Keeley, F. (2014). Who Should Govern, Cities or Nation-States? A False Choice. Solutions 5(4): 80-83. https://thesolutionsjournal.com/article/who-should-govern-cities-or-nation-states-a-false-choice/
Reviews Book Review
Who Should Govern, Cities or Nation-States? A False Choice by Fred Keeley REVIEWING If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities Benjamin Barber (Yale University Press)
L
et’s get two things straight from the beginning: First, Benjamin Barber is one smart fellow. Second, his prescription for saving democracy is wildly off base. In his most recent book, If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities (Yale University Press), Professor Barber produces another of his wonderfully intense pieces of writing, this time taking on the twin issues of whether or not nations can effectively self govern in the modern world (he thinks not), and whether or not cities can become their successors (he thinks that they can). To get there, If Mayors Ruled the World takes readers through a Whitman’s Sampler of inspiring mayoral achievements, while offering blistering criticism of nations and international bodies who he claims have failed humanity’s biggest tests. Former Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek is singled out for praise because of his often quoted admonition to the city’s eternally squabbling religious leaders that “I’ll fix your sewers if you knock off the sermons.” Michael Bloomberg, immediate past Mayor of New York City, is a particular favorite of Professor Barber. Citing an unnamed “senior advisor” to Bloomberg, we learn the following, “you look at the way Mike has operated [and] he’s used mayors around the world and his network
of philanthropy to produce what I would say are the beginnings of an international infrastructure that can promote a level of change that is hard to fathom.” The “network of philanthropy” tool in “Mike’s” toolbox may seem just a bit out of reach for virtually any other mayor in the world, yet it is a key to whatever metric of success one can attribute to the former mayor. Certainly, Teddy Kollek, Michael Bloomberg, Sheila Dikshit of Delhi, and Ayodele Adewale of Lagos have a lot to be proud of regarding service to their respective constituencies. It is equally as certain that New York, Delhi, and Lagos have vast stretches of dilapidated housing and huge populations living in grinding poverty, for whom there appears to be no municipal relief. In contrast to Professor Barber’s claim, what relief there may be is shaped and managed by national governments. When it comes to America, think about Food Stamps, federal funds for affordable transportation, and access to quality health care via Medicaid operated by the states and delivered by county governments. Professor Barber’s careful selection of cities and mayors, designed to make his argument plausible, leaves out the cities and mayors who are anything but models of “from the bottom up” democracy. (Perhaps the reader can insert here their favorite
80 | Solutions | July-August 2014 | www.thesolutionsjournal.org
Yale University Press
fallen mayor. To prompt your thinking, consider Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit, or Mayor Marion Barry of Washington, DC). While there are many creative and honorable mayors around the world, there are similarly state legislators, members of congresses or parliaments, and heads of state who are equally creative and effective. Can you really argue that Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, is a policy or political failure? Is it possible to overlook former Costa Rican president Oscar Arias as a model of effective governance? As Professor Barber marches on toward his proposed “Global Parliament of Mayors,” he first must either disparage or ignore the existing international entities that are in existence to deal with massive-scale issues, such as atomic energy, famine, and disease. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a very substantial track record of success.