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James Livingston

James Livingston

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James Livingston, Professor Emeritus of History at Rutgers University, is the author of six books, including No More Work: Why Full Employment Is a Bad Idea (The University of North Carolina Press, 2016), and the forthcoming The Intellectual Earthquake: How Pragmatism Changed the World, 1898-2008 (University of Chicago Press).

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  1. Abundance and Its Discontents
    op_livingston6_cienpies_handsmoney cienpies/Getty Images

    Abundance and Its Discontents

    Mar 7, 2025 James Livingston asks why the absence of economic scarcity is viewed as a problem rather than a cause for celebration.

  2. The Brutes’ New Suits
    op_livingston5_Spencer PlattGetty Images_wallstreet Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    The Brutes’ New Suits

    Oct 18, 2024 James Livingston asks why so many observers now believe that banks are running a con game.

  3. Two Cheers for Identity Politics
    livingston4_ KAMIL KRZACZYNSKIAFP via Getty Images_prideparade Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

    Two Cheers for Identity Politics

    Jun 21, 2024 James Livingston argues that critics of the contemporary focus on issues of race, gender, and sexuality are ignoring history.

  4. What Was Capitalism?
    op_livingston4_PolinmrGetty Images_capitalism money Polinmr/Getty Images

    What Was Capitalism?

    Feb 16, 2024 James Livingston asks whether those at the commanding heights of today's economy are steering us toward feudalism or fatuousness.

  5. Neoliberal Minority Rule
    livingston3_GIORGIO VIERAAFP via Getty Images_desantistrumpflorida Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images

    Neoliberal Minority Rule

    Nov 1, 2023 James Livingston says that the question is no longer how, but whether, free markets can serve democracy’s cause.

  1. przybylski2_Alexander KoernerGetty Images_germanyarmy Alexander Koerner/Getty Images
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    Europe’s Democrats Must Forge a Will to Fight

    Wojciech Przybylski & Goran Buldioski think European leaders' most urgent security task is to nurture citizens' resolve to defend their countries.
  2. mazzucato81_Tomas CuestaGetty Images_javiermileichainsaw Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images
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    Governments Are Not Startups

    Mariana Mazzucato & Rainer Kattel

    By trying to running the state like a private business, Elon Musk and other anti-government types are creating a mess that someone else will have to clean up. Governments and businesses serve vastly different purposes, answer to different constituencies, and operate on entirely different timelines.

     explain why ongoing efforts to run the state like a business are doomed to fail.
  3. jkerry2_Ozgun TiranAnadoluGettyImages_black_sea Ozgun Tiran/Anadolu/Getty Images
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    Dumping Biomass in the Ocean Is Not a Climate Solution

    James Kerry & Lisa Levin warn against the commercialization of unproven climate interventions like one targeting the Black Sea.
  4. eichengreen202_ Stefan Wermuth - WPA PoolGetty Images_churchillsterling Stefan Wermuth/WPA/Pool/Getty Images
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    Sterling’s Past and the Dollar’s Future

    Barry Eichengreen

    US President Donald Trump says he wants to preserve the dollar's international role as a reserve and payment currency. If that's true, the history of pound sterling suggests he should be promoting financial stability, limiting the use of tariffs, and strengthening America's geopolitical alliances.

     applies three lessons from prewar Britain that the Trump administration appears determined to ignore.
  5. wei69_Alex WongGetty Images_trumptariffs Alex Wong/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Misguided Tariff Formula

    Shang-Jin Wei criticizes the US administration's crude calculations, which disregard textbook macroeconomic principles.
  6. chellaney186_SAI AUNG MAINSAI AUNG MAINAFP via Getty Images_myanmarearthquake Sai Aung Main/AFP via Getty Images
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    The US Must Change Course on Myanmar

    Brahma Chellaney outlines a policy approach that would promote stability, rather than perpetuating criminality and violence.
  7. fedyk10_Thierry MonasseGettyImages_ec_rearm_eu_annoucement Thierry Monasse/Getty Images
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    Europe Must Move Faster to Defend Itself

    Anastassia Fedyk, et al. outline four steps European leaders can take to accelerate rearmament and mitigate the Russian threat.
  8. guzman19_Tomas CuestaGetty Images_milei Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images
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    Will the IMF Get Played by Javier Milei?

    Martín Guzmán worries that the Fund will damage its credibility by issuing another politically motivated loan to Argentina.
  9. velasco158_Spencer PlattGetty Images_rustbelt Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    There Is No Method to Trump’s Tariff Madness

    Andrés Velasco sees no merit in any of the rationales the White House has advanced for launching a global trade war.

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