Systems of Survival
By Jane Jacobs
Jacobs’ most famous work was the Death and Life of American Cities, which anchored her as an influential thought leader on urban life in the 20th century and beyond. Systems of Survival, as stated on the cover, explores the moral foundations of modern political systems via a series of conversations between six friends, each from different backgrounds and with a difference of opinions.
She artfully uses examples from the philosophy of Plato’s Republic to 19th century colonialism to the rise of the Four Asian Tigers illustrate how different moral frames of responsibility can lead to successes and failures in basic human activity and the organisation of government. These points are then debated by the six friends who either agree with, argue a different reason for, add on to, or disprove the observation.
Personally, I enjoyed Jacobs’ narrative style in her other works than the conversation she builds in Systems of Survival. But as usual, her works are easy to understand and observations are well-constructed for laypeople to understand.
