Fall 2016, No. 42

It’s the heat of the strangest and most disturbing election of our lifetimes—a statement that is undeniably true whether you’re 12 or 102. We couldn’t let this election pass without comment. That said, we decided the world didn’t need another dissection of the Republican candidate. So we offer up a short symposium on some of the more hidden keys to this election. Is working-class feminism a potent electoral strategy? Will latent sexism in the electorate reveal itself in the vote? Will “household economics” be enough? How big a deal will the Supreme Court be? What is this “Latino community”? And where will the Sanders movement go, in November and beyond? Respectively, Thomas Sugrue, Ellen Fitzpatrick, Mark Schmitt, Brianne Gorod, Fernand Amandi, and Theda Skocpol provide answers.

Next, we look at the unconventional ways to unleash greater economic growth. In conjunction with the Kauffman Foundation, we asked leading experts in a range of areas, from health care to antitrust law to always overlooked areas like labor mobility: What kinds of laws, rules, and practices are holding back growth, and how can they be changed to unleash it? I can promise that you will learn something interesting in each of the pieces.

Elsewhere, Richard Vague offers a new answer to the question of what’s holding back the global economy: private debt. Mohja Kahf of the University of Arkansas responds to our lively “Islam and Liberalism” roundtable discussion from the last issue. Henry Aaron reviews Samuel Bowles’s The Moral Economy. Danny Postel considers the long-awaited new volume on Iran’s internal domestic politics by the journalist Laura Secor. And Joshua Holland digs into a new book urging us all to pray for the day when our economy more resembles that found in Star Trek.

That would be great. But first, let’s make it through this election; then we’ll worry about living long and prospering.

Back Issues Archive

Symposium

The Unseen Election

It's about a lot more than tweets and insults. Here are factors you haven't thought about, from six different authors.

By The Editors

1 MIN READ

Is Family Economics Enough?

By Mark Schmitt

5 MIN READ

Remember Working-Class Feminism!

By Thomas J. Sugrue

5 MIN READ

Whither the Sanders Left?

By Theda Skocpol

7 MIN READ

How Much Latent Sexism Is Out There?

By Ellen Fitzpatrick

5 MIN READ

The Unknown Latino Vote

By Fernand Amandi

6 MIN READ

It All Comes Down to the Courts

By Brianne Gorod

5 MIN READ

Symposium

The Hidden Keys to Growth

There's more to growth than just macroeconomic policy. Here are a series of proposals to get us back to shared growth: Lina Khan on Antitrust Enforcement • David Schleicher on Labor MobilityAlex Nowrasteh on Immigration Expansion Devin Fidler & Marina Gorbis on Technology Phillip Longman on Health-Care Monopolies  Aaron Klein on the "FinTech" Revolution  Steven Teles on Competitive Egalitarianism

By The Editors

1 MIN READ

New Tools to Promote Competition

By Lina Khan

13 MIN READ

Getting People Where the Jobs Are

By David Schleicher

15 MIN READ

The Case for More Immigration

By Alex Nowrasteh

12 MIN READ

Prosperity By Design

By Devin Fidler Marina Gorbis

15 MIN READ

Time to Fight Health-Care Monopolization

By Phillip Longman

16 MIN READ

The Coming "FinTech" Revolution

By Aaron Klein

14 MIN READ

Competitive Egalitarianism: How to Structure Markets

By Steven Teles

10 MIN READ

Features

The Private Debt Crisis

China is drowning in it. The whole world has too much of it. History suggests: This won’t end well.

By Richard Vague

28 MIN READ

Book Reviews

More Virtuous Than We Think

Homo Economicus is a fundamentally selfish man. But what if he’s been vastly overhyped?

By Henry J. Aaron

12 MIN READ

Theaters of Coercion

Intellectuals and activists have struggled to transform Iran. But Tehran's role in the changing landscape of the Middle East has become the defining story.

By Danny Postel

20 MIN READ

Can We Live Long and Prosper?

If life could be more like Star Trek, what a wonderful galaxy it could be.

By Joshua Holland

16 MIN READ

Responses

Human Rights First

Yes, Islam can be liberalized. The building block must be human rights, universally applied. A response to the “Islam and Liberalism” roundtable.

By Mohja Kahf

11 MIN READ

Recounting

Seeing Colors

Some liberals used to pride themselves on not seeing race. No—we must see it and think about it.

By Michael Tomasky

10 MIN READ

Back Issues Archive