Class & Inequality
The Gig Economy’s Great Delusion
Platforms have sold themselves as substitutes for welfare, but they have actually served as substitutes for traditional work—with the state forced to pick up the slack.
Half a Century of Anti-Tax Orthodoxy Is Wrong
Taxation is at the heart of any serious economic growth policy.
Our Top Ten Reads on Inequality in 2017
From the GOP tax bill to the resurgence of neoliberal economics, there are plenty of reminders that we are living in one of the most unequal times in modern history.
A Bad Check for Black America
Nixon’s embrace of “black capitalism” turned the wealth gap into a wealth chasm.
Monopoly Men
After an eventful summer in Silicon Valley, there is blood in the water. At stake is democracy itself.
Draining the Swamp
Mar-a-Lago is the apotheosis of the Florida Dream in which wealthy interests degrade the environment and hollow out prospects for the poor. But as Hurricane Irma shows, this dream was never sustainable.
A Brown v. Board for Higher Ed
When college is a prerequisite for getting a job that pays better than minimum wage, we cannot stop until it is free and accessible to all.
It’s The Gap, Stupid
Three books draw a disturbing picture of America as a system of compounding inequality driven by a hereditary meritocracy of professional elites.
A New Social Contract for Work
This Labor Day, it is not enough to speak out against Trump's many injustices. We must also begin laying the foundations for working together in the post-Trump era, whenever that arrives.
When Politics Drives Scholarship
Nancy MacLean’s new book has set off a heated debate. But strong claims require strong evidence, and mistakes could mislead liberals and the left.
The Book that Explains Charlottesville
The University of Virginia has long been a bastion of white supremacy and white supremacy–validating scholarship.
Kochonomics: The Racist Roots of Public Choice Theory
A controversial new book traces how the anti-democratic projects of the Jim Crow South evolved into an economic theory still championed by the GOP today.
What the Minimum Wage Debate Gets Wrong
Critics of raising the minimum wage claim that it decreases employment, but they are missing the larger point.
Polanyi, the Failed Prophet of Moral Economics
Polanyi gave us a vital counterpoint to the hegemony of political economics. But how far can he take us?
The Dream Hoarders
Focusing on the top 1 percent is a mistake. The real class divide is between the upper middle class—the top 20 percent—and the rest of America.
Trump’s Sleight of Hand Will Bring Ruin to American Workers
Trump’s policies spell disaster for economic equality. And the worst is yet to come.