By+Geoff+Nunberg+譯/夏輝

在英美國家里，零工經(jīng)濟有一個酷炫的名字，叫g(shù)ig economy。Gig一詞原本是樂手們用來稱呼聚會或表演，為何如今又被用來概括這一種新經(jīng)濟形式呢？也許這要從20世紀40年代就興起的反主流文化潮流說起。

“Gig” goes back more than a century as musicians slang for a date or engagement. Nobodys sure where it originally came from， though there are lots of imaginative theories out there. But the word didnt have any particular glamour until the 1950s， when the hipsters1） and the Beats2） adapted it to mean any job you took to keep body and soul together3） while your real life was elsewhere.

The earliest example of that usage of the word that Ive found is from a 1952 piece by Jack Kerouac4）， talking about his gig as a part-time brakeman for the Southern Pacific railroad in San Jose. For the hipsters， calling a job a gig was a way of saying it didnt define you. A gig was a commitment you felt free to walk away from as soon as you had $50 in your pocket.

That was the era when the “real job”—permanent， well-paid and with benefits—was enjoying its moment in the American sun5）， thanks to the New Deal programs6）， strong unions and the postwar boom. So to turn away from that security and comfort in search of something more meaningful seemed a daring and romantic gesture. When you read Kerouac now， it still does.

“Gig” was a natural for the hippies who succeeded the hipsters， who made the avoidance of regular work a condition of tribal membership. But the words more subversive7） overtones receded along with the counterculture8）. In recent decades， “gig” has become just a hip term for any temporary job or stint， with the implication youre not particularly invested in it. I think of the barista or bookstore clerk who responds to my questions with a look that says， “Hey， man， its a gig. I dont really DO this.”

That tone of insouciance9） has made “the gig economy” the predominant name for whats being touted as the industrial revolution of our times. The lifetime job is history， were told， a victim of technology and the logic of the market. Instead， careers will be a patchwork of temporary projects and assignments， with the help of apps and platforms with perky names like FancyHands， Upwork and TaskRabbit.

It has been called the on-demand economy， the 1099 economy10）， the peer-to-peer economy， and freelance nation， among other things. But over the past year， investors， the business media and politicians seem to have settled on “the gig economy.” It strikes just the right jaunty， carefree note11）. The Financial Times explains that in the future， work will be less secure but lots more exciting. We can make our own schedule and hours， pick the projects that interest us， work from anywhere and try our hands at different trades.endprint

The buzzwords fly thick and fast12） here—well be “solopreneurs” and “free range humans” with “portfolio careers13）.” As the head of a freelancers organization puts it， were no longer just lawyers， or photographers， or writers. Instead， were part-time lawyers-cum-amateur photographers who write on the side14）.

Thats the image that phrases like “the gig economy” and “freelance nation” bring to mind， an economy populated by professionals and creatives， typically single millennials—people who may be willing to trade some security for the opportunity to take a month or two off to visit Patagonia. But that language doesnt get at the people who are cut loose15） in the new economy and who arent reveling in the independence it gives them—the ill-paid temps and contingent workers that some have called the “precariat16）.”

When you hear “freelancer” you dont think of the people cobbling together a livelihood cleaning apartments， delivering groceries and doing other peoples laundry. And not many of those people think of themselves as having gigs. Unless youre a bass player， calling a job a gig is a luxury reserved for people who can pretend they dont need one.

If you have a long cultural memory， its a bit jarring to hear those paeans to gig life coming from the venture capitalists and consultants who are hyping the new economic order. Its as if the shade of Kerouac were still haunting the place thats now called Silicon Valley， where he had his gig as a brakeman 65 years ago.

But their logic sounds impeccable. If “gig” suggests the independence you get when youre not tied down to a steady lifetime job， then just think of the freedom well all enjoy when the traditional job is consigned17） to the scrap heap of history， and the economy is just gigs all the way down. But the idea of a gig is only alluring if you know you can hit the road when it gets joyless. Otherwise its just an old word for a job you need that you cant count on having tomorrow.

