Why Nothing Works

Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back

De: Marc J. Dunkelman

Narrado por: David de Vries

A provocative exploration about the architecture of power, the forces that stifle us from getting things done, and how we can restore confidence in democratically elected government.

America was once a country that did big things—we built the world’s greatest rail network, a vast electrical grid, interstate highways, abundant housing, the Social Security system, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and more. But today, even while facing a host of pressing challenges—a housing shortage, a climate crisis, a dilapidated infrastructure—we feel stuck, unable to move the needle. Why?

America is today the victim of a vetocracy that allows nearly anyone to stifle progress. While conservatives deserve some blame, progressives have overlooked an unlikely culprit: their own fears of “The Establishment.” A half-century ago, progressivism’s designs on getting stuff done were eclipsed by a desire to box in government. Reformers put speaking truth to power ahead of exercising that power for good. The ensuing gridlock has pummeled faith in public institutions of all sorts, stifled the movement’s ability to deliver on its promises, and, most perversely, opened the door for MAGA-style populism.

A century ago, Americans were similarly frustrated—and progressivism pointed the way out. The same can happen again. Marc J. Dunkelman vividly illustrates what progressives must do if they are going to break through today’s paralysis and restore, once again, confidence in democratically elected government. To get there, reformers will need to acknowledge where they’ve gone wrong. Progressivism’s success moving forward hinges on the movement’s willingness to rediscover its roots.

©2025 Marc J. Dunkelman (P)2025 PublicAffairs

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Why America can’t build is the central economic and political question of our time. In Why Nothing Works Marc Dunkelman asks progressives to reflect on how their own ideas have stymied the nation’s ability to address the housing and climate crises and slashed national ambition in public works projects. A fantastic thinker, Dunkelman has written an essential book for anyone seeking to understand how Americans have lost faith in democratic institutions that over-promise and under-deliver.”—Jerusalem Demsas, The Atlantic

“America is living the truth of the old saying: Any old jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one. Today, it feels like anyone can stop progress, but nobody’s capable of starting it. I got into politics because when I was a kid, government delivered big things for my little corner of Louisiana—roads, and canals, and electricity. If you want to know why that happened back then, why it’s not happening now, and how we can start doing and building big things again, then this is the book for you.”—James Carville

“Anyone who has been frustrated with the inefficiency of government must read this book. Dunkelman takes us on a sweeping investigation of how, over the course of the twentieth century, the public sector has been increasingly paralyzed from exercising authority, demonstrating convincingly that the Progressive Left has been as much at fault in undermining popular trust as the Conservative Right. This beautifully written book cuts to the central dilemma of our day: how to empower a strong central government that works while still respecting the will of the people and inviting democratic participation. Dunkelman has confidence that we can do better—and he shows us how.”—Lizabeth Cohen, Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies, Harvard University, and author of Saving America’s Cities

“Friends of democracy typically hold two honorable impulses in tension: Power should be widely dispersed, and citizens should control the decisions affecting their lives; and democratic government should be able to accomplish big things and undertake big projects. Dunkelman’s provocative, well-argued thesis is that errors made in the name of the first objective have prevented democracy from achieving the second. Why Nothing Works is a spirited and thoughtful intervention in the debate progressives need to have.”—E.J. Dionne Jr., author of Why Americans Hate Politics

An important book (and enjoyable listen)

I first heard this book mentioned by Pete Buttigieg, Ezra Klein, and Matthew Yglesias on various podcasts and shows, and figured it was worth a try. I tore through it in six days—admittedly, vacation helped. As a progressive reflecting on the current state of affairs, I wanted to hear from someone who shares progressive values about how we've gotten stuck and what we might do differently to finally achieve the nice things we dream about: abundant housing, green energy, high-speed rail, and more.

Although the book explains "why nothing works," it also shows how, at one point, everything did. Dunkelman compellingly traces how major sectors in the U.S. were built through strategic public-private partnerships, diving deep into the politics, legislation, and judicial evolutions behind them. The book could almost have been titled "What Happened After The Power Broker"—it feels like a spiritual sequel.

Dunkelman displays an impressive mastery of U.S. political history, moving fluidly from the Revolution to Teddy Roosevelt, from the Tennessee Valley Authority to the New Deal, and on through the reforms of the 1940s, public assistance policies, police reform, environmental policy, the airline industry, housing policy, the interstate highway system, and even the electrical grid. The breadth of this book left me proud of the countless entrepreneurs and public servants who skillfully balanced centralized authority with individual rights—until, as Dunkelman explains, corruption and self-interest often crept in.

