“别再为亿万富翁摇旗呐喊了，”众议员罗·卡纳（民主党-加利福尼亚州）一边在加州大学伯克利分校校园漫步，一边对加州州长加文·纽森说道。硅谷的这位国会议员已将这种斥责变成了一种口头禅。两人在40号提案——这项如今正在科技亿万富翁的金钱攻势下摇摇欲坠的亿万富翁税问题上——站在了对立面。如果只看上周校园集会上的气氛，你根本猜不出该提案陷入了困境。
“Stop shilling for billionaires,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, as we strolled across the University of California, Berkeley’s campus. Silicon Valley’s congressman has made the rebuke something of a refrain. The two have taken opposing sides on Proposition 40, the billionaire tax now buckling under an onslaught of money from tech billionaires. You wouldn’t have guessed its troubles from the mood at the rally on campus last week.
在那里，一股萌芽中的加州抵抗力量聚集在几位候选人身边，其中包括众议员艾莎·瓦哈布（民主党）；竞选保险专员的简·金；以及挑战民主党众议员吉米·戈麦斯的安吉拉·冈萨雷斯-托雷斯，他们都获得了“劳动家庭党”的背书。卡纳被问到了一个显而易见的问题：“你会竞选总统吗？”人群爆发出欢呼。几块“罗竞选总统”的标语牌自己给出了答案。
There, a budding California resistance gathered around candidates, including Rep. Aisha Wahab (D); Jane Kim, who is running for insurance commissioner; and Angela Gonzales-Torres who is running against Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez, all backed by the Working Families Party. Khanna was asked the obvious question: “Will you run for president?”The crowd roared. A couple of “Ro for President” signs supplied their own answer.
很难想象另一位加州政客会在伯克利受到这种待遇，仿佛未来的国王。进步资本主义是这场事业的旗帜，而人群已选定了他们的领袖。
It was hard to imagine another California politician being greeted quite like this at Berkeley, as king hereafter. Progressive capitalism was the cause, and the crowd had settled on its leader.
卡纳很容易将自己与纽森划清界限。纽森是新自由主义者。卡纳是一位“新政民主党人”，将向寡头征税。纽森在加沙问题上左右摇摆。卡纳则毫无保留地反对向以色列提供军事援助。然而，在2028年民主党初选中，他最直接的派系内对手可能来自别处。纽森将与宾夕法尼亚州州长乔什·夏皮罗（民主党）和肯塔基州州长安迪·贝希尔（民主党）竞争。
Khanna finds it easy to define himself against Newsom. Newsom is a neoliberal. Khanna is a “New Deal Democrat” who’ll tax the oligarchs. Newsom triangulates on Gaza. Khanna opposes military aid to Israel, period. Yet in the 2028 Democratic primary, his most direct interfactional rival may lie elsewhere. Newsom would compete with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D).
对卡纳而言，左翼阵营的角逐更可能通过社会主义者众议员亚历山德拉·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯（民主党-纽约州）展开——前提是两人都参选。我问卡纳，在实践中，什么区分了进步资本主义与社会主义。“自由企业意味着政府不控制所有生产资料，”他说，“你不会想让唐纳德·特朗普控制一切。”话虽如此。
For Khanna, the contest for the left would more likely run through socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — if they both run, at least. I asked Khanna what, in practice, distinguishes progressive capitalism from socialism. “Free enterprise means that the government doesn't have control over all of the means of production,” he said. “You wouldn't want Donald Trump controlling everything.”
他说，他想要的是一个为“勤劳的个人”服务的体制，而不是让人们“在睡梦中因股市增长而积累财富”。他的回答演变成了对当前资本主义实践的批判。这种区别依然难以捉摸。我又试了一次。他实际上会与众议员亚历山德拉·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯或参议员伯尼·桑德斯（无党籍-佛蒙特州）有什么不同做法？卡纳指出了一个支持创业、创新和小企业的资本基金，以及他在全美各地建立的就业和创业项目。
Fair enough. What he wants, he said, is a system that works for “hardworking individuals,” rather than people “accumulating wealth in their sleep because of the growth of the stock market.”His answer became a critique of capitalism as currently practiced. The distinction remained elusive. I tried again. What would he actually do differently from Ocasio-Cortez or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)? Khanna pointed to a capital fund supporting entrepreneurship, innovation and small businesses, and to the jobs and entrepreneurship programs he had been setting up across America.
那么，区别在于优先事项的不同吗？他说：“一个新新政。”卡纳迄今为止在一项微妙的业务中做得相当不错：在左翼保持可信度，同时承认自己是资本家。随着社会主义在党内获得势头，这需要一定的灵活性。他代表硅谷，所以这不完全是他的错——眨眨眼。他给左翼的提议颇具吸引力：例如，当比尔·马赫邀请他上节目时，他不会把社会主义者扔到车轮下。
So is the difference a matter of priorities? “A New Deal,” he said. Khanna is, so far, doing reasonably well at the delicate business of remaining credible on the left while admitting to being a capitalist. As socialism gains ground in the party, that takes a certain suppleness. He represents Silicon Valley, so it’s not really his fault — wink, wink. His offer to the left has its attractions: He won’t throw the socialists under the bus when, say, Bill Maher invites him on his show.
