Power, not logic or brilliance, is what actually builds public works

Evidence

But Moses had failed in his calculations to give certain factors due weight. He had not sufficiently taken into account greed. He had not sufficiently taken into account self-interest. And, most of all, he had not sufficiently taken into account the need for power. … Science, knowledge, logic and brilliance might be useful tools but they didn’t build highways or civil service systems. Power built highways and civil service systems. Power was what dreams needed, not power in the hands of the dreamer himself necessarily but power put behind the dreamer’s dreams by the man who had it to put there, power that he termed “executive support.” — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 376

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Great public works throughout history have required autocratic power to build. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 3547; Enduring in power for decades distinguishes the greatest public builders — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 4414

Broader Connections

• Great public works throughout history have required autocratic power to build. #corroborates (0.98) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 3547