Sometimes an idea looks pretty good on paper, but you just know it would be a disaster in real life. Such is the notion of U.S. creative thinker Benjamin Barber, a senior research scholar at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has written a provocative, challenging and entertaining book entitled If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities. He argues with passion and logic that the emerging city-states of the world would be a far more effective way to deal with 21st century challenges than the failed national governments with their last-century notions of borders. “The nation-state is failing us on a global scale,” Barber writes in his book. “It was the perfect political recipe for the liberty and independence of autonomous people and nations. It is utterly unsuited to interdependence.” As he writes, globalization has created a level of interdependence that just didn’t exist in the past. In fact, he contends, there are a host of issues that jurisdictions created several centuries ago are not designed to address. Global cities are a relatively new phenomenon, says Barber. One hundred years ago, 20% of the world’s population lived in cities; today it’s more than half, and it is forecast to reach 70% by 2050. Barber presented his ideas in Calgary recently to an enthusiastic crowd, including the city’s mayor (and national media darling) Naheed Nenshi, who would like nothing more than to see his city achieve charter city status. (In fact, he and Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson pitched the concept of charter city status to the provincial government recently.) Barber is even more charismatic and convincing in person. He speaks with authority and passion on the subject of cities as a superior form of government. It’s quite possible to get caught up in the moment – until you stop to think it through. Because, as exciting as the concept of a new, localized form of government may seem, it’s also fundamentally flawed. Barber’s critique of national governments has considerable merit. It is true that our countries are stymied by such challenges as immigration in a globalized environment. For evidence, you need look no further than our federal government’s clumsy dithering over temporary foreign workers. Where he gets shaky is when he argues that city governments are better suited to deal with such issues because they are much more in touch with the “grassroots.” For every shred of evidence he calls to mind, there is an equally compelling counterpoint. Consider, for example, the chaos in Toronto city council this year, as its substance-abusing mayor went rogue and for a time appeared unstoppable. Corruption seems to flourish at the civic level, too. Has Barber never heard of Chicago’s Richard Daley or Detroit’s Kwame Kilpatrick? Consider, too, how party politics has crept into councils in other major cities, such as Vancouver. With such organization comes a new doctrinarism – the very “discipline” that undermines that grassroots quality Barber so admires. Look at voter turnout, as well. If city governments have so much merit, why do municipal elections draw even fewer (at times, less than 20%) voters than either provincial or federal elections? Councillors often get to keep their jobs because voters are so disengaged they don’t even get to know the candidates’ names. Barber’s notion that there must be a better form of government is appealing, but I don’t buy the belief that cities can save the world. I find myself wondering whether he feels that way because he’s from New York, one of the most powerful and influential cities in the world. Or maybe I dismiss his thesis because I grew up outside of a city, and am constantly reminded how farmers, naturalists and others who value alternatives to an urban environment consistently get short shrift. He’s identified the problem well. It is true that many of our institutions, including governments, are ill suited to the modern world. But rather than throwing our lot in with the cabal of third-tier politicians who run our cities, we’d to do well to focus on finding more creative solutions. Doug Firby is editor-in-chief of Troy Media and National Affairs columnist. This commentary reprinted courtesy of Troy Media (www.troymedia.com). |
