Introducing Systems of Survival

I think I’m going to be missing Jane Jacobs’ voice.

Despite the subtitle—A Dialogue on the Moral Foundations of Commerce and Politics—I hadn’t realized that the format would be a departure from text in her voice.

Jacobs picks up the form of the Platonic dialogue, a written tool that uses many of the same strategies as the Socratic method. Questions abound.

In other words, Jacobs has invented a group of characters, much like a novelist would. However, rather than develop these characters to create a compelling narrative, these characters allow Jacobs to explore and discuss various perspectives on morality. While this is a sound rhetorical strategy, quite appropriate for the topic, I’m still going to miss the direct, forthright, and honest voice of Jacobs, unmediated.