“Gig”一詞有百余年的歷史，最初是樂手們用來稱呼聚會或表演的一個俗語。雖然坊間流傳著許多富有想象力的說法，卻沒人能真正確定它的由來。不過這個詞到了20世紀50年代才煥發(fā)出特別的光彩，當時的潮客和垮掉的一代用這個詞來指稱你做的任何可以糊口度日的零碎工作，而你真正的生活在別的地方。

我所找到的這個詞義的最早用法，是出自杰克·凱魯亞克寫于1952年的一篇文章，文中記述了他在圣何塞為南太平洋鐵路打零工，做兼職司閘員的經(jīng)歷。對潮客而言，把工作稱為零工，相當于說你所干的活與你是什么樣的人無關(guān)。所謂零工，就是只要你掙夠50美金，就可以馬上離職走人的一份差事。

由于羅斯福新政項目、強大的工會和戰(zhàn)后的繁榮，當時的年代是“貨真價實的工作”在美國最受歡迎的時代，這些工作長久可靠，薪水豐厚，福利到位。在這種情況下，不要這份安穩(wěn)和舒適，卻轉(zhuǎn)而尋求更有意義的東西，似乎是一個大膽而浪漫的舉動。即使是現(xiàn)在再讀凱魯亞克，還是能夠感受到這種色彩。

對于潮客之后的嬉皮士而言，“gig”（零工）一詞更是天然契合，因為成為嬉皮士團體一員的前提條件就是對工作的閃避。但是這個詞里所包含的更為顛覆性的含義卻隨著反文化運動的退潮而消退了。在最近的幾十年中，“零工”一詞已經(jīng)成為所有臨時工作或短期工作的時髦叫法，意思是你并沒打算全身心投入其中。這讓我想起那些咖啡店服務(wù)員或書店店員，當我向他們問詢時，他們臉上的表情仿佛在說：“嘿，伙計，我就是打個零工罷了。我可不是真干這個的。”endprint

這種漫不經(jīng)心的腔調(diào)使“零工經(jīng)濟”的叫法得到廣泛接受，用以命名這個被吹噓為是我們這個時代的工業(yè)革命。我們被告知，一干就是一輩子的工作已經(jīng)成為歷史，這個結(jié)果是科技帶來的犧牲品，符合市場發(fā)展的邏輯。取而代之的是，一個人的職業(yè)是由無數(shù)臨時項目和任務(wù)拼接而成的，要依仗那些擁有響亮名字的應(yīng)用和平臺，比如“好幫手”（FancyHands）、“接單開工”（Upwork）以及 “跑腿兔”（TaskRabbit）。

這種經(jīng)濟現(xiàn)實又被稱為按需經(jīng)濟、1099經(jīng)濟、P2P經(jīng)濟、自由職業(yè)之國，諸如此類。但是在去年，投資者、商業(yè)媒體和政客們似乎都認同了“零工經(jīng)濟”這個叫法。它成功塑造出一種愉快又輕松的氛圍?！督鹑跁r報》解釋道，在未來，工作雖然會變得沒那么穩(wěn)定，卻更加激動人心。我們可以自己規(guī)劃日程和鐘點，挑選我們感興趣的項目，不受辦公地點的局限，在不同領(lǐng)域中都可以一試身手。

由此產(chǎn)生了一大批流行詞匯——我們將成為“單打獨斗的創(chuàng)業(yè)家”以及“自由馳騁的新人類”，而我們所從事的是“多項職業(yè)大薈萃”。正如一個自由職業(yè)機構(gòu)的負責人所說的那樣，我們不再僅僅是律師，或攝影師，或作家。我們將會是一個業(yè)余時間從事寫作的兼職律師及攝影愛好者。

