Pushing “market logic” into higher education has made the wealthy schools richer and the poorly resourced schools poorer. @lookheron.bsky.social builds on his arguments and findings in his recent report for @lpeblog.bsky.social. lpeproject.org/blog/the-neo...

ICYMI, I did a blog post today at @lpeproject.bsky.social that’s really about the death of a 20 c mode of liberal/progressive politics. It’s about the need, as a first-order objective, to relegitimize the state around a representational legitimacy.

Today, Beau Baumann grapples with a fundamental challenge for the post-Trump era: to re-build state capacity requires a government that is seen as legitimate, yet it is precisely the erosion of administrative legitimacy that has enabled Trump to carry out his deconstructive agenda.

This piece by @beaubaumann.bsky.social is really good and focusing on all the right questions. lpeproject.org/blog/rebuild...

Important piece by @lookheron.bsky.social tracing how the steady neoliberalization of higher education has sowed fertile ground for its takeover by authoritarians

Live shot of Luke explaining how neoliberal efforts to promote “accountability” and shift planning responsibilities to elected officials made it easier to implement the right-wing turn toward indoctrination.

"by pushing 'market logic' into higher education, these reforms have made the rich richer and the poor poorer... It seems to me that this increasingly unequal system did a great deal of harm to higher education’s standing in our society, opening the door to right-wing attacks."

In which I explore how changes in state-level public higher ed governance during the neoliberal era opened space for more recent authoritarian crackdowns. lpeproject.org/blog/the-neo...

Week in review: Steffen Seitz on conspiracy law and social movements, Darryl Li on the weaponization of campus antisemitism investigations, and Erik Peinert on the staying power of the antimonopoly movement. Plus, the best of LPE from around the web in the 🧵👇

As @akapczynski.bsky.social wrote last January, "we’ll now see arguments that clinics should stop any kind of public interest work that might make a 'statement.' This, of course, would be a violation of the academic freedom, while also undermining important ways that our schools serve the public."

Today, @erikpeinert.bsky.social explains why, despite recent set-backs, the antimonopoly movement will prove difficult to dislodge over the short run.

Then on October 23rd at CUNY Law, the first session of LPE NYC Night School will look at the question of how things got so unaffordable and unequal in the first place with Gregory Louis and Mason Williams, moderated by @llchristyll.bsky.social lpeproject.org/events/nyc-s...

It's an EXCITING few weeks for LPE NYC with 2 events on the political economy of NYC! First up is an event on Oct 15th in Brooklyn on what it means to make NYC housing affordable with @ceaweaver.bsky.social, Gianpaolo Baiocchi, & Joanne Grell!! lpeproject.org/events/makin...

"at least a quarter of the investigations originated from people with no relationship to the schools in question. For example, a single right-wing journalist has instigated at least 15 such inquests." 🤯

"An ecosystem of pro-Israel and right-wing organizations have been deeply involved in driving the surge in [Title VI antisemitism investigations] At least a quarter of the investigations originated from people with no relationship to the schools in question."

"When it comes to speech critical of Israel, both Democratic and Republican administrations have allowed federal civil rights enforcement to be driven by the equivalent of a YouTube comments section." Don't miss this great post by Darryl Li, analyzing the abuse of antisemitism investigations.

"the Department of Education opened 25 antisemitism investigations of postsecondary educational institutions in the last two months of 2023 – more than all previous years combined. In 2024, that figure would climb to 38 investigations, and 2025 is on pace to be another record-breaking year."

Once you're done watching our fearless leaders rile up the military, might I suggest you spend some time with my analysis of how state funding and governance of public colleges transformed during the neoliberal era and where that leaves us? rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Today, Darryl Li examines the alarming rise in campus antisemitism investigations—inquests that are often sparked by outside complaints, lack concrete evidence, and lay the groundwork for future crackdowns and grievances.

As @evanbernick.bsky.social wrote back in January, "When the Supreme Court eventually weighs in on the order, we will not learn whether it is constitutional. We will learn whether the Supreme Court is prepared to follow the Constitution."

People recently targeted or threatened with RICO charges: -antifa -Soros -people protesting Trump's dinner -anti-ICE protesters -Sanctuary city officials -pro-Palestine protesters -animal activists -Stop Cop City activists Steffen Seitz explains why this is especially bad for social movements.

"Though conspiracy requires an 'agreement' between two or more people to commit a crime, in practice the mere appearance of concerted action is often enough. This makes conspiracy an especially potent weapon against social movements, which, by their nature, aim to project an appearance of unity."

Following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, President Trump and his allies have repeatedly threatened to use conspiracy laws against liberal groups, protesters, and political opponents. Today, Steffen Seitz explains what makes conspiracy law such a salient threat to social movements.

