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Jonathan Levy

Jonathan Levy

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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. simons2_Fadel SennaGettyImages_uae_foreign_aid Fadel Senna/Getty Images
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    Trump’s War on Foreign Aid and the Rise of Transactional Diplomacy

    Bright Simons highlights the global implications of the administration’s decision to shut down USAID.
  2. iyahen1_RANDY BROOKSAFP via Getty Images_barbadoshurricane Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty Images
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    Insuring Coastal and Ocean Resilience

    Ekhosuehi Iyahen explains how the insurance industry can mobilize private capital toward nature-based solutions.
  3. duranton2_AnadoluGettyImages_cybersecurity_conference Anadolu/Getty Images
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    What AI Can Learn From Aviation Safety

    Sylvain Duranton & Vanessa Lyon explain why the technology’s future depends on ensuring system integrity and preventing misuse.
  4. okonjoiweala32_Jessica RinaldiThe Boston Globe via Getty Images_UStelemedicine Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
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    America’s Big Trade Win

    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

    Despite the uncertainty surrounding global trade, there are some bright spots – namely, booming trade in services. And here, ironically, the United States is leading the way, running a services trade surplus with most major economies and generating millions of good jobs for American workers.

     encourages the US government to acknowledge the country’s impressive success in exporting services.
  5. krebs3_AXEL HEIMKENAFP via Getty Images_germanytankproduction Axel Jeimken/AFP via Getty Images
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    Germany’s Incoming Government Has Embraced Military Keynesianism

    Tom Krebs & Isabella M. Weber

    Germany's prospective governing parties have now amended the country's constitutional "debt brake" in order to boost defense spending. But by limiting the amendment to military expenditure, they are squandering an opportunity to invest in the country's economic future.

     warn that current plans to boost military spending will unnecessarily undercut other priorities.
  6. oneill131_CFOTOGettyImages_us_dollar CFOTO/Getty Images
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    Will the Dollar Continue to Fall?

    Jim O'Neill explains why the US currency has been declining despite widespread expectations to the contrary.
  7. tyson123_NurPhotoGettyImages_migrant_deportation NurPhoto/Getty Images
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    Deportations Will Deepen the Trump Slump

    Laura Tyson & Lenny Mendonca point out that immigrants are a major factor in the US economy’s overall performance.
  8. jclapp2_NurPhotoGettyImages_cargo_ship NurPhoto/Getty Images
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    The Biofuel Sham Could Worsen Global Hunger and Inequality

    Jennifer Clapp & Olivier De Schutter urge the UN maritime regulator not to encourage the shipping industry to move from one unsustainable fuel to another.
  9. rodrik233_Scott OlsonGetty Images_universityresearchfunding Scott Olsen/Getty Images
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    When Will US Academia and Business Speak Up Against Trump?

    Dani Rodrik argues that leaders in both sectors bear a disproportionate responsibility to come to democracy's defense.

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