這就是諸如“零工經(jīng)濟”和“自由職業(yè)之國”這些詞匯所描繪出的圖景，該經(jīng)濟中都是專業(yè)人士和創(chuàng)意高手，尤其是那些單身的千禧一代——這些人興許會愿意犧牲一些工作上的穩(wěn)定性，來換取一個去巴塔哥尼亞一兩個月的機會。但是這種描述沒有觸及那些在新經(jīng)濟中無處立足的人，以及那些并沒有為新經(jīng)濟所帶來的獨立自由而歡欣鼓舞的人，這些人包括薪水低廉的臨時雇員和被有些人稱為“無保障無產(chǎn)者”的臨時工。

當你聽到“自由職業(yè)者”的時候，你所想到的一定不是那些以清掃公寓、運送雜貨和幫人清洗衣物為營生的人們。而這些人當中也沒有多少人認為自己是在打零工。除非你是個擁有一技之長的貝斯演奏家，否則把工作稱為零工是那些可以自我安慰說自己不需要工作的人才負擔得起的一種奢侈。

如果你的文化記憶足夠久，聽到那些推動新經(jīng)濟秩序的風險資本家和顧問們高唱零工生活的贊歌，會感到有些刺耳。仿佛凱魯亞克的身影依然流連在這個如今被叫做硅谷的地方，65年前，他正是在這里打了一份司閘員的零工。

然而他們的邏輯的確聽起來無可挑剔。如果“零工”為人們許諾了一種獨立感，人們將不受一份穩(wěn)定的終身工作的束縛，那么，一旦傳統(tǒng)的工作被丟進歷史的故紙堆，我們所享受到的自由該多么激動人心啊，而經(jīng)濟則要向著零工的方向一路高歌凱進了。然而，只有當你一旦覺得某份零工索然無味就可以抽身走人時，零工這個想法才算誘人。否則不過是新瓶裝了“工作”的舊酒，不同的是，這份工作你明明需要，卻不知道明天還留不留得住。

1.hipster [?h?pst?（r）] n. 潮客，特指20世紀40～50年代反主流文化的人，后來這個詞演變?yōu)閔ippies （嬉皮士）。

2.the Beats：垮掉的一代，二戰(zhàn)后美國出現(xiàn)的一批年輕人，他們對社會現(xiàn)實不滿，蔑視傳統(tǒng)觀念，拒絕承擔任何社會義務(wù)，以浪跡天涯為樂。

3.keep body and soul together：勉強維持生計

4.Jack Kerouac：杰克·凱魯亞克（1922～1969），美國作家，美國“垮掉的一代”的代表人物。

5.ones moment in the sun：某事物特別成功、流行的時期

6.New Deal programs：指美國總統(tǒng)羅斯福于1933～1939年實施的一系列對經(jīng)濟進行干預(yù)的政策。

7.subversive [s?b?v??（r）s?v] adj. 顛覆性的，傾覆性的

8.counterculture：反文化運動，指20世紀60年代和70年代美國青年中形成的一種文化群落，表現(xiàn)為反傳統(tǒng)的生活方式和思想道德觀念。

9.insouciance [?n?su?si?ns] n. 無憂無慮；逍遙自在；漫不經(jīng)心；漠不關(guān)心

10.1099 economy：1099經(jīng)濟，自雇型經(jīng)濟的另一種稱呼，“1099”是美國合同工的稅表，在自雇平臺上打工需要填這種稅表，因此得名。

11.strike … note：表達……的情感；帶有……的印象；營造……的氛圍

12.thick and fast：又快又多地，頻頻

13.portfolio careers：多種職業(yè)組合

14.on the side：兼職；在正事之外；作為副業(yè)

15.cut loose：（從束縛等中）解放出來，擺脫；結(jié)束對……的控制

16.precariat：無業(yè)游民，邊緣勞工，由precarious和proletariat混合而成的詞。

17.consign [k?n?sa?n] vt. 留出，撥出endprint