Nothing Is So Clear In History That

Reformers Have Long Observed City People Loitering On Busy Corners, Hanging Around In Candy Stores And Bars And Drinking Soda Popon Stoops, And Have Passed A Judgment, The Gist Of Which Is: "this Is Deplorable! If These People Had Decent Homes And A More Private Or Bosky Outdoor Place, They Wouldn't Be On The Street!" That Judgment Represents A Profound Misunderstanding Of Cities. It Makes No More Sense Than To Drop In At A Testimonial Banquet In A Hotel And Conclude That If These People Had Wives Who Could Cook, They Would Give Their Parties At Home.

Nations Are Political And Military Entities, And So Are Blocs Of Nations. But It Doesn't Necessarily Follow From This That They Are Also The Basic, Salient Entities Of Economic Life Or That They Are Particularly Useful For Probing The Mysteries Of Economic Structure, The Reasons For Rise And Decline Of Wealth. Indeed, The Failure Of National Governments And Blocs Of Nations To Force Economic Life To Do Their Bidding Suggests Some Sort Of Essential Irrelevance.

Erosion Of Cities Or Attrition Of Automobiles?

Throughout The World Dark Ages Have Scrawled Finis To Successions Of Cultures Receding Far Into The Past.

(the Psuedoscience Of Planning Seems Almost Neurotic In Its Determination To Imitate Empiric Failure And Ignore Empiric Success.)