536 | Marc J. Dunkelman: Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress - and How to Bring It Back
Feb 18, 2025
Dive into a discussion on why government struggles to tackle monumental issues like infrastructure and climate change. Explore the ongoing tension between Hamiltonian ambition and Jeffersonian skepticism in American politics. Understand the challenges that progressive movements face, including the need for self-reflection and balancing individual rights with collective goals. Delve into the Biden administration's struggles with policies on electric vehicle charging stations and learn about the importance of effective governance over grand reforms.
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insights INSIGHT
Nothing Works
Americans feel their government is ineffective despite identifying large-scale problems.
There's frustration with public authority and a sense of stagnation on critical issues.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Recurring Infrastructure Debate
Marshall Kosloff recalls discussions from 2007 about infrastructure projects as a way to re-engage young men.
He highlights the same arguments resurfacing 15 years later, indicating a lack of progress.
question_answer ANECDOTE
EV Charging Station Failure
Dunkelman highlights the Biden administration's EV charging station policy as an example of government inefficiency.
Despite efforts to address challenges, only a small fraction of the promised chargers were built.
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This book is a monumental biography of Robert Moses, who was the single most powerful man in New York City and State during his time. It explores how Moses accumulated and wielded power, shaping the city through his public works projects, including highways, bridges, and parks. The book delves into Moses's early life, his idealistic beginnings, and his transformation into a powerful figure who dominated New York's politics without ever being elected. It also highlights the social and environmental impacts of his projects and his eventual fall from power. The biography is renowned for its detailed and nuanced portrayal of power dynamics in urban politics[2][4][5].
Superpowered
The Secret That Helps Every Entrepreneur Eliminate the Suck, 10x Their Impact, and Have More Fun in Work and Life
Ryan Cassin
Shannon Waller
Steven Neuner
Why Nothing Works
Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back
Marc J. Dunkelman
This book delves into the reasons behind America's current inability to address significant challenges such as housing shortages, climate crises, and infrastructure issues. Dunkelman argues that a 'vetocracy' allows nearly anyone to stifle progress and that progressive reforms have inadvertently contributed to this gridlock. He suggests that progressivism must rediscover its roots to break through the current paralysis and restore faith in public institutions.
Confidence men
Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President
Ron Suskind
In this book, Ron Suskind provides a detailed and explosive account of the Obama administration's handling of the global financial crisis. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with key members of the Obama administration, including the President himself, Suskind offers an eyewitness account of the most momentous events in the history of global finance. The book explores the challenges faced by Barack Obama as he navigated the financial meltdown and the political and economic consequences that followed. It critiques Obama's leadership, portraying him as a brilliant amateur who struggled with confidence and personnel choices, and it provides a nuanced look at the financial industry and its role in the crisis.
Marc J. Dunkelman, author of Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress―and How to Bring It Back and a Fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, joins The Realignment. Marc and Marshall discuss the central causes of government's inability to accomplish big projects, why America and the progressive movement swing between "Hamiltonian" and "Jeffersonian" moments, why the Hamiltonian nature of ambitious eras like the New Deal, New Frontier, and Great Society lead to Jeffersonian backlash, the limited impact and political failure of the Biden administration's EV charging station policy, and how to balance our need to protect the rights of individuals and local communities with the need to accomplish big goals.
The Realignment 
