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Katharina Pistor

Katharina Pistor

Writing for PS since 2000
35 commentaries

Katharina Pistor, Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia Law School, is the author of The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality (Princeton University Press, 2019).

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  1. American Business Will Regret Writing Off Democracy
    pistor35_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trump and business Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    American Business Will Regret Writing Off Democracy

    Jun 3, 2024 Katharina Pistor explains why endorsing Donald Trump is a bad bet for today’s titans of the US economy.

  2. Will Boeing Crash Shareholder Value?
    pistor34_NTSB via Getty Images_boeing NTSB via Getty Images

    Will Boeing Crash Shareholder Value?

    Apr 10, 2024 Katharina Pistor sees the troubled company as a textbook example of a broader problem afflicting corporate governance.

  3. Elon Musk and the Absolutist Revival
    pistor33-napoleon musk

    Elon Musk and the Absolutist Revival

    Feb 13, 2024 Katharina Pistor laments the modern cult of the CEO, which allows corporate leaders to pick and choose their own laws.

  4. Katharina Pistor on financial risk, wealth creation, digital currencies, and more
    basu50_sasun1990GettyImages_businessmanbooksmoney sasun1990/Getty Images

    Katharina Pistor on financial risk, wealth creation, digital currencies, and more

    Jan 23, 2024 Katharina Pistor highlights the government’s role in perpetuating financial-sector fragility, urges stronger enforcement of legal accountability for political leaders, explains why trading nature derivatives should not be confused with protecting nature, and more.

  5. In AI, Capital Wins Again
    pistor30_Justin SullivanGetty Images_sam altman Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    In AI, Capital Wins Again

    Nov 28, 2023 Katharina Pistor shows why OpenAI’s efforts to preserve its founding non-profit mission never stood any chance.

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  1. velasco150_PAUL ELLISAFP via Getty Images_voting PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images

    In Praise of First-Past-the-Post

    Andrés Velasco explains why Britain’s electoral system is better than all the plausible alternatives.
  2. slaughter105_JACK GUEZAFP via Getty Images_womenwagepeace Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

    Peacebuilding in the Middle East Requires Women

    Anne-Marie Slaughter & Xanthe Scharff argue that negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians must no longer be the province of men.
  3. varoufakis117_JULIEN DE ROSAAFP via Getty Images_macron JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images

    Macron and Europe’s Centrists Are Out of Good Options

    Yanis Varoufakis shows that an intractable economic conundrum lies behind the current impasse in French politics.
  4. quesada3_ Lokman Vural ElibolAnadolu via Getty Images_immigration Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Immigration Does Not Start at the US Border

    Carlos Alvarado-Quesada laments the failure of Republicans and Democrats alike to address the root causes of migration.
  5. landau4_Getty Images_AI money Getty Images/Anton Petrus

    Will AI Kill Off Money?

    Jean-Pierre Landau considers some of the underappreciated implications of an economy run entirely by machines.
  6. op_krauze1_Fine Art ImagesHeritage ImagesGetty Images_spinoza Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

    A Philosopher for Our Times

    Enrique Krauze shows that, given rising illiberalism, the seventeenth-century thinker Baruch Spinoza is as relevant as ever.
  7. snower8_Getty Images Getty Images

    A New Worldview for Troubled Times

    Dennis J. Snower proposes four principles to guide policymaking and global negotiations in the age of climate change.
  8. moyo29_Carl CourtGetty Images_FTSE Carl Court/Getty Images

    Navigating Today’s Frothy Financial Markets

    Dambisa Moyo offers a basic framework for assessing the risk of new bubbles and their potential spillover effects.
  9. asadullah16_ MUNIR UZ ZAMANAFP via Getty Images_bangladesh MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images

    An Arab Spring for Bangladesh?

    M. Niaz Asadullah argues that young protestors could help the country chart a democratic course and achieve sustainable growth.

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