If Mayors Ruled the World

In the face of the most perilous challenges of our time—climate change, terrorism, poverty, and trafficking of drugs, guns, and people—the nations of the world seem paralyzed. The problems are too big, too interdependent, too divisive for the nation-state. Is the nation-state, once democracy's best hope, today democratically dysfunctional? Obsolete? The answer, says Benjamin Barber in this highly provocative and original book, is yes. Cities and the mayors who run them can do and are doing a better job. Barber cites the unique qualities cities worldwide share: pragmatism, civic trust, participation, indifference to borders and sovereignty, and a democratic penchant for networking, creativity, innovation, and cooperation. He demonstrates how city mayors, singly and jointly, are responding to transnational problems more effectively than nation-states mired in ideological infighting and sovereign rivalries. Featuring profiles of a dozen mayors around the world—courageous, eccentric, or both at once—If Mayors Ruled the World presents a compelling new vision of governance for the coming century. Barber makes a persuasive case that the city is democracy’s best hope in a globalizing world, and great mayors are already proving that this is so.

Benjamin R. Barber is senior research scholar at the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, the Graduate Center, the City University of New York. He is also president and founder of the Interdependence Movement and the author of seventeen books, including Jihad vs. McWorld and Strong Democracy. He lives in New York City.

“Audacious. . . ambitious . . . Barber’s book should be required reading for New York’s new mayor, Bill de Blasio.”—Sam Roberts, The New York Times Book Review

“Barber argues. . .persuasively, that city governments are closer to their people than national ones and as such are better at winning the trust of citizens – though the same goes for rural forms of local government.”—Ben Rogers, Financial Times
". . . .Makes the intriguing, provocative, and counter-intuitive argument the. . . cities and the mayors who run them are the last best hope for a safer, more prosperous, and more just future. If Mayors Ruled The World is informative and imaginative.”—Glenn C. Altschuler, The Huffington Post
“A provocative, informative account of a different kind of globalization. Highly recommended reading for policymakers and other readers intrigued by forward-thinking forms of governance.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred review
“In an impassioned love letter to cities and their political leaders, Barber (Jihad vs. McWorld) celebrates the diversity and ferment that embody urban life.”—Publishers Weekly
"Mayors around the world tend to be pragmatists and problem-solvers, not partisans. They get things done, often after national governments fall short. Ben Barber provides a provocative look at how cities can and do lead from the front in addressing the most pressing issues of our time."—Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City; founder of Bloomberg LP