Changing (Part 1 of 2)

Core idea

Changing (The Taste of Power in the source) is Caro's psychological inflection topic. It marks the transition from idealist-Moses (who believed parks would be good for the city) to pragmatist-Moses (who believed power was good for parks). The first half traces the slow hardening through the 1925-1928 construction years — fights with reformers, casual deceptions of allies, the growing instinct that any opposition was illegitimate. The man who emerges by 1928 is the Moses who will dominate the next forty years.

Why it matters

Idealist to pragmatist — the slow hardening

Caro tracks specific episodes: deceptions of fellow reformers Robert Binkerd and Lawson Purdy, dismissive treatment of the Regional Plan Association, refusal to share credit with anyone. Each was small. Together they signal the accumulating change. The friendly young reformer of 1918 is gone.

Power as instrument and end

The conviction that grew through 1925-1928 was that power was good for parks. By 1929 the convertibility had reversed: parks were good for power. The dreams still drove the appetite; the appetite increasingly drove the dreams. Caro is careful that this is not a clean reversal; both motives operated simultaneously for the rest of Moses's life.

Key takeaways

Mental model

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Practical application

Example

Long-running professional friendships often die the same way. No single fight; a long accumulation of small slights. By the time either party notices, the friendship has already changed character. The book's psychological framework applies in much smaller domains than empire-building.

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