What do Nasa’s plans to launch one of the world’s most powerful rockets next Monday have in common with Europe’s ambitions to build cutting edge semiconductor factories?
美国国家航空航天局(NASA)下周一发射世界上最强大火箭之一的计划，与欧洲打造尖端半导体工厂的雄心有什么共同之处？
At the very least, both are moonshots — one literally and the other metaphorically. Other similarities struck me as I listened to a Boeing executive last week discuss the challenges of building the first rocket system designed to bring humans back to the Moon after a 50-year absence.
在最低限度上，两者都是“登月”计划——一个是字面上的，另一个是隐喻意义上的。上周，当我听一位波音(Boeing)高管介绍打造新型火箭系统（这款发射载具将让人类在缺席50年后重返月球）的挑战时，我意识到其他相似之处。
Both projects have been politically rather than industrially driven; both require tens of billions of dollars of state support; and both risk delivering uncompetitive results.
这两个项目都是由政治（而非工业）驱动的；两者都需要数百亿美元的国家支持；两者都有可能取得不具竞争力的结果。
Finally, I will bet that the EU’s plan to double its share of global semiconductor manufacturing to 20 per cent by 2030 will, like Nasa’s $20bn space launch system, overrun and overspend.
最后，我敢打赌，欧盟的计划——到2030年将其在全球半导体制造业所占比重提高一倍，至20%——将像美国国家航空航天局的200亿美元太空发射系统(Space Launch System)一样，超时和超支。
But does that mean both projects will be a waste of taxpayers’ money? Not necessarily. Much will depend on how politicians and the public value the capabilities that are delivered.
但这是否意味着两个项目都纯属浪费纳税人资金？不一定如此。这在很大程度上取决于政客和公众如何评价最终获得的能力。