At the end of his 2019 memoir, Working, Robert Caro subtly admits that the portrait he constructed of Robert Moses in The Power Broker has not stood up over time. Published in 1974, that title introduced Moses, New York’s “master builder,” to the world as a villain whose vision for the city was corrupt and destructive. Caro’s classic narrative of an unelected official capable of wielding power over millions struck a chord across the political spectrum.

But after five decades in which successive governments have won office by committing, in some form or other, to weakening the powers of the administrative state, Moses comes across as a deeply ambivalent character. Looking back, Caro reflects that figures like Moses were not all bad, writing that “there is evil and injustice that can be caused by political power, but there is also great good.” Today, he continues, “people have forgotten what government can do for you.” Fifty years on from The Power Broker’s publication, this is a message that reflects current feelings about the government’s seeming inability to transform our lives for the better.