PROMOTING SCARCITY OR COURTING ABUNDANCE? UNDERSTANDING THE RESILIENCY OF MACHINES IN URBAN GOVERNANCE

Resumo

One of the persisting characteristics of a financial crisis isthe lack of resources for competing users, uses and interests. In thepolitical sphere, a financial crisis may cause a squeeze on the capacityof political parties to practice clientelism but will also provideopportunities for political parties to take advantage of the increasingdestitution to further political interests. Grounding the arguments ontwo persuasive literatures - Erie’s Rainbow’s End (1987) and Chubb’sPatronage, Power, and Poverty in Southern Italy (1982) – this paperattempts to answer the question as to what is the most appropriatepolitical behaviour of machines when confronted by resourceinsufficiency and massive voter demand. The paper argues that if localcontrol rests on the hands of political machines at a state of monopoly,and the electorate is characterized by extreme poverty and voicelessexistence, managing scarcity will perpetuate the machine naturally. Onthe other hand, if the control of local politics is on a stiff competition,while society is fragmented as to socio-economic condition where somecan afford better living while others can’t, then the machine that hasthe most resource and is able to capture a significant support base willlikely fare better and exist longer than others.