ancient cities

This worldwide urban society will be the end of
history—the end of the history of the state. This
creation will become the meaning of the end of
history; time will be liberated from the pseudocyclical
time of modernity to become lived time in
the lived space of the worldwide urban society.
With the worst economic crisis since the Great
Depression currently in play, the question about
how to distribute the social surplus is on the
political agenda: Do we continue to invest in the
military sector and pursue global domination, or
do we invest it in unmet social needs in the worldwide
urban? Do we give tacit consent to the
authoritarian politics of the neoconservatives in
both political parties in the United States, or do
we change direction to create new forms of concrete
democracy?
Michael T. Ryan
See also Gottdiener, Mark; Los Angeles School of Urban
Studies; Marxism and the City; Social Production of
Space; Social Space; Urban Space
Further Readings
Elden, S. 2004. Understanding Henri Lefebvre. London:
Continuum.
Elden, S., E. Lebas, and E. Kofman, eds. 2003. Henri
Lefebvre. London: Continuum.
Gottdiener, M. 1993. “Henri Lefebvre and the
Production of Space.” Sociological Theory
11(1):129–34.
———. 2000. “Lefebvre and the Bias of Academic
Urbanism.” City 4(1):93–101.
Kofman, E. and E. Lebas. 1996. “Introduction: Lost in
Transposition: Time, Space, and the City.” Pp. 3–60
in Writings on Cities, by Henri Lefebvre. Oxford,
UK: Blackwell.
Lefebvre, H. 1968. The Sociology of Marx. New York:
Pantheon Books.
———.1969. The Explosion: Marxism and the French
Upheaval. New York: Monthly Review Press.
———. 1976. The Survival of Capitalism. London:
Allison and Busby.
———. 1988. “Toward a Leftist Cultural Politics.”
Pp. 75–88 in Marxism and the Interpretation of
Culture. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
———. 1991. Critique of Everyday Life, Vol. 1. 2nd ed.
London: Verso.
———. 1991. The Production of Space. Oxford, UK:
Blackwell.
Local Government
451
———. 1996. Writings on Cities. Oxford, UK:
Blackwell.
———. 2002. Critique of Everyday Life, Vol. 2.
London: Verso.
———. 2003. Key Writings. New York: Continuum.
———. 2003. The Urban Revolution. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press.
———. 2005. Critique of Everyday Life, Vol. 3.
London: Verso.
Ross, K. 1997. “Lefebvre on the Situationists: An
Interview.” October 79:69–83.
Shields, R. 1999. Lefebvre, Love, and Struggle. London:
Routledge.
Lo c a L go v e r N m e N t
A local government is any subnational territorial
unit of the national state or government; the unit
is formally responsible for administrative and
policy functions related to the delivery of a range
of public services. Where local government also
includes elected offices, such as mayors or councils,
it performs the political function of the representation
of local interests.
Local governments are typically defined by geographic
territory and range from the largest spatial
units, such as regions or provinces, to cities, rural
areas, and counties and villages. In many intergovernmental
systems, local government refers to both
meso (provinces, regions, or states) and municipal
(urban and rural) levels. Local governments are
here considered primarily at the latter level, also
often referred to as “general purpose” local governments.
“Special purpose” local governments (special
districts responsible for the management of one
or a few services) have become an increasingly
important type. In a few cases, local governments
can be established on ethnic or another nongeographical
basis. Despite this variety, many issues
are common to all types of local government.
Historical Development
The formation of modern nation-states offers distinct
insights crucial to understanding local government
in the modern world. Premodern medieval
Europe was characterized by the existence of selfgoverning
cities possessing municipal autonomy
and ruled by urban oligarchies. During this period,