Is there a more annoying cliché in policy-wonk circles than “there are no silver bullets”? If so, it does not readily spring to mind. What those who intone this ritual phrase mean, of course, is not to expect too much. Silver bullets kill werewolves, we are told: just point, fire and forget. But those are fantasy tales. Real-life solutions are never quite as simple, are they?
在政策专家圈子里,还有比“银弹并不存在”(there are no silver bullets)更让人厌烦的老生常谈吗?即便有,我现在也不能立刻想起来。当然,念这句咒语的人想表达的是,不要期待太多。传说银弹可以杀死“狼人”:只需瞄准、开枪,就完事了。但这些都是奇幻故事。现实中的解决方案从来都不会这么简单,对吗?