Article #578-2 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from Down with the Cities!, by Tadashi Nakashima

Never-Ending Construction

The world is full of construction officials, who, if they cannot
plan some kind of project, are capable of nothing but yawning;
the proprietors of construction companies, who, in order to make
money, cannot rest from their labors for a minute; the pitiful
part-time farmers who pay back their loans by engaging in
construction work; the proprietors of cement and gravel companies
who will be in a pickle if they cannot get someone to use the
tons of building materials they have made; the truckers and the
dealers in construction machinery and fuel for them; the big shot
politicians like Tanaka Kakuei whose life work is pork barrel;
the idiotic voters who weep for joy over the services brought in
by construction (that is, urbanization)... With an arrangement
like this, it is almost assured that, even if the vast oceans dry
up, there will always be construction going on in the world. At
this rate, it will not be that far in the future before they are
carrying out construction work among the peaks of the Himalayas.

There are some who will say, "Come now, they wouldn't go so far
as to do such unnecessary work in the Himalayas," but if this is
so, then when all the construction work in the world has been
completed and there is no more to be done, is it possible to
think that the Ministry of Construction will disband itself, that
the construction companies will go belly up, that the cement
companies will close down, or that the part-time farmers will
hang themselves? There is no doubt that when such a time comes
they will carry out needless construction work like covering over
the peaks of the Himalayas with concrete. There will be no end to
construction work, and consequently the urbanization of the
Earth's surface will continue until the ground disappears
entirely. [2]

Explanation

Tadashi Nakashima’s Down with the Cities! (1975) is a scathing critique of Japan’s rapid post-war urbanization and the unchecked expansion of construction, bureaucracy, and capitalism. The excerpt "Never-Ending Construction" satirizes the insatiable machine of development, exposing its absurdity, wastefulness, and the complicity of society in perpetuating it. Below is a detailed breakdown of the passage, focusing on its themes, tone, literary devices, and significance, with emphasis on the text itself.

1. Context & Background

Author & Work: Tadashi Nakashima (1925–2010) was a Japanese economist and critic who wrote during Japan’s period of explosive economic growth (1950s–70s). Down with the Cities! is a polemical work attacking urbanization, bureaucratic corruption, and the environmental destruction wrought by Japan’s "economic miracle."
Historical Context: Post-WWII Japan underwent rapid industrialization and urban sprawl, fueled by government-led infrastructure projects (e.g., highways, dams, and high-rise developments). Politicians like Tanaka Kakuei (mentioned in the text) were notorious for "pork-barrel politics"—funneling public funds into local projects to secure votes, often at the expense of sustainability or necessity.
Cultural Critique: Nakashima’s work reflects a broader anti-development sentiment in 1970s Japan, paralleling environmental movements and critiques of consumerism (e.g., the works of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki or Kenzaburō Ōe).

2. Themes in the Excerpt

A. The Perpetual Motion Machine of Construction

The passage frames construction as an unstoppable, self-sustaining system where every participant—from politicians to laborers—is trapped in a cycle of dependency. Key actors include:

Construction officials: Bureaucrats who justify their existence through endless projects ("if they cannot plan some kind of project, are capable of nothing but yawning").
Corporations: Cement, gravel, and machinery companies that must sell their products to survive, creating artificial demand.
Politicians (e.g., Tanaka Kakuei): Use construction as a tool for pork-barrel politics, buying votes with "services" (e.g., roads, bridges) that masquerade as progress.
Laborers: Part-time farmers and workers who are exploited by the system, taking on construction jobs to repay loans.
Voters: "Idiotic" citizens who celebrate urbanization without questioning its long-term costs.

The system is circular and self-perpetuating: each group’s survival depends on construction continuing, ensuring it never stops.

B. Absurdity and Hyperbole

Nakashima employs absurdist logic to expose the irrationality of endless growth:

"Construction among the peaks of the Himalayas": A deliberate exaggeration to highlight how no place is sacred—not even the world’s highest mountains—from the march of "development."
"Covering over the peaks with concrete": The ultimate symbol of human hubris, reducing nature to a canvas for profit.
"The ground disappears entirely": A dystopian endpoint where urbanization erases the Earth itself, leaving no natural world behind.

