Why Marc Dunkelman Says America Can’t Build Big Things Anymore
JUDJ-Prepared Summary from June 25, 2025 | The USA: Why Nothing is Working and How to Fix It. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the speaker.
In a recent America at a Crossroads discussion, Marc Dunkelman—fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs and author of Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress and How to Bring It Back—offered a sharp diagnosis of why the United States struggles to complete major public projects. Drawing on decades of political and social insight, Dunkelman traced how America moved from the sweeping ambition of 20th-century infrastructure to a paralyzing inability to build anything significant today. The conversation explored historical shifts, cultural backlash, and the urgent need to find a middle ground between unchecked power and total gridlock.
From Moses to Mullholland: The Power of the Past
Dunkelman began by highlighting the ambitious builders of America’s past—figures like Robert Moses in New York and William Mullholland in Los Angeles—who oversaw sweeping public works that shaped the urban landscape. From aqueducts to highways, these men wielded enormous, often unilateral power. Projects were completed swiftly, but at steep human and environmental costs. Communities were displaced, ecosystems damaged, and decisions made behind closed doors. Still, the tangible results—the roads, the water systems, the skylines—remain foundational to modern American life.
When Progressives Turned on Power
The tide turned in the 1960s and 1970s, Dunkelman explained, when progressives began to question the very establishment they had once empowered. Fueled by scandals like Watergate and disasters like unsafe consumer products and urban renewal failures, the public narrative shifted. Instead of seeking to centralize authority to solve big problems, reformers began creating guardrails to prevent abuse: environmental regulations, zoning laws, public comment processes, historical preservation acts, and more. These checks were meant to democratize decision-making and prevent top-down harm—but they also fragmented power and slowed everything down.
Paralysis by Procedure
Today, Dunkelman argued, America has swung too far in the other direction. Instead of authoritative figures making hard calls, projects stall under the weight of endless objections and litigation. “Any one of a multitude of objections can stop a project,” he said—even when the broader public good is evident. He cited examples like the endless delays of California’s high-speed rail and Massachusetts’ failed attempt to build a clean energy transmission line from Quebec. No single person or agency can move forward, because no one is truly empowered to decide.
The Missing Middle
So how do we fix it? Dunkelman called for a new approach—one that acknowledges the value of local voices without granting them veto power. The goal, he said, should be a system that provides input without paralysis. That might mean reviving institutions like public utility commissions, empowering appointed officials with clear mandates, or establishing independent panels that can weigh trade-offs transparently. “We need to build systems where people have a voice,” he emphasized, “but not a veto.”
Reclaiming the Capacity to Act
Ultimately, Dunkelman urged a reframing of the progressive ethos. Instead of fearing centralized power, Americans must find ways to trust well-designed institutions to serve the common good. “Progress doesn’t mean pleasing everyone,” he concluded. “It means making hard decisions with eyes wide open.” Until we empower someone to weigh those trade-offs and say yes—even when some will object—we’ll remain a nation that dreams big but builds nothing.
About America at a Crossroads
Since April 2020, America at a Crossroads has produced weekly virtual programs on topics related to the preservation of our democracy, voting rights, freedom of the press, and a wide array of civil rights, including abortion rights, free speech, and free press. America at a Crossroads is a project of Jews United for Democracy & Justice.