More than anything else, this week’s reading got me thinking about the effects of power. To be able to have constructed the works that constitute his legacy, Moses attained and exercised a great deal of power. Caro seems to suggest that Moses started out “idealistic”, and gradually hardened as it quickly became apparent to him that he would need this power to get anywhere. The big questions that bother me about this:
Would this shift in his attitude have taken place if he were not working in a city as big and complex as New York? Or is it universally expected that policymakers and those who work in public service must always be willing to compromise some idealism? Does a certain cutthroat drive precede power–or does power instill a cutthroat attitude in those who attain it?
Personally, I think that “cutthroat drive” must precede power to some extent, although power can certainly exacerbate it. One who simply wants to contribute to the greater good would be content to do so on a more low-key level. As far as whether this cutthroat tendency is especially prevalent in NYC politics and public service, it seems likely: The greater the competition, and the more people you have to deal with to get things done, the stronger that tendency will become. In a city with as many diverse and conflicting conflicting interests and ideologies as those of New York, the most aggressive is often the one which will win out.