The hyperbole serves to shock the reader into recognizing the unsustainability of the status quo.

C. Critique of Capitalism and Bureaucracy

Profit-Driven Destruction: Companies and politicians manufacture demand for construction, regardless of necessity. The text suggests that capitalism requires endless expansion, even if it’s destructive.
Bureaucratic Inertia: The Ministry of Construction (a real Japanese agency) is portrayed as an immortal entity that will never dissolve, no matter how pointless its work becomes. This critiques institutional stubbornness and the lack of accountability in governance.
False Progress: The "services" of urbanization are framed as illusions—voters "weep for joy" over short-term gains (e.g., new roads) while ignoring long-term harm (e.g., environmental degradation, debt, displacement).

D. Environmental Collapse

The passage foreshadows ecological disaster:

"Even if the vast oceans dry up": A nod to climate change and resource depletion, suggesting construction will persist even in a dying world.
"The urbanization of the Earth’s surface": A warning of total artificialization, where nature is replaced by concrete and steel.

Nakashima’s vision aligns with modern critiques of Anthropocene destruction—human activity reshaping the planet beyond recognition.

3. Literary Devices & Style

A. Satire and Irony

Mocking Tone: The passage drips with sarcasm, particularly in phrases like:
- "the idiotic voters who weep for joy" (mocking blind faith in progress).
- "the big shot politicians like Tanaka Kakuei whose life work is pork barrel" (exposing political corruption as a farce).
False Naivety: The rhetorical question—"is it possible to think that the Ministry of Construction will disband itself?"—is obviously rhetorical, emphasizing the inevitability of the system’s continuation.

B. Repetition and Cumulation

List Structure: The opening sentence is a long, accumulating list of stakeholders in construction, creating a sense of overwhelming complicity. Each group is interdependent, reinforcing the idea of an inescapable system.
Escalation: The passage moves from realistic scenarios (urban sprawl) to absurd extremes (Himalayan construction), mirroring the escalating madness of unchecked development.

C. Dark Humor

"Hang themselves": A grim joke about the desperation of part-time farmers, highlighting how the system grinds up individuals.
"Carrying out needless construction": The understated phrasing makes the wastefulness seem even more ridiculous.

D. Dystopian Imagery

"The ground disappears entirely": Evokes a post-apocalyptic world where nature is erased by human activity.
"Concrete": Symbolizes permanence, artificiality, and death—the antithesis of organic life.

4. Significance & Relevance

A. Prophetic Warning

Nakashima’s critique feels eerily prescient today:

Japan’s "Lost Decades": After the 1980s bubble burst, Japan was left with useless infrastructure (e.g., empty highways, ghost towns) built during the construction boom.
Global Urbanization: Cities like Dubai (artificial islands) or China’s "ghost cities" embody the excess Nakashima warns about.
Climate Crisis: The passage foreshadows ecological collapse due to human overreach.

B. Universal Critique of "Development"

While rooted in 1970s Japan, the excerpt applies to any capitalist society where:

Growth is prioritized over sustainability.
Bureaucracies and corporations collude to manufacture demand.
Citizens are complicit in celebrating "progress" without questioning its cost.

C. Influence on Anti-Consumerist Thought

Nakashima’s work aligns with:

Deep Ecology (Arne Næss): Challenging human-centric development.
Degrowth Movement: Advocating for scaling back economic activity.
Post-Capitalist Critiques (e.g., David Harvey on "accumulation by dispossession").

5. Key Takeaways from the Text Itself

Construction is a Self-Sustaining Monster: The system feeds on itself, with each participant dependent on its continuation.
No One is Innocent: From politicians to voters, everyone is complicit in perpetuating the cycle.
Nature is the Ultimate Victim: The Himalayas symbolize the last frontier—if even they can be paved over, nothing is safe.
The Endgame is Oblivion: The logical conclusion is a world without ground, where urbanization consumes everything.
The Absurdity is the Point: The passage uses exaggeration to reveal the truth—that unchecked development is insane.

