The LPE Project

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...

Rebuilding State Authority In A Post-Trump America In the ruins of the administrative state after Trump, many on the left see an opportunity to design a New Deal-type reconstruction agenda. But building state capacity requires a government that is…

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.

Rebuilding State Authority In A Post-Trump America In the ruins of the administrative state after Trump, many on the left see an opportunity to design a New Deal-type reconstruction agenda. But building state capacity requires a government that is…

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.

Rebuilding State Authority In A Post-Trump America In the ruins of the administrative state after Trump, many on the left see an opportunity to design a New Deal-type reconstruction agenda. But building state capacity requires a government that is…

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."

The Neoliberal Foundation of the Authoritarian Turn in Higher Education Recent authoritarian attacks on higher education mark a significant shift from the neoliberal era, which celebrated institutional independence from the state, the role of education in boosting worker…

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...

Weekly Roundup: Oct 3 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…

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."

The Staying Power of the Antimonopoly Movement In the United States and elsewhere, the forces of monopoly, antitrust, and corporate power tend to follow a certain historical pattern, with long-term swings between strong anti-monopoly policies and…

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

How NYC Became So Unequal Ever wonder why CUNY is no longer free? Confused why the subway fare keeps rising while service declines? Join LPE NYC on October 23 at 6:30pm for a conversation between Professors Gregory Louis and…

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...

Making NYC Affordable: Housing Please join LPE NYC for the first session in our series on what it really means to make NYC affordable, October 15, 6-8pm at New York Communities for Change (470 Vanderbilt Ave. Brooklyn, NY) This…

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...

The Rising Threat of Antisemitism Investigations In the fall of 2023, the Department of Education launched more antisemitism investigations into colleges and universities than in all previous years combined. This record was surpassed in 2024 and is…

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."

How Conspiracy Law Threatens Social Movements Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, President Trump and his allies have repeatedly threatened to use conspiracy laws against liberal groups, protesters, and political opponents.

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.

Weekly Roundup: September 26 Genevieve Lakier on weaponizing antidiscrimination law, Sanjukta Paul on laws and markets, and Ally Coll and Justin Gravlee on NIH v. APHA. Plus, an incredible online conference on Capitalism and…

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!

NIH v. APHA and the Inequities of Two-Track Justice The Supreme Court’s NIH v. APHA decision creates a harmful “two-track” litigation process, forcing plaintiffs to file duplicative lawsuits in different courts to obtain relief.

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.™️