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The Huffington Post
November 7, 2011
Turning Off the Lights: Democracy in the Dark
The front-runners in the Iowa caucuses and now in the New Hampshire primary, seem to detest one another, but they agree on one thing: that the Democrats want unlimited government pushing unearned "entitlements" and Obama style "socialism," while Republicans seek an "opportunity society" which means, well, no government at all. The Republican Party is effectively at war with the public sphere.
What this means in practice is evident in Highland Park, Michigan and other cities that have been pulling the plug on street lamps. There is no more dismal metaphor for America's abandonment of the public sphere than the decision by Highland Park to rip up a swath of its street lights in the name of public parsimony. Whether in Asia, Africa or Latin America, the first thing any township aspiring to civility and modernity does is put up street lights. Why? Because doing so keeps the emerging public square illuminated 24 hours a day, because it pushes private violence out of town into the shadows beyond, because it symbolizes the coming of civilized daily life where the right to safe public spaces is an essential priority of what it means to live in civility -- and in time, under democracy.
When I was barely a teenager in the early 50's, I remember attending my first "town meeting" in Stockbridge, Massachusetts before its glory days as a tourist mecca, where a debate was raging over whether this quaint New England town could afford to put up a new light on a side street. Nathan Horowitt, a Berkshire Country sage (and a contributor to the founding of modern Israel as well as the designer of the famous no-numerals Movado watch) spoke at the meeting. His words were simple and compelling -- idealism as an argument for public policy: "Do we want Stockbridge to become part of our growing cosmopolitan civilization? To offer illumination to our neighbors currently on the dark edge of town and locked in the 19th century?" When budget cutting predecessors of the Santorum/ Romney/ Ron Paul gang said the town couldn't afford it, Horowitt insisted that the street light was a token of our modernity, our egalitarianism, our public life. If we couldn't afford a street light, we couldn't afford our democracy. His inspiration carried the day and the meeting voted the funds and put in the street light.
Here we are now sixty years later, and in a new Millennium, living in what we now boast is "the greatest country in the world" -- being pushed enthusiastically in the wrong direction by politicians who hate politics and disdain the public sphere. Not turning on but turning off the lights. Leaving citizens to live half their lives in darkened outdoor spaces that, as a consequence, no longer really can qualify as public. "Light your own streets!" the penny pinchers say, rehearsing the mantra of the "dismantle government" crowd who think the inegalitarian private sector can do all the public sector once did -- but on the basis of who can afford to pay rather than on the basis of its obligation to nurture the public good. The opportunity society is really the "opportunity for those who can afford it" society, while the Democratic alternative they deride as the "Entitlement Society" is really the "Equal Opportunity for All Society." Entitlements are grounded in rights: street lights are not a privilege of the rich but the of right of town-dwellers to safe public space.
What Highland Park is doing is extending the gated community concept with its own security and garbage collection facilities to a "gated illumination" zone in which lighted thoroughfares are the privilege of the wealthy. To those who can afford it, light! And to those who can't afford it, darkness after dusk with enforced house arrest night after night for the rest of their lives. Let civility and public space fend for themselves.
When TVA and the great projects of the New Deal brought electricity to America's public streets and private homes in less privileged parts of the country, it was properly greeted as a victory not just for progress but for civilization, for equality, and thus for democracy. In America, everyone had the right to -- yes, was entitled to! -- a lit public square. A streetlight was not just a street light, but a token of civility and civilization, a proof of democratic government's commitment to equal public access for all, to public space that was truly public.
When Highland Park, Michigan turns off its street lights, America turns around and heads back into a Dark Age in which our finest ideals are once again shrouded in the obscurity of night. America's celebrated beacon of liberty about which Republicans talk incessantly is not an abstraction. It comprises all those tiny beams of freedom that liberate us from shadows and the night. Santorum and Gingrich and Paul and Romney take note: turn off the street lights and the beacon goes out.
Previous commentaries can be found on Benjamin Barber's blog.
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| January 10, 2012 |
Benjamin Barber was interviewed by Russia Today on the ongoing civil strife on Syria and chances foreign pressure might resolve the situation. |
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| December 9, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber spoke on the RESET-Doc roundtable "The Background of Xenophobia: Cultural and political roots of anti-immigrant fanaticism in Europe and United States" at the NYU Institute for Public Knowledge in New York City. |
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| December 8, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber spoke on the panel "The Global Crisis - A Crisis Of Solidarity?" at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York City. |
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| December 4, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber's Op/Ed "The fate of Saif Gaddafi" was published in The Guardian's Comment is Free section. |
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| November 17-19, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber gave a keynote and participated as a panelist at the Networking European Citizenship Education conference in Warsaw, Poland. Video available here. |
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| November 16, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber gave the lecture "The Power of Money and the Crisis in Democracy: From Greece to the Occupy Wall Street Movement" at the University of Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland. |
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| November 15, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber gave the keynote address "Is There an Interdependent Left?" at the German-American Institute in Heidelberg, Germany. |
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| November 15, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber's essay "Occupy Wall Street: “We Are What Democracy Looks Like!" was published in LOGOS: a Journal of Modern Society & Culture. |
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| November 5, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber was interviewed in "Wollen die vielleicht nach Nordkorea uebersiedeln?" was published in German in Die Presse (Austria). |
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| October 28, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on OutFront on CNN to discuss with Erin Burnett the possibility of Saif Gaddafi turning himself in to the ICC. Video available here.