Conclusion: Why This Matters

Nakashima’s excerpt is not just a rant—it’s a diagnosis of a societal illness. By breaking down the mechanisms of endless construction (greed, bureaucracy, public apathy), he forces the reader to confront:

Who benefits? (Corporations, politicians.)
Who pays? (Workers, the environment, future generations.)
What’s the alternative? (The text doesn’t offer one—it’s a warning, not a manifesto.)

In an era of climate emergencies and infrastructure boondoggles, Nakashima’s words resonate as a cautionary tale about the costs of "progress." The Himalayas may not yet be paved, but the logic he describes is alive and well—making this passage as relevant today as it was in 1975.

Questions

Question 1

The passage’s depiction of construction as an unstoppable force most closely aligns with which of the following philosophical critiques of modern industrial society?

A. Marxist alienation, where laborers are disconnected from the fruits of their work due to capitalist exploitation.
B. Nietzschean nihilism, where the absence of inherent meaning leads to destructive cycles of activity.
C. Freudian repression, where societal structures suppress natural instincts in favor of civilized order.
D. Heideggerian technicity, where technology and instrumental rationality reduce the world to a standing reserve for human use.
E. Kantian deontology, where moral duty is abandoned in pursuit of utilitarian outcomes.

Question 2

The rhetorical question—"is it possible to think that the Ministry of Construction will disband itself?"—primarily serves to:

A. expose the hypocrisy of bureaucrats who claim to serve the public while pursuing self-interest.
B. highlight the inefficiency of government agencies in adapting to changing economic conditions.
C. suggest that construction is a temporary phase that will eventually correct itself through market forces.
D. underscore the systemic inertia of institutions that perpetuate their own existence regardless of necessity.
E. imply that the Ministry’s dissolution is inevitable once all possible projects are completed.

Question 3

The passage’s tone is best described as:

A. melancholic resignation, mourning the inevitable loss of natural landscapes.
B. indignant moralism, condemning the greed of corporations and politicians.
C. clinical detachment, analyzing the economic mechanisms of urbanization without emotional bias.
D. cynical fatalism, assuming that human nature makes resistance to the system futile.
E. corrosive satire, using exaggerated absurdity to expose the irrationality of unchecked development.

Question 4

Which of the following inferences is most strongly supported by the passage’s argument structure?

A. The primary driver of endless construction is the psychological need for humans to dominate nature.
B. Urbanization is an organic process that, while flawed, ultimately reflects the collective will of society.
C. The construction industry’s survival depends on convincing the public that its projects are essential for progress.
D. Part-time farmers are the most exploited group in the system, as they bear the financial burden without reaping the benefits.
E. The system’s perpetuation relies on the interdependence of all stakeholders, none of whom can unilaterally opt out without collapse.

Question 5

The image of "covering over the peaks of the Himalayas with concrete" functions as:

A. a literal prediction of future engineering projects in high-altitude regions.
B. a metaphor for the spiritual emptiness of materialistic societies.
C. an appeal to pathos, evoking pity for the destruction of sacred natural sites.
D. a reductio ad absurdum, illustrating the logical endpoint of a system that prioritizes expansion over reason.
E. a call to action, urging readers to physically resist construction projects in ecologically sensitive areas.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: D

Why D is most correct: The passage critiques how construction reduces the natural world to a resource to be exploited—a core idea in Heidegger’s concept of "technicity" (or "Enframing"), where nature is transformed into a "standing reserve" (Bestand) for human instrumental use. The Himalayas, once sacred and untouchable, become mere substrates for concrete, embodying Heidegger’s warning about technology’s de-worlding effects. The systemic, self-perpetuating nature of construction aligns with Heidegger’s view of modern industry as a metaphysical framework that obscures alternative ways of being.