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Simon Johnson

Simon Johnson

Writing for PS since 2007
182 commentaries

Simon Johnson, a 2024 Nobel laureate in economics and a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, is a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Faculty Director of MIT’s Shaping the Future of Work initiative, and Co-Chair of the CFA Institute Systemic Risk Council. He is a co-author (with Daron Acemoglu) of Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (PublicAffairs, 2023). 

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  1. The World According to the Oligarchs
    johnson183 Getty Images

    The World According to the Oligarchs

    Mar 11, 2025 Simon Johnson explains how techno-monopolists’ consolidation of political power in the United States will play out.

  2. Greenland’s Future Must Be Decided by Greenland’s People
    johnson184_Picture AllianceGettyImages_greenland_flag Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    Greenland’s Future Must Be Decided by Greenland’s People

    Mar 3, 2025 Simon Johnson dismisses the argument that US national security depends on gaining control over the island.

  3. The Economic Consequences of Trump 2.0
    johnson182_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_trump Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Trump 2.0

    Jan 3, 2025 Simon Johnson explains why reality is unlikely to come close to matching the US president-elect's rhetoric.

  4. Trump Can Win Against China – in Ukraine
    johnson181_Alexander ManzyukAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_russian oil Alexander Manzyuk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Trump Can Win Against China – in Ukraine

    Nov 25, 2024 Simon Johnson & Oleg Ustenko argue that forcing Russia to withdraw would yield a clearer win for the US than tariffs on Chinese imports.

  5. Only Harris Will Deliver Shared Prosperity
    johnson180_JIM WATSONAFP via Getty Images_kamala harris JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

    Only Harris Will Deliver Shared Prosperity

    Nov 1, 2024 Simon Johnson says that Donald Trump’s discredited protectionism would benefit the few at the expense of the many.

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  1. mohieldin33_Xie EXinhuaGettyImages_guterres_debt_report Xie E/Xinhua/Getty Images
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    This UN Debt Initiative Is Different

    Mahmoud Mohieldin, et al. tout an Expert Group’s efforts to prevent a full-blown solvency crisis in developing countries.
  2. fbirol4_UCGGettyImages_south_africa_power_grid UCG/Getty Images
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    What African Electrification Requires

    Fatih Birol & Alain Ebobissé highlight the need for greater private-sector participation to boost investments in power grids.
  3. nye268_John MooreGetty Images_trumpUN John Moore/Getty Images
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    How World Order Changes

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

    World order is a matter of degree: it varies over time, depending on technological, political, social, and ideological factors that can affect the global distribution of power and influence norms. It can be radically altered both by broader historical trends and by a single major power's blunders.

     examines the role of evolving power dynamics and norms in bringing about stable arrangements among states.
  4. buruma226_Picture AllianceGettyImages_tel _aviv_antiwar_protests Picture Alliance/Getty Images
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    Israel’s Blind Spot

    Ian Buruma explains the lack of sympathy, even among the country’s many anti-war protesters, for Palestinian suffering.
  5. sirimanne1_Visual China Group via Getty ImagesVisual China Group via Getty Images_robotelderly Visual China Group via Getty Images
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    Will AI Close or Widen the Development Gap?

    Shamika Sirimanne & Xiaolan Fu call for multilateral action and grassroots pressure to ensure that the technology serves all countries.
  6. dickinsongoodman1_DrAfter123Getty Images_datasurveillance DrAfter123/Getty Images
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    Don’t Let Governments Break Encryption

    Jessica Dickinson Goodman & Ezequiel Passeron Kitroser urge citizens and lawmakers to fight for the privacy that previous generations took for granted.
  7. wmoore1_Sofiia PetrovaGetty Images_babyvitamins Sofiia Petrova/Getty Images
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    Philanthropy in an Era of Declining Development Aid

    William Moore urges practitioners and policymakers to focus on already proven, scalable solutions.
  8. adebajo14_Bill PuglianoGettyImages_trump_wrestlemania Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
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    South Africa’s Wrestling Match With Trump

    Adekeye Adebajo considers whether the current G20 president can still advance its agenda in the face of US obstruction.
  9. haldar44_ Ann Ronan PicturesPrint CollectorGetty Images_aristotle Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images
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    How Aristotle Can Save Us

    Antara Haldar touts a conception of society in which politics and education cultivate the virtue of its members.

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