Pull down South London and start again
Is Keynes as relevant now as he was then? I suppose there are some parts worth saving, I always liked the Trinity Arms in Brixton.“There are today many wellwishers of their country who believe that the most useful thing which they and their neighbours can do to mend the situation is to save more than usual ... Now in certain circumstances all this would be right, but in present circumstances it is quite wrong. Suppose we were to stop spending our incomes altogether and were to save the lot. Why, everyone would be out of work. And before long we would have no incomes to spend ... Now is the time for municipalities to be busy and act with all kinds of sensible improvements ... I read a few days ago of a proposal to drive a great new road, a broad boulevard, parallel to the Strand, on the south side of the Thames, as a new thoroughfare joining Westminster to the City ... But I would like to see something bigger still. For example, why not pull down the whole of south London from Westminster to Greenwich, and make a good job of it ... at the same time providing hundreds of acres of squares and avenues, parks and public spaces ... Is it better that men should stand idle and miserable drawing the dole?” From a radio talk by J.M. Keynes, January 14 1931 (reprinted in Essays in Persuasion).
via Samuel Brittan's FT column today.
Labels: London
posted by Matthew @ 10/10/2008 08:49:00 AM
Comments: 2