The week in review: @genevievelakier.bsky.social on weaponizing antidiscrimination law, @sanjukta.bsky.social on laws and markets, and Ally Coll and Justin Gravlee on NIH v. APHA. Plus, an incredible conference on Capitalism and Socialism (free, online, starting in an hour 😬).

Who could have ever seen this coming in, say, March 2024? Oh, the great @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, that's who!

Today, Ally Coll and Justin Gravlee explain how the Supreme Court’s NIH v. APHA decision, by forcing plaintiffs to file duplicative lawsuits in different courts, will prevent them from attaining adequate relief from illegal government action.

Cool conference alert 🚨: This Friday (Sept. 26), from 12–6:45 PM EST, NOMOS will be holding a conference on Capitalism and Socialism (at Harvard + on Zoom). Papers and responses by several LPE stalwarts, including David Grewal, Alex Gourevitch, Aziz Rana, Lev Menand.

Don't miss this exchange between Gabe Winant and Sanjukta Paul on Marxism and Antitrust. As always, the LPE Blog is doing politics the right way.™️

Really enjoyed writing this; hope making some of these latent (apparent) diasagreements explicit is helpful to anyone else. Appreciate @gabrielwinant.bsky.social for doing so! Btw i don't think *all* the disagreement dissolves on inspection, but do think the vibes version of it is a lot stronger.

Today, in a response to Gabe Winant, @sanjukta.bsky.social reflects on whether capitalism operates by quasi-automatic mechanisms, the salience of the labor-small capital distinction, and the nature of the constraints limiting our current political horizon.

Deep stuff from @sanjukta.bsky.social in response to @gabrielwinant.bsky.social on the utility of diving into the details of market coordination rather than getting caught up on the "structure" vs "voluntarist" distinction. lpeproject.org/blog/the-law...

To kick off a series on @lpeblog.bsky.social exploring the perverse use of antidiscrimination law by the Trump admin, I wrote about the radical interpretation the admin has adopted of Title VI and what it means for TItle VI's past & future. lpeproject.org/blog/title-v...

"neither the courts nor the bad faith of the Trump administrators are entirely to blame, although both have played a role. Instead, the transformation of Title VI reflects a deeper problem with how the federal civil rights regime has come to operate."

Today, @genevievelakier.bsky.social explains how Title VI, perhaps the crowning achievement of the Civil Rights Movement, has become one of the most powerful forces against desegregation.

Week in Review: @gabrielwinant.bsky.social on Marxism and Antitrust, Andrew Bilodeau on labor unions for incarcerated workers, and a collection of some of favorite posts on LPE & Criminal Law. Plus, the best of LPE from around the web in the 🧵👇

Today, we reach into the vault and highlight some of our favorite posts on the entanglements between criminal law, political economy, and social inequality. Featuring Angela Harris, Noah Zatz, Jocelyn Simonson, Joanna Schwartz, Zohra Ahmed, Dorothy Roberts, Andrew Crespo, and Amna Akbar, and more!

An incredible resource to share with students, as well as a great entry point for those new to LPE. Earlier entries in the series cover some of our favorite posts on antitrust, admin law, housing, tech: lpeproject.org/symposia/fro...

Love these newsletter style posts from @lpeblog.bsky.social @lpeproject.bsky.social, this one highlighting posts about the intersection of criminal law with political economy, e.g. carceral state lpeproject.org/blog/from-th...

"In the era of Trump, censorship... very likely will target the economic infrastructure of speech rather than speech itself. But this does not make it any less a threat to the democratic values that the First Amendment is supposed to protect." A good day to revisit @genevievelakier.bsky.social!

"Instead of demanding, as unions have in the past, that their workplaces stop bringing in incarcerated workers, they can demand that incarcerated workers be brought up to similar wage and benefit structures."

Today, Andrew Bilodeau argues that traditional labor unions can and should bring incarcerated workers into the fold by including them in their organizing drives at fast food restaurants, factories, and other workplaces.

"The contrasting positive vision... is the diminishment of the power of capital over our flourishing, a diminishment which takes the form of the insulation of human life from markets, not its more successful integration into them." Don't miss Gabe Winant on Marxism and Antitrust!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE submit a comment to help save PSLF and not let the Trump admistration impose an ideological litmus test YOU HAVE TWO DAYS!!!

Today, @gabrielwinant.bsky.social breaks down the core theoretical divides between Marxism and antitrust—and considers how, despite these differences, the two traditions might inform one another in a constructive give and take.

I really appreciated this essay for engaging core issues regarding how to think about the economy and the (burning) world and our place in it. Even if you don't care about antitrust *or* marxism, i recommend it.

All aboard 🚂! Today's the LAST DAY⏳ to submit a proposal 📄 to the first-ever ALPE conference.

Paper and panel proposals for the first *big* LPE conference are due TOMORROW!! Whether you are a law professor, lawyer, organizer, or academic in a different field, all proposals are welcome!! lawandpoliticaleconomy.org