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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. qxu2_VCGVCG via Getty Images_chinashipping VCG via Getty Images
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    Why the US Can’t Win the Trade War With China – and Shouldn’t Try

    Qiyuan Xu argues that high capital outflows – largely a result of US policy – have resulted in an undervalued renminbi.
  2. eichengreen190_Tomohiro OhsumiGetty Images_japanexchange Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
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    The Dilemmas of the Dollar

    Barry Eichengreen

    The dollar's strength, particularly against major Asian currencies, has triggered a wave of skittishness in financial markets. Can anything be done to stem the greenback's rise, and even if something can be done, should it?

     asks whether anything can or should be done about the greenback's strength, especially against Asian currencies.
  3. matola2_Per-Anders PetterssonGetty Images_malawi cooking Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images
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    Clean Cooking Advances Women’s Empowerment

    Rachel Ruto outlines a gender-based strategy for improving energy access and reducing air pollution in Africa.
  4. kirtondarling1_Andreas RentzGetty Images_european green new deal Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
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    There Can Be No Business as Usual for European Industry

    Judith Kirton-Darling urges EU leaders to make a renewed Green Deal, backed by competitiveness-bolstering initiatives, a top priority.
  5. zizek30_Fatima ShbairGetty Images_gaza Fatima Shbair/Getty Images
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    Protests of Despair

    Slavoj Žižek

    While the ongoing pro-Palestinian student protests have many superficial similarities to the student uprisings of the late 1960s, only the latter envisioned a new political movement to ameliorate the ills of their time. The current protesters' goals are far more modest, which makes them all the more tragic.

     sees the pro-Palestinian student demonstrations as a signal of a much deeper, widespread malaise.
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    The Rise of the Finternet

    Agustín Carstens & Nandan Nilekani foresee a world in which cheap, secure, and near-instantaneous financial transactions are available to all.
  7. rodrik222_Kevin FrayerGetty Images_china solar panel Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
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    Don’t Fret About Green Subsidies

    Dani Rodrik sees no good argument against industrial policies that accelerate growth in decarbonization industries.
  8. gros186_Sean GallupGetty Images_euro Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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    Europe’s Geoeconomic Competitiveness Challenge

    Daniel Gros highlights the security risks raised by the prolonged decline of the EU’s relative economic power.
  9. op_ang1_retrorocketGetty Images_corruption retrorocket/Getty Images
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    How Exceptional Is China’s Crony-Capitalist Boom?

    Yuen Yuen Ang explains how corruption both drove the country's GDP growth and sowed the seeds for its current economic problems.

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