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| October 27, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on Stossel on FOX Business Network to debate consumer protection and regulation with John Stossel. Watch the full episode here.
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| October 22, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber was interviewed by Russia Today on the death of Muammar Gaddafi. |
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| October 21, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber's Op/Ed "Libya's revolution has triumphed, but will democracy?" was published in The Guardian's Comment is Free section. |
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| October 20, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber was interviewed by WNYC's Brian Lehrer on The End of Gadhafi?. |
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| October 19, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber's article "Calling All Liberals: It's Time to Fight" was published online by The Nation. The article will appear in the November 7th print edition of The Nation. |
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| October 17-19, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber spoke at the Bruno Kreisky Forum for "GENIAL DAGEGEN - Was hätte Bruno Kreisky heute vorgeschlagen?" in Vienna, Austria. |
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| October 15, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber spoke at the 2011 Austen Riggs Center Fall Conference in Stockbridge, MA. |
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| October 2, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber was interviewed by Gazeta Wyborcza on how "The Cooperation of Cities is Better than the Cooperation of Nations." |
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| September 28-30, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber participated in panel discussions and addressed the delegates of the Civic Academy and the European Forum for New Ideas in Gdansk and Sopot, Poland. |
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| September 14, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber spoke at the Performing Arts Center at SUNY-Purchase College in Purchase, NY. |
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| September 12, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber spoke with Brian Lehrer on WNYC about Interdependence Day. |
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| September 11-12, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber co-hosted and participated in the 2011 Interdependence Day Celebration & Forum at Library for the Performing Arts and 3LD Art & Technology Center in New York City. |
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| September 10, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber was interviewed by Jacek Zakowski of Polityka on how the world changed after September 11. |
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| September 9, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber spoke with Alan Chartock on WAMC about planned Interdependence Day activities and the 10th anniversary of 9/11. |
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| September 8, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber appeared on The Tavis Smiley Show to recount his whereabouts on 9/11 and explain why borders don’t matter anymore. |
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| July 26, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber was interviewed by Russia Today on Bashar Assad's offer to end single party rule in Syria. |
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| July 21, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber's op/ed The Debt Ceiling Crisis Is Actually A Democracy Crisis is published (in Polish) by the Instytut Obywatelski (Civic Institute). |
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| June 26, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber addressed Rev. Billy Talen's "Church of Earthalujah" at Theatre 80 in New York's East Village. |
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| June 24, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber gave a keynote address at the Future of Community Engagement in Higher Education 2nd Annual Summer Research Institute in Boston. |
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| June 15, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber moderated (with John Fullerton of the Capital Institute) a conversation between author and activist Bill McKibben and climate change economist Graciela Chichilniksy for the event "Ecological and Economic Interdependence" in New York City. Video of the event available here. |
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| June 13, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber debated "Where are the Intellectuals? The Absence of Great Minds from Today's Key Political Debates" with Paul Nolte and Christoph von Marschall at the German Historical Institute in Washington, DC. |
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| June 9, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber's article "Should We Ban Men from Politics?" was published on the Demos Policy Shop blog. |
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| May 28, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber was interviewed by L'Actuel (Morocco) for "La leçon de démocratie du professeur Barber" on the Arab Spring and democratization (pp. 56-57). |
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| May 24, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber spoke with guest host Will Cain on the S.E. Cupp show on the Arab Spring and democratization. |
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| May 11, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber moderated the keynote discussion "Essaouira and Fes: Sustaining Cultures" between André Azoulay and Faouzi Skali at the World Nomads Festival in New York. |
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| May 2, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber's Op/Ed "Libya: This is Nato's dirty war" was published in The Guardian's Comment is Free section. |
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| April 15, 2011 |
Benjamin Barber gave a keynote at A Pedagogy of Civic Engagement for Higher Education Conference at the University of London, Royal Holloway. |
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| April 13, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber was interviewed by Amar C. Bakshi of CNN's Global Public Square on whether to "Negotiate with Saif Gadhafi?". |
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| April 13, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber's Op/Ed "Yes, Saif is a Gaddafi. But there's still a real reformer inside" was published in The Guardian's Comment is Free section. |
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| April 4, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on "In the Arena" with Eliot Spitzer and David Gergen to analyze the thinking of Saif Gaddafi and the potential for transition. |
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| April 2, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on CNN Your Money to discuss the Federal budget and the debate over over cutting it. See a video clip here. |
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| March 26, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on CNN Your Money to discuss President Obama's agenda and public support. Video available here. |
