

    There is more that could be said about the economics of love, but these thoughts may divert you while you are thinking about your future. As workers and investors, we know that many dangers lurk in our paths.

    But so far, these things have always worked themselves out and this one will, too. In the meantime, they say that falling in love is wonderful, and that the best is falling in love with what you have.

    Source: http://www.nytimes.com/（文/Ben Stein）

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    生 词 表

    economics  n 经济情况,经济学

    scarce a 缺乏的,不足的,罕见的

    amalgam  n 混合物,汞合金

    bond   n 结合(物),粘结(剂),联结,公债,债券

    appealing

    wary a 谨慎的,小心的

    monopoly n 垄断

    agony  n 苦恼

    haste  n/v 匆忙,急速,草率;赶快

    leisure  n 空 闲,安逸

    divert v 使转向,使转移

    本文刊于《英语沙龙》，转载请注明出处。