Politicians fear the disruptive power of a mobilized base, even when it helps them succeed.
Winter 2021
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Future Monetary Theory
MMT’s account of the origin of money is a useful corrective to the stories told by orthodox economists. But a deeper history of the social construction of money opens up more radical possibilities for rethinking the monetary order.
Know Your Enemy: How to Survive a Pandemic, with Peter Staley
Veteran HIV/AIDS activist Peter Staley discusses the AIDS crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of his friend Dr. Anthony Fauci in both.
Family Ties
We’re still living with the punitive politics of family values. A broader, universal vision can break its vise grip.
California Has Lessons for Liberals
California’s progressive image can be misleading. But it’s also home to activists fighting to change the state for the better.
Belabored: What’s Joe Biden’s Agenda for Labor?
Celine McNicholas of the Economic Policy Institute digs into the PRO Act and other labor policies currently on the table.
What Caste Leaves Out
Isabel Wilkerson’s account of racial oppression elides crucial differences between social inequality in South Asia and the United States—differences with real implications for emancipatory political projects.
Backlash Forever
It’s time to abandon the assumption that workers have a “natural” home on the center-left. But we should also reject the idea that social conservatism always lies latent within working-class culture, ready for right-wing politicians to activate.
The Education Fix
The idea that more degrees, credentials, and skills will raise the bottom of the economic floor has become an article of national faith. But educational systems can just as easily reproduce inequality as mitigate it.
Shinzō Abe and the Future of Japanese Democracy
Under Abe, the Liberal Democratic Party waged a right-wing culture war and changed the terms of Japanese politics. The opposition will need to learn from his success to coalesce around a popular alternative.
Repression in Xi’s China
The tightening of state control over Hong Kong and Xinjiang reveal a consolidation of authority in Xi’s CCP, intent on stifling any signs of nonconformity.
The MMT Trap: A Response to Daniel Wortel-London
Rather than bypassing the problem of power by putting our faith in MMT’s printing press, we need a strategy to rebuild the tax state and move toward economic democracy.
The Tax Trap
A long line of critical fiscal theorists has pointed to the limits of financing a politics of emancipation through levies on a regressive economy. We need to heed their warnings today.
