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LPE Blog

Weekly Roundup: March 28

Chris Essert on homelessness and property; Ganesh Sitaraman, Sanjay Jolly, Zephyr Teachout, Nikolas Guggenberger, Anupam Chander, and Elettra Bietti on the pending TikTok ban; and Meredith Whittaker on regulating social media in a time of rising illiberalism. Plus, upcoming events on Law and American Empire and Law and Marxism, as well as new pieces by. . .

Weekly Roundup: March 22

Sara Rankin on the most consequential homeless rights case in decades, Marshall Steinbaum on the material basis for the culture war over higher education, and Marc-William Palen on recovering the left-wing free trade tradition. Plus, so many upcoming events this excerpt simply can’t do them justice: Empire and Constitutional Law, Historical Approaches to. . .

Recovering the Left-Wing Free Trade Tradition

Since the late 20th century, free trade has been defended primarily by neoliberals who cared little about social justice or democracy. However, a longer examination of free trade’s relationship to left-wing politics paints a very different picture. Recovering the history of those who defended free trade from the left may help us envision an alternative to. . .

The Unavoidable Consequences of Being Human

Next month, the Supreme Court will decide whether it is constitutional for cities to punish unsheltered people for sleeping outside, even when the city fails to provide any safe alternative. Yet, no matter how the court rules, homeless people will still face significant threats from cities.

Weekly Roundup: March 15, 2024

Julieta Lobato on Milei’s labor governance, Evan Bernick on the role of the Constitution in freedom struggles, and Jonathan Glater & Adriana Hardwicke on the fracturing of higher education. Plus, the next session in our Courts open course, a call for recently accepted LPE-relevant articles, pieces on the destruction of the Covid social safety net,. . .

Radical Constitutionalism and a Critique of Nonviolence

The most important work of legal scholarship in some time, Jocelyn Simonson’s Radical Acts of Justice raises, but does not develop, two major sets of questions. The first concerns the role of the Constitution in freedom struggles; the second, the legitimate role (if any) of violence in transformative left politics in the United States.

The Necropolitics of Milei’s Labor Governance

Javier Milei’s labor policies in Argentina highlight two often overlooked features of contemporary capitalism: the emergence of new labor subjects and the role of violence in processes of labor precarization. This production of precarity serves as a mechanism for framing certain lives as disposable and bolsters illegal economies that are increasingly replacing. . .

Weekly Roundup: March 8, 2024

Zephyr Teachout discusses the democratic stakes of NetChoice, and Jocelyn Simonson kicks off a symposium on her recent book, Radical Acts of Justice. Plus, a lunch talk with Lina Khan (today!), two events on LPE & Civil Procedure, an event on student debt organizing, new books from Sandeep Vaheesan and Lenore Palladino, articles on. . .

Weekly Roundup: March 1, 2024

Ganesh Sitaraman and Morgan Ricks on why tech platforms are the new common carriers; Suresh Naidu, Ilyana Kuziemko, and Nicolas Longuet Marx on why less educated voters have gravitated away from the Democratic Party; and Etienne Toussaint on why we need to embrace a new vision of constitutional citizenship. Plus, upcoming events with Lina Khan and Vincent. . .

Abolitionism as a Question of Citizenship

The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments extended citizenship to formerly enslaved persons. But what did this status entail? In the subsequent political debates over abolition, one view carried the day: a contract and property-based notion of citizenship that fortified rather than unsettled antebellum era social relations. To realize the promise of Reconstruction. . .