James Brandt
@jamesbrandt.bsky.social
Managing editor @lpeblog.bsky.social. Freelance academic editor. Posting from the land of enchantment.
Reposted by James Brandt
Today, Mason Kortz explains how FOIA’s Exemption 4 has evolved into a powerful tool for corporate secrecy, allowing government agencies and private firms to thwart transparency through confidentiality pacts.
lpeproject.org/blog/public-...
lpeproject.org/blog/public-...
Public Money, Private Secrets: Rethinking FOIA in the Age of Public-Private Governance
As public-private partnerships become central to modern governance, FOIA’s Exemption 4 has evolved into a powerful tool for corporate secrecy. After Argus Leader, government agencies and private firms...
lpeproject.org
November 25, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Today, Mason Kortz explains how FOIA’s Exemption 4 has evolved into a powerful tool for corporate secrecy, allowing government agencies and private firms to thwart transparency through confidentiality pacts.
lpeproject.org/blog/public-...
lpeproject.org/blog/public-...
Reposted by James Brandt
Today, Jed Britton-Purdy continues our symposium on @alybatt.bsky.social's *Free Gifts.*
To what extent, he asks, can a turn to politics make space for the ecological values that many of us want to take seriously?
To what extent, he asks, can a turn to politics make space for the ecological values that many of us want to take seriously?
What Can Politics Make of Nature?
Alyssa Battistoni’s Free Gifts argues that capitalism limits our freedom to decide how to value the nonhuman world. Politics, as the domain in which we choose the terms of our collective life…
lpeproject.org
November 24, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Today, Jed Britton-Purdy continues our symposium on @alybatt.bsky.social's *Free Gifts.*
To what extent, he asks, can a turn to politics make space for the ecological values that many of us want to take seriously?
To what extent, he asks, can a turn to politics make space for the ecological values that many of us want to take seriously?
Reposted by James Brandt
The week in review: @alybatt.bsky.social on the free gifts of nature, @selfactingmule.bsky.social on value form theory and the accelerating climate crisis, and Reshard Kolabhai on what Africa might mean for thinking about LPE.
Plus, the best of LPE from around the web 🧵👇
Plus, the best of LPE from around the web 🧵👇
Weekly Roundup: Nov 21
Alyssa Battistoni on the free gifts of nature, Rob Hunter on value form theory and the accelerating climate crisis, and Reshard L. Kolabhai on what LPE can learn from the Global South. Plus…
lpeproject.org
November 21, 2025 at 7:25 PM
The week in review: @alybatt.bsky.social on the free gifts of nature, @selfactingmule.bsky.social on value form theory and the accelerating climate crisis, and Reshard Kolabhai on what Africa might mean for thinking about LPE.
Plus, the best of LPE from around the web 🧵👇
Plus, the best of LPE from around the web 🧵👇
In honor of the perfect dog, Stella T. Brandt (May 2012 - Nov 2025), please let your four-legged companions sit atop and lean against you for a few extra minutes today 💔
November 21, 2025 at 4:33 PM
In honor of the perfect dog, Stella T. Brandt (May 2012 - Nov 2025), please let your four-legged companions sit atop and lean against you for a few extra minutes today 💔
Reposted by James Brandt
I wrote for @lpeblog.bsky.social about @alybatt.bsky.social's new book—which, I argue, shows how the critique of political economy can allow us to clearly name the social cause of climate catastrophe: capital. lpeproject.org/blog/when-na...
When Nature is Worthless
Under capitalism, the social domination of nature occurs through and is mediated by the commodity form. Certain portions of non-human nature can be valued, but only when they are transformed into…
lpeproject.org
November 18, 2025 at 11:51 AM
I wrote for @lpeblog.bsky.social about @alybatt.bsky.social's new book—which, I argue, shows how the critique of political economy can allow us to clearly name the social cause of climate catastrophe: capital. lpeproject.org/blog/when-na...
Reposted by James Brandt
Today, Reshard Kolabhai lays out some lessons for LPE from the Global South. A focus on Africa, he argues, could helpfully destabilize our narratives about capitalist periods, our assumptions about the links between law and capitalism, and our understanding of progressive development policy.
