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Jonathan Levy

Jonathan Levy

5 commentaries

Jonathan Levy, Professor of History at Sciences Po, is the author of Ages of American Capitalism: A History of the United States (Random House, 2021) and The Real Economy: History and Theory (Princeton University Press, 2025).

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  1. The Opacity of Hope
    op_jilevy4_Robert Daemmrich Photography IncCorbis via Getty Images_obamahope Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images

    The Opacity of Hope

    Feb 28, 2025 Jonathan Levy reflects on how the politics promoted by America’s first Black president gave rise to its first felonious one.

  2. 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 Levy traces the complicated interplay between states, global capital, and civil society over the past century.

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

    The Pitfalls of Dollar Hegemony

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

  4. 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 Levy traces the origins of the sector's recent turmoil to the nineteenth-century rise of the corporation.

  5. 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 Levy reviews two recent books on the “deep past” of one of humanity’s most important institutions.

  1. yu80_Morris MacMatzenGettyImages_us_trade Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images

    Can America Maintain External Sustainability?

    Yu Yongding explains why demand for foreign capital inflows to offset the country’s savings shortfall may go unmet.
  2. rodrik232_ ROBERTO SCHMIDTAFP via Getty Images_trumpflag Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

    The Coming Showdown in Trumpworld

    Dani Rodrik points out that a coalition comprising incompatible financial and ideological interests cannot last.
  3. roach175_Brandon BellGettyImages_egg_prices Brandon Bell/Getty Images

    Trump’s Self-Fulfilling Crisis

    Stephen S. Roach shows how the US president’s policies could create the very problems he falsely claims to be confronting.
  4. patten173_Carl Court - PoolGetty Images_starmertrump Carl Court - Pool/Getty Images

    Britain Must Downgrade the Special Relationship

    Chris Patten outlines steps UK policymakers must take to mitigate the strategic threat posed by the Trump administration.
  5. zucman3_Roberto SchmidtGettyImages_musk_schmidt Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

    America’s Oligarchs Are Trump’s Achilles’ Heel

    Gabriel Zucman proposes that countries targeted by US tariffs retaliate with taxes on Elon Musk and his peers.
  6. op_jilevy4_Robert Daemmrich Photography IncCorbis via Getty Images_obamahope Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images

    The Opacity of Hope

    Jonathan Levy

    Former US President Barack Obama tried to move beyond the fearmongering of the George W. Bush era and unite the country around his own political persona. But as initial optimism gave way to disillusionment, fear once again took hold, setting the stage for the rise of Donald Trump.

    reflects on how the politics promoted by America’s first Black president gave rise to its first felonious one.
  7. alsulayman1_Karim SahibGettyImages_uae_solar Karim Sahib/Getty Images

    A New Gulf Growth Model

    Faris Al-Sulayman & Steffen Hertog explain why the region’s governments are well positioned to capitalize on recent geo-economic trends.
  8. ahassan1_Etienne TorbeyGettyImages_cyprus_starling_murmuration Etienne Torbey/Getty Images

    Small States Mean Big Returns

    Adnan Hassan sees lucrative investment opportunities in countries capable of adapting efficiently to rapid economic change.
  9. turner73_VCGGettyImages_intelligent_manufacturing _plant VCG/Getty Images

    AI Will Not Supercharge GDP Growth

    Adair Turner expects the technology to be everywhere but in the measured GDP statistics.

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