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James Livingston

James Livingston

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James Livingston, Professor Emeritus of History at Rutgers University, is the author of six books, including Origins of the Federal Reserve System: Money, Class, and Corporate Capitalism, 1890-1913 (Cornell University Press, 1986), and the forthcoming The Intellectual Earthquake: How Pragmatism Changed the World, 1898-2008 (University of Chicago Press).

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  1. What Was Capitalism?
    op_livingston4_PolinmrGetty Images_capitalism money Polinmr/Getty Images

    What Was Capitalism?

    Feb 16, 2024 James Livingston asks whether those at the commanding heights of today's economy are steering us toward feudalism or fatuousness.

  2. Neoliberal Minority Rule
    livingston3_GIORGIO VIERAAFP via Getty Images_desantistrumpflorida Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images

    Neoliberal Minority Rule

    Nov 1, 2023 James Livingston says that the question is no longer how, but whether, free markets can serve democracy’s cause.

  3. Men Overboard
    op_livingston3_Kevin DietschGetty Images_joshhawley Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    Men Overboard

    Aug 11, 2023 James Livingston explores the unspoken tragedy at the heart of conservatives' fixation on defending patriarchy.

  4. The Sense of an Ending
    op_livingston2_Beata ZawrzelNurPhoto via Getty Images_capitalisamprotest Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    The Sense of an Ending

    Mar 10, 2023 James Livingston surveys the intellectual terrain created by the transition from capitalism as we have come to know it.

  5. The Contested Fed
    op_livingston1_Anna MoneymakerGetty Images_fed Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    The Contested Fed

    Dec 2, 2022 James Livingston reviews three books that, each in its own way, reveal a central truth about the world’s leading central bank.

  1. benami213_YEHUDA RAIZNERAFP via Getty Images_israelflag Yehuda Raizner/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Unbearable Lightness of Anti-Zionism

    Shlomo Ben-Ami warns that demonizing all Israelis will only make peace less likely – though that may be the point.
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    How to Close the Gender Wage Gap

    Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir argues that Iceland’s experience lends further support to Nobel laureate economist Claudia Goldin’s research.
  3. brown107_Jeff J Mitchell - Pool Getty Images_covidvaccine Jeff J. Mitchell/Pool/Getty Images
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    Getting the Pandemic Treaty Across the Finish Line

    Gordon Brown

    Just as governments are working tirelessly to conclude negotiations on a new pandemic treaty, a torrent of misinformation and fake news has been unleashed to undermine the process. For the sake of current and future generations, policymakers must resist the propaganda and get the job done.

     hopes negotiations will conclude this month, and pushes back on a last-minute wave of misinformation.
  4. singer231_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_college protests Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
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    When Is Criticism of Israel Anti-Semitic?

    Peter Singer rejects comparisons of the recent US campus protests to the actions of Nazi student groups in the 1930s.
  5. Project Syndicate
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    Trump’s Plans for the Fed Would Revive 1970s-Style Inflation

    Maurice Obstfeld thinks the presumptive GOP nominee’s policies reflect an outdated understanding of the economy.
  6. adebajo5_Getty Images_southafricaelection Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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    Mandela’s Heirs Face Their Biggest Election Test

    Adekeye Adebajo explains why the African National Congress could lose its 30-year monopoly on power.
  7. dalmia1_DIBYANGSHU SARKARAFP via Getty Images_bjp DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images
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    What Explains the BJP’s Rise?

    Gaurav Dalmia

    Why are there such high expectations for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in India’s ongoing parliamentary election? Simply put, the party is far better organized than its rivals, and its leader, Narendra Modi, is undeniably the most charismatic Indian prime minister in recent memory.

     ennumerates the reasons why the ruling party has come to dominate the country’s electoral landscape.
  8. zhang66_STRAFP via Getty Images_chinaelectricvehicles STR/AFP via Getty Images
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    Why China Provides Evidence for Optimists and Pessimists Alike

    Zhang Jun explains why rigorous, evidence-based assessments of the economy's performance can diverge sharply.
  9. marin27_Sean GallupGetty Images_afd Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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    The Zero-Sum Logic Fueling the Rise of Germany’s Far Right

    Dalia Marin thinks that promoting economic growth remains the most effective antidote to nativist sentiments.

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