What's happening in Detroit is not revitalization, at least not the one we need. What we have now is plutocrats making big investments which are either irrational, huge aribtrage opportunities or both. Buying our way into resurgence is expensive and unsustainable.
Rather, we need true transformation - where we reimagine and retool our institutions to be better...to prevent us from getting into another mess in the first place. We need to rethink how we live, how we learn, how we run government, how we do business, how we teach, how we eat, how we move, etc. By doing that, we'll create an environment where citizens can thrive, hopefully, if we get it right and create systems that can adapt to a rapidly changing world.
This period where plutocrats reign is very necessary though. By making big investments, these folks are giving institutional reformers the time and space to do their work. It's absolutely essential, but it's not an endgame. The important part of all this is actually transforming institutions, not seeing the stabilization we're currently experiencing.
This point in history is merely the overture, we need to get our act together for when the curtain comes up and the real show starts.
If I'm wrong, tell me how. If I'm not, spread the word. If people don't understand this distinction and behave accordingly, we're probably headed for failure.
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