Description:
Government Project tells the story of an attempt by the
US government to remake the lives of some of its citizens by establishing a cooperative
farm in Pinal County, Arizona, in 1937. These individuals were among the most
desperately poor and disadvantaged in the nation.
the Americans who volunteered to settle there with housing, work, and the
opportunity to earn income. For five years, the farm succeeded. The revenues
from the sale of its crops gave the Casa Grande settlers material comfort and
wealth far beyond what they had ever possessed. But in the farm's seventh year of operation, the inhabitants
shuttered it and walked away with hardly anything, to the shock and dismay of
the government officials overseeing it. Government Project explains what went wrong at Casa
Grande. In telling this story, it illuminates larger truths about human nature
and the limits of governance.
Brief description:
Edward C. Banfield (1916-99) was a professor at the
University of Chicago, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
He authored more than a dozen books on urban politics, political cooperation,
and American governance.
Review Quotes: A Wall Street Journal Best Books of 2024 Pick
"Devotees of Aeschylus, Sophocles or Dreiser will understandthis book. With the relentlessness of a Greek tragedy, the story of this
Resettlement Administration project . . . moves forward from relief and
destitution . . . through hope, then security, to the very brink of success,
only to disintegrate." --Howard J. McMurray, American
Political Science Review
"Sociologists will find much meat in this book for purposes
of illustrating the processes of social interaction--conflict, co-operation, and
attempts and failures at accommodation."
Journal of Sociology "No better text for their classrooms exists than this local tale, Government Project." - Amity Shlaes, National Review
"Before embarking on the next plan to change one part of society or another, today's policy makers should revisit "Government Project" and ponder its cautionary tale." - Leslie Lenkowsky, Wall Street Journal
"The story Banfield tells is more provocative and fuller of wisdom than a dozen recent articles in top social science journals."
- Daniel Disalvo, City Journal