Benjamin R. Barber

Benjamin R. Barber is the author of If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities.

From his Q & A at the Yale University Press blog:

Yale University Press: Why are you writing about cities when nation-states have all the power and are creating all the problems?

Benjamin R. Barber: Because it’s time to change the subject: we have been talking about independent nation-states for centuries, but more and more their power counts for little when it comes to the challenges of an interdependent world. The city’s not just where the action needs to be; it’s where the action is. Let’s talk intercity relations, not international relations; a parliament of mayors, not a League of Nations or a United Nations; global citizens, not local special interest consumers.

YUP: The American democratic process seems to be tied up in partisan knots. How can city mayors and their municipal governments do better?

BRB: As Mayor Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem said, mayors don’t give sermons, they...[read on]

Visit Benjamin R. Barber's website.

--Marshal Zeringue