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Suppose there is a fence erected in the middle of nowhere that's blocking your path: what do you do?
假设在荒无人烟的地方竖起了一道栅栏挡住了你的去路：你会怎么做？
Do you take it down in order to continue on your way? Or do you first think hard about why it is there to begin with?
你会把它拆掉以便继续前行吗？还是你会先认真思考它为什么在那里？
Chesterton's Fence is a simple rule of thumb that suggests that you should never destroy a fence, change a rule, or do away with a tradition until you understand why it's there in the first place.
切斯特顿栅栏是一个简单的经验法则，它建议你永远不要破坏栅栏、改变规则或废除传统，除非你首先明白它为什么在那里。
The principle assumes that fences have a purpose, were carefully planned, and cost time and money to erect.
该原则假设栅栏有其用途、经过精心规划，并且需要花费时间和金钱来建造。
Someone must have had a reason for thinking that a fence would be a good idea. So what if we just take them down?
一定有人有理由认为栅栏是个好主意。那么如果我们把它们拆掉呢？
Entrepreneur Steve Blank likes to point out that when startups get their first Chief Financial Officer, the newly hired often wants to show that they are proactive and cut costs.
企业家史蒂夫·布兰克喜欢指出，当初创公司迎来第一位首席财务官时，新任首席财务官往往希望表明他们是积极主动的，并削减了成本。
Some go as far as calculating the expense of the free snacks offered to employees and then start charging the staff a small fee.
有些甚至计算了提供给员工的免费零食的费用，然后开始向员工收取少量费用。
People can of course pay, but they don't like this change in company culture — and many may quit.
员工当然可以付钱，但他们不喜欢公司文化的这种变化——许多人可能会辞职。
As a result, the firm makes pennies on the nuts but spends thousands hiring new engineers.
结果，公司从坚果中赚了几分钱，却花了数千美元聘请新工程师。
All because the reformer didn't understand the purpose of the policy he axed.
这一切都是因为改革者不理解他所取消的政策的目的。
A more tragic example of misguided reform was China's so-called Great Leap Forward, which lasted from 1958 to 1962.
一个更悲惨的误导性改革例子是中国所谓的大跃进，从1958年持续到1962年。
One of its initiatives was the Four Pests Campaign to eliminate all mosquitoes, flies, rats, and even sparrows that were suspected of stealing grain from the fields.
它的一项举措是“除四害”运动，以消灭所有蚊子、苍蝇、老鼠，甚至怀疑从田里偷粮食的麻雀。
And so millions of people hit noisy pots and pans to prevent sparrows from resting, with the goal of causing them to drop dead from exhaustion.
因此，数百万人用发出噪音的锅碗瓢盆敲打麻雀，不让它们休息，目的是让它们筋疲力尽地死去。
Some simply shot the birds down from the sky. Others destroyed their nests and broke their eggs.
有些人干脆把鸟从天上射下来。其他人摧毁了它们的巢穴，打碎了它们的蛋。
The campaign worked and pushed the Chinese sparrow population to near extinction. So what about the unintended consequences?
这场运动奏效了，使中国麻雀种群濒临灭绝。那么，意想不到的后果呢？
With no sparrows to eat them, locust populations ballooned, swarming the country and compounding the problems caused by other reforms.
没有麻雀吃，蝗虫数量激增，席卷全国，加剧了其他改革造成的问题。
The consequence was the Great Chinese Famine, one of the largest man-made disasters in human history, with a death toll in the tens of millions.
其后果是中国大饥荒，这是人类历史上最大的人为灾难之一，死亡人数达数千万人。
Perhaps all those who want to break with traditions, or reform norms, should learn to recite this short line from philosopher F. K. Chestertons' original 1929 writing:
也许所有想要打破传统或改革规范的人都应该学会背诵哲学家F. K.切斯特顿1929年原著中的这句短文：
"In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle."
“在改革事物方面，与让事物变形不同，有一条简单明了的原则。”
Let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate is erected across a road.
假设为了简单起见，在道路上竖起了栅栏或大门。
The more modern type of reformer goes up to it and says, 'I don't see the use of this; let us clear it away.'
更现代的改革者走到它面前说：“我看不出这有什么用处；让我们把它清理掉吧。”
To which, the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: 'If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away. Go away and think.
对此，更聪明的改革者会回答：“如果你看不到它的用处，我当然不会让你把它清理掉。走开，好好想想。
Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it."
然后，当你回来告诉我你确实看到了它的用处时，我可能会允许你摧毁它。”
What do you think? Is Chesterton's defense of conservatism a good rule to live by?
你怎么看？切斯特顿对保守主义的辩护是一个值得遵循的好规则吗？
Or do you also need people to break down old structures even if they don't fully understand why they were built in the first place?
或者你也需要人们去打破旧结构，即使他们并不完全理解它们最初建造的原因？
Share your thoughts in the comments below! If you like how we explain complicated ideas in simple cartoon animation, you can support us. Visit patreon.com/sprouts.
在下面的评论中分享你的想法！如果你喜欢我们用简单的卡通动画解释复杂的想法，你可以支持我们。访问patreon.com/sprouts。
Just visit us, learn how it works, and what's in it for you. We hope to see you there!
只需访问我们，了解它的工作原理以及它对你有什么好处。我们希望在那里见到你！
And if you are a parent, or an educator, check our website sproutsschools.Com.
如果你是家长或教育工作者，请查看我们的网站sproutsschools.Com。
There you can find this and other video lessons, additional resources, and classroom activities.
在那里你可以找到这个和其他视频课程、额外资源和课堂活动。
