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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. The Brutes’ New Suits
    op_livingston5_Spencer PlattGetty Images_wallstreet Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    The Brutes’ New Suits

    Oct 18, 2024 James Livingston asks why so many observers now believe that banks are running a con game.

  2. Two Cheers for Identity Politics
    livingston4_ KAMIL KRZACZYNSKIAFP via Getty Images_prideparade Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

    Two Cheers for Identity Politics

    Jun 21, 2024 James Livingston argues that critics of the contemporary focus on issues of race, gender, and sexuality are ignoring history.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  1. reynolds1_Bill PuglianoGettyImages_trump_industrial_policy Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Industrial Policy Is More Continuity Than Disruption

    Elisabeth Reynolds thinks that rebuilding America’s manufacturing base has become a central pillar of the US economic agenda.
  2. bp oligarchy Photo by JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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    Oligarchy in America

    Though Donald Trump attracted more support than ever from working-class voters in the 2024 US presidential election, he has long embraced an agenda that benefits the wealthiest Americans above all. During his second term, however, Trump seems committed not just to serving America’s ultra-rich, but to letting them wield state power themselves.

  3. elerian177_WPA PoolGettyImages_reeves_speech WPA Pool/Getty Images
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    Give the UK Growth Agenda a Chance

    Mohamed A. El-Erian sees promise in the current government’s economic-policy plan despite its imperfections.
  4. tharoor199_ Sonu MehtaHindustan Times via Getty Images_shahieidgah Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
    1

    Islam on Trial in India

    Shashi Tharoor warns that efforts to replace centuries-old mosques with Hindu temples could trigger communal violence.
  5. reichlin39_da-kukGetty Images_dollarcrypto da-kuk/Getty Images
    2

    Will Crypto Save the Dollar?

    Lucrezia Reichlin asks whether the Trump administration's stablecoin strategy can preserve the greenback's global hegemony.
  6. op_pei3_Hulton-Deutsch CollectionCORBISCorbis via Getty Images_zhouenlai Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images
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    The Tragedy of Zhou Enlai

    Minxin Pei

    The reputation of China's longest-serving premier has fared far better than that of the Maoist regime he faithfully served. Zhou's political survival skills enabled him to survive many purges, and even to steer Mao away from potential disasters, but he could not escape the Chairman's cruelty, even at the end of his life.

     reflects on the complicated life and legacy of the renowned diplomat who was Mao Zedong’s dutiful lieutenant.
  7. velasco156_Alex WroblewskiGettyImages_dnc_harris_buttons Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images
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    How Liberals Lost America

    Andrés Velasco attributes Donald Trump’s return to power to Democrats’ embrace of both moral neutrality and moral preachiness.
  8. halland10_TERJE PEDERSENNTBAFP via Getty Images_norwayukraineaid Terje Pedersenntb/AFP via Getty Images
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    Norway Should Cede Its War Windfall to Ukraine

    Håvard Halland & Knut Anton Mork say that the government's justifications for its war profiteering are disingenuous and short-sighted.
  9. bhide11_Anthony KwanGettyImages_deepseek Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
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    Is DeepSeek Really a Threat?

    Amar Bhidé explains what a purported Chinese AI breakthrough does and does not mean for the industry.

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