These constructions of the city allow the real agents of degeneration — corporations and the capitalist state — to evade responsibility and justify the city’s takeover by the state, its forced bankruptcy, the attack on workers’ pensions, the privatization of city services, and other threatened austerity measures.
They also serve as disciplinary warnings to struggling cities and towns from Maine to California. By placing the debt burden on poor, black, and working people while blaming no one or the city itself for such iniquities, Detroit and its representations assume a pivotal role in shaping the future of city life in America.