Throughout, Dunkelman balances a broad historical overview with vivid anecdotes. Although occasionally dry, his storytelling makes complex historical processes digestible, compelling, and fair. Familiar figures like Robert Moses and FDR frequently appear alongside lesser-known characters, each illustrating how personal ambitions and political battles shaped America's infrastructure.

The book really gains momentum when Dunkelman explores modern examples of how interest groups and bureaucratic red tape have derailed urgently needed projects. The story of the blocked clean energy transmission line from Canada to Massachusetts is particularly infuriating, vividly demonstrating how good intentions can be strangled by narrow interests.

Though Donald Trump isn't a central figure, his presence quietly underscores the narrative. Reading in 2025, I couldn't help but consider how his approach to governance both critiques the progressive-built systems and offers a chance to rethink and reshape our cities and states. Dunkelman pushes us to recognize that proving government can work effectively might be our most crucial task.

The book left me grappling with big questions—a hallmark of any excellent read. For instance, if progressives become less cautious about power and embrace stronger authority capable of cutting through bureaucracy, how do we prevent these empowered institutions from becoming captured by the powerful at the expense of the environment and ordinary people? Are we inevitably doomed to a cycle where the little guy always shoulders the burden, regardless of who's in charge? Can we accept some degree of corruption or excess as the price of progress—and can we trust ourselves to manage it fairly?

I enthusiastically recommend Why Nothing Works. It’s an insightful, enlightening journey through America’s past and present, provoking essential reflections about how we might finally make meaningful changes for our collective future.

I Got the Message

Oof, this was a slog. the fundamental point is correct and the historical context is broadly valuable, but only the most dedicated reader/listener can get through it.

Sort of boring

While the intro was fun, they bulk of the book ended up reading as a somewhat tedious history. There was an interesting story in the end about Massachusetts-Quebec power pipeline. The book would have benefited from more of these

Bad sound quality!

I downloaded three times thinking it was my fault. Recording has por sound quality and needs to be remastered.

Only through the beginning, so still on the fence about the argument. Why was Biden so unpopular if he was doing the right thing?

Must Read

Thorough explanation of how we got here. Recommend this to every American. Media oversimplifies the story. But the push and pull and balance of more govt vs less government is important to understand why we are in a pickle todat

A fine contribution to the abundance discourse, but lacking in solutions

Similar to other recent works by authors like Ezra Klein, this book seeks to explain why the United States today struggles to build. In particular, it seeks to explain why the progressive movement is not able to organize in favor of development. It illustrates this through a series of historical vignettes. A list of failed infrastructure projects, Stead by local resistance, and bad planning.

This is a fine and interesting contribution to modern political debates. However, the book struggles when it comes to defining solutions. Although it acknowledges their excesses, the book mourns the disappearance of bold government leaders like Robert Moses. I sympathize with this feeling, but we restricted the power of figures like Moses for good reason. The author distances himself from recent movements that aimed to fix some of these problems Like the so-called “YIMBYs,” because they are too “Jeffersonian“ for his tastes.

Instead, he calls for a return to “Hamiltonian“ governance. Meaning a stronger state wielding power boldly. However, he is not able to define what he thinks this means in practical terms. This would entail hard trade-offs, so I can forgive him for avoiding the subject. But for real change, we must face these issues head on. I think the book suffers for not taking “Jeffersonian“ solutions more seriously. In particular supporting the free market to do what it does more effectively.


Regardless, this book will be a good introduction to the complexities facing reform minded Progressives, and a useful supplement to other texts like Abundance.

Contents don't match the label

This purports to explain the blocks to progress today, but in fact is a retelling of the 20th century through the lens (or blinkers) of centralizing vs decentralizing impulses in the progressive movement. I'm eight hours into a 13 hour book and we are still in the 1980s, having started in the 1890s.

Probably the most frustrating feature is an insistence on labeling everything either Hamiltonian or Jeffersonian. Every other sentence is one or the other, and there are even gems like "These were the ripples created by throwing a Jeffersonian rock into a Hamiltonian pond". The first hundred times I saw Jeffersonian, I was wondering did he mean the Jefferson that was a slave-owning country squire, or the Jefferson who celebrated the bloodbath of the French revolution, or the Jefferson whose slippery political machinations make Mitch McConnell look straight by comparison. By extensive repetition and contrast, it became clear what the author meant was centralization vs decentralization, which are concepts which exist in any democracy and don't need to be tied to particular historical figures loaded with baggage. The book could likely be 20% shorter if he'd written H for Hamiltonian and J for Jeffersonian, or better yet D vs C.

As a political analysis of the 20th century, it falls far behind What's the Matter with Kansas or Nixonland.

More historical than practical

Really I came here just to say this in a review.: has there ever been a book written that use the word “salve” as many times as this? It’s like editorial malpractice.