Same Old, Same Old

Joel Kotkin is at again with this latest installment in his running tirade against a previous incarnation of himself. But this time NYC's Mike Bloomberg is the target of his angst, instead of old Kotkin whipping-boys Martin O'Malley or Denver's John Hickenlooper.  The only mayors he and his Manhattan Institute running-buddies seem to like are Fiorello LaGuardia and Rudy Guiliani. He apparently doesn't like being a "neocon anti-urbanist." But what else do you call someone who goes out of their way to trash America's greastest cities, consistently lashes out against its best mayors, and dismisses a good chunk of urban America as "yuppies, sophistos, trendoids and gays."

Comments

[john trenouth]

I love the irony that Joel Kotkin is in the intellectual company of folks like Pol Pot and Chairman Mao in thier anti-urbanism and suspicion of the "yuppies, sophistos, trendoids and gays" that urban centers attract.

Perhaps the political spectrum isn't linear, but circular--and what we see as extremes of right or left actaully meet, becoming two side of the same very thin coin far from the more rational center.

[Ben]

I was interested in hearing your response to Kotkin's article but, alas, I came here only to find an ad hominem attack on him without discussing the substance of his article.

I have been inclined to believe large parts of your creative cities argument as it accords with a lot of economic theory that is empirically proven, but your consistent refusal to deal with the substance and data presented by your critics is weighing on your credibility. Address the claim, not the critic.

[Richard]

Ben - Thanks for your comment. I've addressed Joel Kotkin's criticisms various times, in several previous posts listed under the favorite posts section particularly "What Really Drives Economic Development?" and "Talent v. Human Capital." I also devoted a long essay, "Revenge of the Squelchers" to this subject (available in the library section of my website creativeclass.org and at Next American City). I am working on a new research paper with Charlotta Mellander which re-examines the creative class theory for the US case and will shed even more light on all of this. What I tried to point out in my post is that Kotkin continues to contradict himself, especially his book "The New Economic Geography" a point which Joe Cortright among others has made. I am in transit from Siberia (laying over at Heathrow) and can continue more on this, if you like, once you had a chance to look at those articles. Feel free to write back with specific comments and queries, OK? And again, thanks or your comment.