What Robert Caro learned about power after studying it for 50 years

Political power and the nature of historical research define the career of biographer Robert Caro. His work on Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson reveals how individuals with immense willpower and ruthlessness can reshape society, often by bypassing democratic safeguards to execute large-scale public works. While modern governance faces gridlock due to excessive bureaucratic hurdles, historical examples like Moses demonstrate that transformative change requires a rare blend of vision and the ability to overcome opposition. Caro’s rigorous methodology, characterized by exhaustive document analysis and persistent interviewing, underscores the necessity of uncovering hidden truths to understand how power truly functions. His archives, now preserved in New York, offer future scholars the opportunity to explore the complexities of these figures and the eras they defined, highlighting the personal sacrifices and profound loneliness inherent in such long-term, dedicated historical inquiry.