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| March 19, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber spoke at the Left Forum on the panel "The Future of American Liberalism?" with Frances Fox Piven and Stanley Aronowitz. |
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| March 14, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on Business News Network (BNN) to speak with Howard Green on "The Struggle for Democracy in Libya". Watch parts one, two, and three. |
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| March 8, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on Anderson Cooper 360° on CNN to discuss a potential no-fly zone over Libya. |
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| March 7, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber was interviewed by Benjamin Pauker in "Understanding Libya's Michael Corleone" in Foreign Policy. |
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| March 6, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN to discuss the Gaddafi family and future prospects for Libya. Transcript avaiable here and video clips available here and here. Barber also wrote a blog entry for Fareed's Global Public Square blog, "What's going on in Saif Gadhafi's head? (hint: watch The Godfather)". |
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| March 4, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber was interviewed on The Tavis Smiley Show on Public Radio International. |
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| March 2, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on "The Takeaway" on WNYC radio to discuss the potential of a no-fly zone over Libya. |
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| February 26, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on "Our Times" with Craig Barnes on KSFR radio. Listen/download here. |
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| February 24, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on BBC Newsnight with Gavin Esler. Video clip available here. |
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| February 24, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on Boulton & Co on Sky News. |
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| February 24, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber was interviewed by TMNews (Italy) in "Libya, Benjamin Barber: No democratic horizon, only chaos." |
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| February 23, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber spoke on his experiences with Libya and its prospects for democracy on WNYC Radio with Andrea Bernstein. |
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| February 22, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber was interviewed on CBC Television (Canada) to describe the background to the situation in Libya and the Gaddafi clan. Video available here. |
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| February 17, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on The Tavis Smiley Show to discuss the revolutions and regional differences in the Middle East. |
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| February 11, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC Radio to discuss what happens after power changes hands in Egypt. |
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| February 4, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber was interviewed by Polish newspaper Super Express on events in Egypt and the history and potential future of democratic revolution in the Middle East. |
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| February 2, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber appeared on GRITtv to discuss the situation in Egypt and to update us on the conflict he wrote about in Jihad vs. McWorld years ago, between consumer capitalism and Islamism. |
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| January 7, 2011 |
Benjamin R. Barber gave the opening keynote speech at The Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) NYC 2011 Conference. The text of his speech, "The Museum and the Mall" is available here and the video can be viewed here. |
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| December 22, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber was interviewed by Gazeta Wyborcza |
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| November 16, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber lectured on the topic "Is a Civil Society Possible in a Radicalized, Polarized Post-Election America?" at New York City College of Technology |
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| November 10, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber's article "America's Knowledge Deficit" is published in The Nation. Translated into German and published as "Wissen wäre Macht" in Swiss newspaper Die Wochenzeitung on January 6, 2011. |
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| October 19, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber lectured on 'Religion and Politics in an Interdependent World' at the RESET Doc conference in New Delhi, India on Cultural and Religious Pluralism: The Muslim Minority in the Indian Democracy. East-West Comparison |
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| October 18, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber spoke on Politics and Social Extremes for the opening lecture in the Eva Samo Lecture series at the South Orange Maplewood Adult School |
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| September 16, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber is interviewed for the Spanish paper El País while he participates in the Human Rights Congress in Bilbao, Spain |
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| September 12, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber Op/Ed on Interdependence published in La Repubblica |
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| September 10-12, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber celebrated Interdependence Day in Berlin, Germany |
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| June 10, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber appears on the John Stossel Show on Fox Business News |
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| June 4, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber's published response to Anthony Julius NY Times Book review of Paul Berman's "Flight of the Intellectuals" |
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| April 6, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber on The Tavis Smiley Show. Watch the full interview here. |
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| March 26, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber on Fox & Friends Part 1 and Part 2 |
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| March 17, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber delivers a keynote lecture for the 3rd International Children and Consumerism Forum in Sao Paulo, Brazil |
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| March 12, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber on Your $$$$ on CNN |
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| March 9, 2010 |
Benjamin R. Barber discussed President Obama's performance on the panel "Obama: Change We Can Still Believe In?", hosted by the New York Society for Ethical Culture |
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