我写这本书，是想要激发我的学生、中国的大学生、世界各地已经功成名就的大学毕业生，重新思考成功的意义。那些顶尖大学录取的人，还有那些找到好工作并赚了很多钱的人，都倾向于将自己的成就主要归功于自己的努力和勤奋工作。我们很容易忘记一路上帮助我们的机遇和好运。如此思维方式对身处竞争激烈的市场社会中的人来说司空见惯，在这样的社会中，取得成就的压力从一个人年幼之时就出现了，在高中和大学期间变得尤其大。例如，中国的年轻人承受着巨大的压力，为了准备参加高考，他们需要付出多年的努力补习功课和熬夜学习。

在竞争激烈的社会中取得成功的那些人开始相信，他们的成功完全是自己的功劳，因此他们理应得到成功带来的回报。他们也倾向于相信那些成就不如自己的人应该承受他们目前的境遇。

对才能和成就，以及谁应该得到高薪与社会尊重的这种思考方式，必然会损害社会团结。这种思考方式在赢家和输家之间挖掘了一条难以跨越的鸿沟，扩大了精英阶层和同胞之间的距离。这种思考方式也给赢家带来了伤害：相信命运完全掌握在自己手中会给我们带来追求成功的巨大压力——无论追求成功是为了取悦父母，还是为了取悦老师和我们自己。在美国、中国和世界各地，许多天赋很高的年轻人都受到了激烈竞争的压力的伤害。年轻人的心理健康问题日益严重，焦虑、抑郁情绪弥漫，自杀率不断上升。这本书想要探讨，我们如何才能找到理解成功的新方式，变得不那么焦虑，更宽厚、更谦逊，这种方式让我们对公共利益有更强的责任感。

很遗憾，新冠疫情让我在一段时间内无法访问中国。期待着有一天——希望这一天很快到来——我能够回到中国，继续与中国读者探讨公正、美德及成功的意义。

迈克尔·桑德尔

A Message to Chinese Readers

I wrote this book to challenge my students,university students in China,and successful college graduates everywhere,to rethink the meaning of success.Those who win admission to top universities,or who get good jobs and make a lot of money,are tempted to believe that our achievements are due mainly to our effort and hard work.We easily forget the luck and good fortune that helped us on our way.This way of thinking is familiar in competitive market societies,in which the pressure to achieve begins at a young age and becomes especially intense during high school and college years.Consider,for example,the tremendous pressures placed upon young people as they prepare,over years of cram courses and late-night studying,to take the gaokao college entrance examination.

Those who succeed in competitive societies come to believe that their success is their own doing,and that they therefore deserve the rewards it brings;they also tend to believe that those less accomplished than themselves deserve their fate as well.

This way of thinking about merit and achievement,about who deserves high pay and social esteem,has a corrosive effect on social cohesion.It creates a deep divide between winners and losers,and widens the distance between elites and their fellow citizens.It also harms the winners:believing that our fate is in our hands creates enormous pressure to achieve—to please our parents,or teachers,and ourselves.Many gifted young people—in the U.S.,China,and around the world—are harmed by these intense competitive pressures.Consider the growing mental health problems among young people,including anxiety,depression,and rising rates of suicide.This book asks how we can find a less anxious,more generous,more humble way of understanding success,one that points us toward a greater sense of responsibility for the common good.

I regret that the pandemic has prevented me from visiting China for some time.I look forward to the day,I hope soon,when I will be able to return to China to continue my conversation with Chinese readers about justice,merit,and the meaning of success.