在与我的交谈中，他当然也没有这么做。我问及“觉醒1.0”的遗产——2020年前后“削减警察经费”口号和批判性种族理论达到顶峰的时期。8月，奥卡西奥-科尔特斯引用一位布鲁克林市议员的话：“觉醒1.0很疯狂”，一笑置之。我问，民主党是认真清算那个时代的过激之处，还是仅仅学会了耸耸肩带过？他们欠选民什么？
He certainly didn’t in his conversation with me. I asked about the legacy of Woke 1.0 — the 2020-era peak of defund-the-police slogans and critical race theory. In August, Ocasio-Cortez had laughed the period off with a line borrowed from a Brooklyn councilman: “Woke one was crazy.”Had Democrats seriously reckoned with the era’s excesses, I asked, or merely learned to shrug them away? What did they owe voters?
他说：“我一直深爱这个国家。我认为我们需要颂扬美国的历史和文化。”接着他提到了奴隶制和吉姆·克劳法。“觉醒意味着意识到不公正——我认为这没有错。”这个回答几乎没有清算，倒是给足了定心丸。他在威斯康星州州长民主党初选中背书社会主义者洪弗朗西丝（Francesca Hong，民主党人）——尽管她最终落选——这或许也让他在美国民主社会主义者组织的忠实支持者中赢得了一些信任。
“I’ve always had a deep love of this country,” he said. “I think we need to celebrate America’s history and culture.”He went on to invoke slavery and Jim Crow. “Woke means being aware of injustices — I think there's nothing wrong with that.”The answer offered little reckoning, but plenty of reassurance. His endorsement of socialist Francesca Hong (D) in her unsuccessful Wisconsin gubernatorial primary bid might have earned him some trust among the Democratic Socialists of America faithful, too.
她在疫情期间发表的反警察和反感恩节言论成了政治包袱，但卡纳依然坚定地站在她身边。与此同时，他愿意赞颂美国历史、捍卫强有力的边境管控，并接受设立移民执法机构的必要性，这让温和派民主党人有了欣赏他的理由。卡纳似乎决心让所有人都留在对话桌前。他深谙自己提议改革的那个世界的内里乾坤，拥有一副巧舌如簧的本事，能抚平那些因他言行而感到不快的人的羽毛。
Her pandemic-era statements against the police and Thanksgiving became a political liability, but Khanna stood by her side anyway. Meanwhile, his willingness to celebrate America’s history, defend strong borders and accept the need for an immigration enforcement agency gives moderate Democrats something to like. Khanna seems determined to keep everyone in the conversation. Khanna knows the guts of the world he proposes to reform and has a silver tongue for soothing those whose feathers he ruffles.
他的履历对此略有解释：曾在奥巴马总统任内担任商务部副助理部长，随后在科技律所威尔逊·桑西尼·古德里奇·罗萨蒂担任知识产权律师。2023年硅谷银行倒闭时，卡纳全力支持联邦政府担保其存款人的资金。干预有进步派的理由：企业需要发放工资，任由地区性银行倒闭只会让更多权力集中在最大的几家银行手中。
His resume offers some explanation: a stint as President Obama’s deputy assistant secretary of Commerce, followed by work as an intellectual-property lawyer at techy law firm Wilson Sonsini. When Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in 2023, Khanna went all-in supporting a federal guarantee of its depositors’ money. There was a progressive case for intervention: businesses needed to meet payroll, and allowing regional banks to fail would concentrate still more power in the largest banks.
他流利地阐述了这一观点。同时也存在显而易见的选民利益考量。当硅谷需要华盛顿伸出援手时，他们的众议员回应了呼唤。这种双重诉求的结合，可能让卡纳不仅仅是另一位伊丽莎白·沃伦参议员（民主党-马萨诸塞州）。卡纳押注2028年不会重演2020年——厌倦了失败的左翼将容忍一位能赢得美国民主社会主义者组织和《美国保守派》的柯特·米尔斯青睐的候选人，后者甚至表示他会选择卡纳而非国务卿马可·鲁比奥（共和党）。
He made it fluently. There was also an obvious constituency interest. When Silicon Valley needed Washington, its congressman answered the call. That combination of appeals could make Khanna more than another Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Khanna is betting 2028 will be no 2020 — that a left tired of losing will tolerate a candidate who can win over the Democratic Socialists of America organizat and Curt Mills of the American Conservative, who has suggested that he’d take Khanna over Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R).
卡纳已经在这些选民群体中赢得了一些善意。然而，作为桑德斯运动继承人的奥卡西奥-科尔特斯，从未需要解释什么将她与社会主义区分开来。卡纳则需要。目前，他仍有空间向所有人继续阐述自己的主张。威廉·梁是居住在旧金山的作家。他为康妮·陈在加利福尼亚州第11选区的国会竞选活动做志愿者。
Khanna has already earned some goodwill across those constituencies. Yet Ocasio-Cortez, heir to Sanders’s movement, has never had to explain what separates her from socialism. Khanna does. For now, he has room to keep making his case to all of them. William Liang is a writer living in San Francisco. He volunteers for Connie Chan’s congressional campaign in California’s 11th District.