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“Why Nothing Works”. That is the title of a well-received book by Marc J Dunkelman, which was published in March 2025 by Publishing Affairs. The subtitle is “Who killed progress – and how to bring it back.”
The book is part of a self-critical showdown that is now underway within the American left.
The Democratic Party suffered a humiliating defeat against a confident Donald Trump in the last presidential election. The Democrats first ran with incumbent President Joe Biden. When it became painfully obvious that he was too old to run, his vice president Kamala Harris was allowed to take his place. Unlike Joe Biden, Kamala Harris could speak coherently, but no one understood what she was saying or what she wanted to do with America.
What do the Democrats really want? And how will the party challenge the new confident Trump right?
The interesting thing is that a more in-depth self-critical examination of one’s own shortcomings has now begun to emerge. We have not really seen such self-criticism from the intellectual and political left in Europe. The fact that the Americans are ahead here may be since the large Democratic Party is today divided into two different factions.
We have the traditional Democrats who hold on to the basic American principles of the right of all individuals to realize the American dream according to their own ability. They accept private property and have nothing against people becoming rich. But we also have a more left-radical new faction within the Democrats where private property and private wealth have become a problem. There is also a political left that is very interested in the environment and identity politics. Perhaps we can say that the faction within the Democrats that still believes in traditional American values is now starting to revolt against the more left-radical one.
So what is not working in the USA according to Marc J Dunkelman? Most of it, if you believe the author.
It is simply not possible to do anything anymore in the USA. It has become expensive and difficult to build housing and to realize infrastructure projects. And according to Dunkelman, the basic problem is the tendency of the left-leaning society to want to regulate and govern in a haphazard manner.
Since the radical left is utopian by nature, the kingdom of heaven must be realized every day on earth. Therefore, all environmental requirements must always be complied with. Companies that employ a certain proportion of women or minority people should be hired. Everyone should have the right to sue the public sector if they feel they have been treated badly. And work processes and identity political considerations take precedence over the realization of concrete results.
At the same time, a right-wing politician like Donald Trump is extremely focused on results. He acts in ways that are often unconventional and that may violate rules and practices, but he gets things done. And apparently it is easier in a Republican-controlled state like Texas to build both houses and railroads than it is in a progressive state like California.
Marc J Dunkelman identifies himself as a Democrat and his book is aimed at Americans who want to see a renewed Democratic Party that not only talks about equality, diversity and gender equality, but also lets citizens believe that things are possible to do. But then progressives must give up some of their zeal to govern and regulate. They must dare to let companies make money on large infrastructure projects. They must make sure that things are done. They must let politicians exercise power.
What is interesting about Dunkelman’s book from an ideological perspective is the insight that is conveyed that the political left tends to create a society where nothing is possible to do.
In the ideal realm of the left, everything must be regulated, governed and put right. And then it becomes impossible to act in the end. And thus, politics and ultimately citizens become powerless against the system. And therefore, citizens will end up voting for politicians who not only want to act but who also make sure that they can do it.