Summer 2017, No. 45

Ten or so years ago, liberals finally realized that they were way behind conservatives in terms of building a successful political infrastructure. The right had bigger and better-funded think tanks, training institutes, grassroots organizations; and a web of foundations to fund them into which rich conservatives poured billions. A furious game of catch-up commenced, and gains were made. But the most recent election showed (among other things) that the gulf still exists. It wasn’t just the presidential results—losses at all levels exposed a progressive infrastructure severely wanting. This topic is the subject of our lead symposium this issue—suggestions for what the progressive infrastructure needs most from 12 advocates, insiders, and writers, including Donna Brazile, Zephyr Teachout, Jonathan Soros, Ilyse Hogue, and others.

Our second symposium arises from a debate that has roiled the economics profession ever since the meltdown. It was addressed by economist Paul Romer last fall in his paper “The Trouble With Macroeconomics,” which sparked an immediate controversy within the discipline. In addition to giving the wrong answers, are they also asking the wrong questions? The stellar contributor lineup includes Dean Baker, Jared Bernstein, Benjamin Friedman, and Jason Furman.

Elsewhere, Michael Sandel returns to our pages with a brief essay on the Trump resistance. Susan Madrak and Kathleen Geier debate whether a woman—more specifically, a liberal Democratic woman—can ever be elected President. Ryan Avent explores what a Trump Administration might do on monetary policy—and what should be done.

In the books section, we welcome to our pages Annie Lowrey, reviewing James Ledbetter’s rich history of the gold standard; Alice Echols on a new book about the triumphs and setbacks of feminism in the 1970s; Elizabeth Bruenig on the conservative religious writer Rod Dreher; Maira Sutton on the new work by the influential tech sociologist Zeynep Tufekci; and a review of Sidney Blumenthal’s anticipated second volume on Abraham Lincoln by David S. Reynolds. All in all, the issues features some deep engagement with our current situation—but also some much-needed relief from it.

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Symposium

Has Economics Failed Us?

The question isn’t simply why most economists didn’t see the meltdown coming. It’s whether they were even looking in the right places to begin with.

By The Editors

1 MIN READ

'Why Did Nobody Notice It?'

By Jared Bernstein

9 MIN READ

Modern Economists: The Inept Firefighters’ Club

By Dean Baker

6 MIN READ

The Search for New Assumptions

By Benjamin Friedman

16 MIN READ

Myth of the Macro Monolith

By Jason Furman

8 MIN READ

Symposium

The Missing Progressive Infrastructure

By The Editors

1 MIN READ

State of the States

By Heather Booth

4 MIN READ

Get Millennials to Run for Office

By Donna Brazile

4 MIN READ

Teaching the Skills of Citizenship

By Hahrie Han

4 MIN READ

Reaching White Women

By Ilyse Hogue

6 MIN READ

The Need to Let People Fail

By Sally Kohn

5 MIN READ

Culturally Competent Messaging

By Maria Teresa Kumar

5 MIN READ

Fix the Segmentation Problem

By Scott Nielsen

4 MIN READ

50 'Movement Institutes'

By Faiz Shakir Sarah Miller

4 MIN READ

Needed: Greater Empathy

By Jonathan Soros

4 MIN READ

Target Monopolies!

5 MIN READ

A Group to Defend Government

By Michael Tomasky

4 MIN READ

A Climate Conservation Corps

By Vanessa Williamson

3 MIN READ

Features

Female Trouble: An Exchange

Can a progressive woman be elected President?

By Susan Madrak Kathleen Geier

28 MIN READ

Making Monetary Policy Great Again

The Great Recession exposed the weaknesses of orthodox central banking. Time for a regime change.

By Ryan Avent

29 MIN READ

The State of the Resistance

What’s needed now are priorities, and an affirmative political project.

By Michael Sandel

11 MIN READ

Book Reviews

(Cyber)Power to the People

The vast potential and worrisome limitations of online organizing.

By Maira Sutton

23 MIN READ

Lincoln Ascending

It takes Sidney Blumenthal awhile to get to Lincoln, but it’s worth the wait.

By David S. Reynolds

11 MIN READ

When the Anti-Feminists Roared Back

In the early 1970s, even Nixon was a feminist. By decade’s end, things had changed.

By Alice Echols

16 MIN READ

Worth Its Weight?

How gold has captured the imagination of prospectors, conspiracy theorists, and politicians for centuries.

By Annie Lowrey

10 MIN READ

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