If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities

More than half of humanity now lives in cities, and, in coming decades, this proportion is only going to grow. In his new book, Barber (Ctr. on Philanthropy & Civil Society, CUNY Grad. Ctr.; Jihad vs. McWorld) argues that this is not just inevitable but desirable. The author cheers the decline of the nation-state and anticipates the rise of the city-state. He asserts that modern cities with pragmatic mayors are the political institutions that hold the most promise for reducing poverty, fighting terrorism, mitigating climate change, and building global connections. The volume is divided into 12 chapters, each cataloging the policy and civic innovations that have been engineered by cities. There are optimistic accounts of the expansion of mass transit and support for the arts and citizen participation but little reflection on challenges or quandaries. Paired with each chapter is a profile of a different mayor. These are uniformly positive and describe careers, aspirations, and accomplishments with barely a mention of pitfalls, controversy, or failure.