THE WAR AGAINST THE AUTOMOBILE is an outstanding book by B. Bruce Briggs, demolishing a number of shibboleths - that the auto highway system discriminates against the poor, that it is devouring irreplaceable energy sources, that highways have destroyed US cities, that cars have created congestion, that they are unsafe and their exhausts poisoning us, and many more.
The facts and figures of this part are presented in eminently readable form. At least as good is the second part, discussing the push for "mass" (collective) transportation, which has become a sign of enlightenment, public spirit, and virtue in certain circles. Who is behind this "Transportation Counterrevolution"? Bruce Briggs is one of the few who have discerned the New Class scared of being engulfed by mass prosperity.
"The promotion of mass transportation began when the urban worker switched from mass transit to the car. At its most vulgar level, the anti automobile crusade is simply the attempt to drive the other guy off the road, particularly when he is not as sensitive, educated and prosperous as we are. . . " Exaggerated pollution control and safety measures are expensive, but the prosperous can afford them - don't they"buy Oldsmobiles, which are really Chevrolets, and pay hundreds of dollars extra just for the privilege of distinguishing themselves from the masses?. . . Isn't it better to drive a Chevrolet in a world of walkers than a Rolls Royce in a world of Chevrolets?"
244pp., cloth, $10.95 from E.P. Dutton, 201 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003.
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Vol. 5, No. 5
Newsletter: Access to Energy Newsletter Archive Volume: Volume 5 Issue/No.: Vol. 5, No. 5 Date: January 01, 1978 02:50 PM Title: The Wonderchild
Copyright © 2004 - Access to Energy Newsletter Archive
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