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A man named Adam Smith is considered the father of American capitalism.
亚当·斯密被称为美国资本主义之父。
He wrote about his ideas in a famous book called The Wealth of Nations.
他把他的思想写进了他的名著《国富论》中。
He believed that a capitalist system is run by an invisible hand.
他认为资本主义制度是靠“看不见的手”运转的。
The invisible hand is the idea that there is no need for government interference in the economy because the self-interest of individuals will serve the greater good (or the maximum benefits for everyone in society).
“看不见的手”的思想是政府不必干预经济，因为个人私利会使社会大众获得最大利益。
To understand this idea, imagine that a store near your home sells a piece of candy for $20.
要理解该思想，设想你家附近的商店的一块糖果卖20美元。
You think that this price is too high, but it is the only place to buy candy, so if you want candy, you have to pay the $20.
你觉得这个价格过高，但能买糖果的地方仅此一家，所以如果你想吃糖果，就得支付20美元。
However, if the store across the street begins selling the same piece of candy for $1, you will act in your own self-interest and buy the less expensive candy.
但如果街对面的商店的同样一块糖果卖1美元，你受私利驱使会买更便宜的糖果。
The more expensive store will be forced to lower its candy prices to compete with the cheaper store, or else it won't sell any candy and won't make any profit.
糖果价格高的商店将被迫降低糖果价格来与糖果更便宜的商店竞争，否则它的糖果将卖不出去，也就不能获利。
In this situation, everyone involved has acted out of self-interest, and the final result is a lower price for candy.
在这种情形下，每个参与者都出于私利，最终的结果是糖果的价格更低。
The lower prices will serve the greater good of everyone in the neighborhood, because everyone can buy more candy.
低价也使附近居民获益，因为他们能买到更多的糖果。
This is the basic principle (or explanation) behind the invisible hand and the United States' market economy.
这就是“看不见的手”和美国市场经济的基本原理。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
