The Assassination of New York. - book reviews

Monthly Review, July-August, 1994 by Robert Engler

Perhaps the greatest vulnerability of the book is in its ambition. Fitch has opened a set of questions, beginning with the underlying dynamics of capitalism. He is also asking how does society transform power relationships so that the economy and the political system become more inclusive and responsive to a broader definiTion of the public. He makes no reference to and presumably has little faith in the society evolving or being steered in such a direction by the rulers of its political economy. (In contrast, Lincoln Steffens, a noted predecessor of Fitch who observed power in New York and other cities and countries, found himself highly attracted to the intelligent determination of the financial and political bosses who dominated in his time. He speculated as to whether the drive of these "bad" men could be harnessed to socially "good" ends.(5))

Communism and Social Democracy, as they are generally conceived of today, receive only passing mention from Fitch. He explains that as alternatives neither inspires much conviction an)' more. His own preference is for an economic democracy where workers participate directly in the running of the workplace as well as of the political machinery. To further this ideal, the industrial development policy of the city should use all of its resources, including contracts and bank loans, to encourage social ownership.

As Fitch recognizes, these proposals require planning. But he disavows centralized planning, whether by remote economic oligarchs or state bureaucrats. His model is one of democratic planning, fully participated in by and accountable to the people of the city whose lives are affected by such controls. It is a kind of governance about which we have everything to learn, including the issue of at what scale it is feasible.

If democratic planning is to have a chance there must be mobilizations of popular forces to create a kind of politics that does not now exist in New York. There are a few suggestions from Fitch, but once again a more sustained discussion about unions, political parties, and alliances would be helpful.

It is worth noting that Fitch does not believe that the forces he challenges are omnipotent. Indeed several cases are cited where they have been thwarted. A citizens group sparked by Jane Jacobs was instrumental in blocking the construction of the Lower Manhattan Expressway which undoubtedly would have destroyed thriving neighborhoods. To David Rockefeller, who championed this modernization, these were commercial slums which had the potential for becoming valuable real estate. Reference is also made to a still continuing battle by community activists including Marcy Benstock of the Clean Air Campaign to slow down if not yet finally bury a well-financed drive to build an elaborate new highway (Westway) and, incidentally, to grab and expand prime real estate along the Hudson, once more in the name of automobile traffic planning.

The Assassination of New York is a provocative addition to the literature on the control and fall of New York. It provides an urgent warning about some of the realities of much-celebrated post-industrial society. Some of the Illustrations have been dissected by previous chroniclers.(6) But they are worth recounting when placed within Fitch's framework and his findings on planning and development. At times the style shifts from academic to breezy, but the book is quite readable. Perhaps its most appealing quality is the old fashioned sense of indignation which pervades the analysis and the willingness to provoke dialogue on the requirements for a healthy economy and a democratic polity.