Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress and How to Bring It Back
Categories: History, Politics & Social Sciences
In Why Nothing Works (2025), writer Marc J. Dunkelman traces how American progressives moved from building large public projects to distrusting centralised power. Dunkelman follows the tension between two progressive instincts: one that gives government the authority to get things done, and one that protects individuals and communities from that authority. He argues that the veto points created by the second, from environmental review to local opposition, make it hard to build housing, transit and infrastructure.
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- Fareed Zakaria: “So, let's start with a fascinating example in the book.”