The Law and Political Economy (LPE) Project brings together a network of scholars, practitioners, and students working to develop innovative intellectual, pedagogical, and political interventions to advance the study of political economy and law. Our work is rooted in the insight that politics and the economy cannot be separated and that both are constructed in essential respects by law. We believe that developments over the last several decades in legal scholarship and policy helped to facilitate rising inequality and precarity, political alienation, the entrenchment of racial hierarchies and intersectional exploitation, and ecological and social catastrophe. We aim to help reverse these trends by supporting scholarly work that maps where we have gone wrong, and that develops ideas and proposals to democratize our political economy and build a more just, equal, and sustainable future.
LPE project
Learn
A variety of resources designed to help faculty and students learn more about LPE, including syllabi from LPE and LPE-related courses, primers on topics such as neoliberalism and legal realism, as well as videos from a number of events we have held over the last year.
Go to LearnEngage
Information about the amazing work being done by LPE student groups, as well as guidance on starting a student group on your own campus! A bureau of affiliated professors and practitioners designed to help faculty and students to bring LPE scholars to their campuses!
Go to EngageEvents
A compendium of upcoming (and past) events put on by the LPE Project, LPE student groups, and other organizations in the LPE ecosystem.
Go to Events
Why Antitrust Reform Matters
In the recent exchange between the Marxists and the antitrusters, much of the disagreement has turned on different understandings of the project of antitrust reform. What is its animating goal? Is antitrust a substitute or complement to other forms of regulation? And how does antitrust relate to broader political movements? Identifying rival stances that one might take on these questions can help clarify this debate, while also showing how antitrust law can serve as an instrument for democratizing economic life.
The Anarchist Currency with a Government Sponsor
Despite its professed commitment to radical libertarianism and a non-state theory of money, the crypto industry is actively cultivating government intervention in markets on its behalf. From recruiting states to accept cryptocurrency for tax payments to pushing for the establishment of a Bitcoin reserve, crypto interests are partnering with the government to craft demand for currencies that hardly anyone uses.
How the Left Lost the Plot on Crypto (and How to...
The story of crypto’s transformation from cypherpunk experiment to Wall Street darling is bleak, but it was not preordained. Where did the left go wrong, and how can it reassert itself in shaping the future of money?
Weekly Roundup: Dec 12
A call to join the ranks of the Association for Law and Political Economy, an interview with Bench Ansfield about the business of arson, and a new entry by Amna Akbar in our symposium on Free Gifts. Plus, Andrew Elrod and Marshall Steinbaum lay out a vision for rebuilding higher ed, Katie Wells and Lindsay Owens examine algorithmic pricing at instacart, Sam Moyn discusses the radical centrism of the legal academy, Genevieve Lakier, Mark Tushnet, and Mike Seidman debate whether we need the courts to protect free speech, and Ben Tarnoff extols the possibilities for digital sewer socialism.