It is deliberate policy to keep even the favoured groups somewhere near the brink of hardship, because a general state of scarcity increases the importance of small privileges and thus magnifies the distinction between one group and another.

• 甚至对受到优待的一些阶层，也有意把他们保持在艰苦的边缘上徘徊，其所以采取这一方针，是因为在普遍匮乏的情况下，小小的特权就能够显得更加重要，从而扩大各个阶层间的差别。