At the Blog
On Monday, Ganesh Sitaraman warned that monopolies and oligopolies in key parts of the AI tech stack pose a serious threat to innovation. To tackle this issue, he urges policymakers to apply antimonopoly tools to the AI sector.
On Tuesday, Ntina Tzouvala argued that while tariffs have long been used to sabotage foreign competitors, Trump’s tariffs are distinctive in having no identifiable constituency within the US capitalist class. They look, instead, like a way to develop patronage networks across the US economy.
And on Thursday, Noa Ben-Asher concluded our series on the law and political economy of trans healthcare by arguing that the persecution of transgender people, though often treated as a niche concern, is central to the Trump Administration’s broader efforts to reassert control over race, gender, and migration. And don’t miss earlier entries by Kate Redburn & A.D. Sean Lewis (on the use of trans people as scapegoats to justify a conservative health policy agenda), Joanna Wuest (on use of anti-trans propaganda to erode public trust in medical professionals), and Kadji Amin (on the use of anti-trans policies to forge an anti-social state).
In LPE Land
In a three–part series at the Dig, Aziz Rana discusses the history of the American project and its legitimation through popular Constitution worship. (And for those who’ve listened to the series and hunger for more, check out our symposium on his recent book, featuring an introduction by Aziz and responses by Willy Forbath, Maggie Blackhawk, and Dave Pozen).
In the Nation, Zohra Ahmed reflects on the right wing legal campaigns to kill progressive social movements.
Are you a law student who wants to avoid working for a firm with little regard for the rule of law? A group of students has created this handy spreadsheet, based on publicly available information, that may be helpful in finding a firm that aligns with your values.
Earlier this week, the Roosevelt Institute released Restoring Economic Democracy: Progressive Ideas for Stability and Prosperity, a collection of essays that analyze the challenges we face today, learn from the wins of the last four years, and contemplate where we could have been bolder.
Over at Jacobin, Paul Schofield reviews Sophia Rosenfeld’s, The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life.
