Václav Havel’s essay “The Power of the Powerless” is probably not a set text in many, if any, high schools around Europe. It should be. A study of the importance of truth and reason in the face of reality-denying forces, it is a buttress to the edifice of Europe’s Enlightenment tradition. It is also a powerful reminder of half-forgotten political memories of those who lived behind the Iron Curtain and whose role in enriching Europe’s politics has yet to be given its due.
瓦茨拉夫·哈维尔(Václav Havel)的散文《无权者的权力》或许并未成为欧洲许多、甚至任何一所高中的指定课文。但它本该如此。这篇作品探讨了在否认现实的力量面前,真理与理性的重要性,是支撑欧洲启蒙传统大厦的一根支柱。它同样有力地提醒我们,那些曾生活在铁幕后的人所拥有的、如今半被遗忘的政治记忆,以及他们在丰富欧洲政治生活方面的作用,至今仍未得到应有的承认。