Late Late Capitalism #1

It seems like there was a time when large scale infrastructure projects were done quickly and with more rudimentary tools. It’s part of our national lore – Depression Era investment and the post-war boom. Times we’ve romanticized with notions of civic duty and community development. Problems identified and practical solutions devised in record time. It’s the kind of ingenuity we think about when expressing deep felt national pride. A country of doers – leaders in all things. But what happens when even the smallest public project takes endless months or years? When every project is necessarily handled by a business concern that operates with peak efficiency to ensure that the top of the pyramid is richly rewarded. Where taking longer is actually in their interest. We’re surrounded by evidence of our decline. Investments we fail to make in each other, the corners we cut so a little extra flows to the top of the social system, the patchwork we use to make it to another day.