LPE Blog

Have you heard the good news? A forthcoming conference will launch the The Association of Law and Political Economy: a membership organization with a regular annual conference, elected leadership, and an architecture for open participation and collaboration.

Today, James Bhandary-Alexander reflects on the life and times of Thomas Emerson — a law professor who refused to be silenced by the forces of repression during the Second Red Scare — and considers what his example can teach us about resisting today’s repressive climate.

Today, Yochai Benkler analyzes the role of law in structuring and legitimating the social relations of production in capitalism.

Slightly wonkier and less well produced: Is this what it means to feel seen? 🥹 Also, check out Luke on @moreperfectunion.bsky.social's awesome new episode! www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKAD...

The week in review: Sameer Ashar on the transformation of the U.S. immigration system, Luke Herrine on the history of multilevel marketing, and a CFP for the second annual ALPE conference. Plus, new student groups, job postings, and hot LPE items from around the web 🧵

💯 "An MLM, then, is an especially effective institution for creating social hierarchies that channel money upward while creating an acceptance of—and a willingness to fight for—that hierarchy among even those on its lowest levels."

Spread the news: the Association of Law and Political Economy (@a-lpe.bsky.social) invites proposals for its second annual meeting, to be held on June 9-10, 2027, in Boston, MA.

“What Read’s book shows is that in the United States grifting and demagoguery have long gone hand in hand. And the Republican Party has increasingly become a vehicle for both.”

Today, @lookheron.bsky.social reviews Bridget Read's "Little Bosses Everywhere," a history of multilevel marketing. As the GOP coalition has increasingly become a vehicle for grifting, he argues, any post-MAGA reconstruction has to go after commercial fraud and deception.

What can the kafala system tell us about the potential transformation of U.S. immigration policy? Today, @sameer-ashar.bsky.social argues that it offers a powerful lens for understanding the Trump administration’s effort to make migrant workers more vulnerable to state and employer power.