Special Projects

The notion of equal opportunity as an economic ideal has long played a central role in U.S. politics and policymaking. In a neoliberal age that emphasizes personal responsibility and individual merit, however, the meaning and value of opportunity have become increasingly contested. This project explores these debates about what an opportunity society should look like, bringing together economists, philosophers, historians, and policymakers to imagine a just society—and the way to get there.

Rethinking Political Economy begins with a world in crisis—after forty years of market fundamentalism—and asks how we build a new one. We debate new ways to think about protecting the planet, the relationship of equality and democracy, the need for racially inclusive prosperity, the promise of industrial policy, the dangers of concentrated economic power, and a revival of investment in public goods. We are grateful for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for supporting this effort.

Police abolition has entered the public consciousness with full force and considerable support.

Alongside select archival essays, this special project features lawyers, activists, historians and more responding to the demands of the 2020 uprisings. They not only boldly imagine an abolitionist future without police and prisons, but outline the steps needed to get us there.

We’ve brought together all our COVID-19 coverage in one place. Here you’ll find the latest arguments from doctors and epidemiologists, philosophers and economists, legal scholars and historians, activists and citizens, as they think not just through this moment but beyond it.