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Jonathan Ira Levy

Jonathan Ira Levy

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Jonathan Ira Levy, a professor in the Department of History and the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago, is the author of Ages of American Capitalism: A History of the United States (Random House, 2021).

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  1. The Evolution of Modern Political Power
    op_jilevy3_ Dirck HalsteadGetty Images_clinton1 Dirck Halstead/Getty Images

    The Evolution of Modern Political Power

    Oct 27, 2023 Jonathan Ira Levy traces the complicated interplay between states, global capital, and civil society over the past century.

  2. The Pitfalls of Dollar Hegemony
    op_jlevy2_Maryna TerletskaGetty Images_dollars Maryna Terletska/Getty Images

    The Pitfalls of Dollar Hegemony

    Apr 14, 2023 Jonathan Ira Levy shows why no modern national economy, least of all the United States, can be understood in isolation.

  3. Big Tech Gets Derailed
    jlevy2_Geo. P. Hall & SonThe New York Historical SocietyGetty Images_railroad Geo. P. Hall & Son/The New York Historical Society/Getty Images

    Big Tech Gets Derailed

    Nov 24, 2022 Jonathan Ira Levy traces the origins of the sector's recent turmoil to the nineteenth-century rise of the corporation.

  4. The Adventures of Money
    op_jlevy1_JOHANNES EISELEAFP via Getty Images_chinacoins Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

    The Adventures of Money

    Jul 15, 2022 Jonathan Ira Levy reviews two recent books on the “deep past” of one of humanity’s most important institutions.

  1. nishio1_Ian ForsythGetty Images_elecrtification ssa Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

    An African Success Story for Development Finance

    Akihiko Nishio & Victoria Kwakwa highlight the effectiveness of the concessional lending provided by the International Development Association.
  2. montoya1_Drew AngererGetty Images_google Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    The Google Trial’s Dangerous Secrecy

    Karina Montoya warns that the tech behemoth’s success in limiting public access to legal proceedings threatens press freedom.
  3. amiel2_MIGUEL MEDINAAFP via Getty Images_french ev MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images

    A Green Economy Needs More Than Subsidies

    David Amiel

    While carbon pricing and industrial policies may have enabled policymakers in the United States and Europe to avoid difficult political choices, we cannot rely on these tools to achieve crucial climate goals. Climate policies must move away from focusing on green taxes and subsidies and enter the age of politics.

    explains why achieving climate goals requires a broader combination of sector-specific policy instruments.
  4. reisch2_INA FASSBENDERAFP via Getty Images_fossil fuels INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images

    What Will It Take to Phase Out Fossil Fuels?

    Nikki Reisch argues that corporate capture is preventing the annual COPs from driving an exit from fossil fuels.
  5. alqassimi1_PAWAN SHARMAAFP via Getty Images_flooding historic sites PAWAN SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images

    The Power of Culture-Based Climate Action

    Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi & Margareth Menezes highlight the unique ability of indigenous knowledge and methods to generate sustainable solutions.
  6. mfespinosa6_ Sha HantingChina News ServiceVCG via Getty Images_georgieva Sha Hanting/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
    Free to read

    The Global South’s Debt Crisis Is Thwarting Climate Ambition

    María Fernanda Espinosa & Rishikesh Ram Bhandary warn that lack of fiscal space in the developing world is impeding progress on the clean-energy transition.
  7. rogoff243_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_interest Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    Higher Interest Rates Are Here to Stay

    Kenneth Rogoff

    The long-standing economic consensus that interest rates would remain low indefinitely, making debt cost-free, is no longer tenable. Even if inflation declines, soaring debt levels, deglobalization, and populist pressures will keep rates higher for the next decade than they were in the decade following the 2008 financial crisis.

    thinks that policymakers and economists must reassess their beliefs in light of current market realities.
  8. tharoor185_ NARINDER NANUAFP via Getty Images_sikh separatist NARINDER NANU/AFP via Getty Images

    Does India Have a Hit List?

    Shashi Tharoor worries that recent plots to assassinate Sikh separatists abroad could undermine vital diplomatic relationships.
  9. patten160_ Hoda DavaineDave BenettGetty Images_paul lynch Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/Getty Images

    The Looming Populist Dystopia

    Chris Patten says that this year’s Booker Prize-winning novel cuts disturbingly close to home.

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