LPE Without Borders: Lessons from the Global South
Law and political economy scholarship, immersed in a particular history of Northern law and capitalism, has tended to focus on US law and policy, with occasional excursions into Europe. But in a world...
lpeproject.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Today, Reshard Kolabhai lays out some lessons for LPE from the Global South. A focus on Africa, he argues, could helpfully destabilize our narratives about capitalist periods, our assumptions about the links between law and capitalism, and our understanding of progressive development policy.
This post is both a helpful primer for anyone who has ever wondered, "what, exactly, do Marxists mean by value form theory?" as well as an insightful analysis of why such theory can help us understand the accelerating climate catastrophe. Good stuff!
Today, Rob Hunter (@selfactingmule.bsky.social) continues our symposium on @alybatt.bsky.social *Free Gifts,* explaining why capitalist subjects are incapable of valuing the ecological systems on our which existence depends, even as they collapse around us.
When Nature is Worthless
Under capitalism, the social domination of nature occurs through and is mediated by the commodity form. Certain portions of non-human nature can be valued, but only when they are transformed into…
lpeproject.org
November 18, 2025 at 6:14 PM
This post is both a helpful primer for anyone who has ever wondered, "what, exactly, do Marxists mean by value form theory?" as well as an insightful analysis of why such theory can help us understand the accelerating climate catastrophe. Good stuff!
"although the scope of things that may be bought and sold is vast, the things that matter most have no value. Dignity, beauty, freedom, robust ecologies—none of these can be produced and exchanged as commodities... their production or preservation are matters of indifference to capital."
I wrote for @lpeblog.bsky.social about @alybatt.bsky.social's new book—which, I argue, shows how the critique of political economy can allow us to clearly name the social cause of climate catastrophe: capital. lpeproject.org/blog/when-na...
When Nature is Worthless
Under capitalism, the social domination of nature occurs through and is mediated by the commodity form. Certain portions of non-human nature can be valued, but only when they are transformed into…
lpeproject.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:40 PM
"although the scope of things that may be bought and sold is vast, the things that matter most have no value. Dignity, beauty, freedom, robust ecologies—none of these can be produced and exchanged as commodities... their production or preservation are matters of indifference to capital."
Reposted by James Brandt
Don't miss Alyssa Battistoni's post about her excellent new book!!
November 17, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Don't miss Alyssa Battistoni's post about her excellent new book!!
Don't miss Alyssa Battistoni's post about her excellent new book!!
November 17, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Don't miss Alyssa Battistoni's post about her excellent new book!!
Reposted by James Brandt
Today, @alybatt.bsky.social kicks off a symposium on her book, *Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature*
The idea of the free gift, she argues, can give us a deeper understanding of the environmental problems that plague capitalism. It can also help us better understand capitalism itself.
The idea of the free gift, she argues, can give us a deeper understanding of the environmental problems that plague capitalism. It can also help us better understand capitalism itself.
In the Shadow of Commodification
While capitalism is typically said to commodify everything, much of what makes up our world isn’t commodified at all. It instead appears as a free gift: a social form that describes the condition of…
lpeproject.org
November 17, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Today, @alybatt.bsky.social kicks off a symposium on her book, *Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature*
The idea of the free gift, she argues, can give us a deeper understanding of the environmental problems that plague capitalism. It can also help us better understand capitalism itself.
The idea of the free gift, she argues, can give us a deeper understanding of the environmental problems that plague capitalism. It can also help us better understand capitalism itself.
Reposted by James Brandt
The week in review: @vanessawilliamson.bsky.social on oligarchy and taxation, and Elle Rothermich on private equity and the commodification of hospice care.
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web, including new events, books, essays, and articles 🧵👇
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web, including new events, books, essays, and articles 🧵👇
Weekly Roundup: Nov 14
Vanessa Williamson on oligarchy and taxation, and Elle Rothermich on the commodification of hospice care. Plus, Kate Redburn on Skrmetti, LPE Night School on municipal power, Claire Kelloway on public...
lpeproject.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:06 PM
The week in review: @vanessawilliamson.bsky.social on oligarchy and taxation, and Elle Rothermich on private equity and the commodification of hospice care.
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web, including new events, books, essays, and articles 🧵👇
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web, including new events, books, essays, and articles 🧵👇
Reposted by James Brandt
Medicare's hospice benefit "was designed not to maintain a healthy market for hospice, but to disentangle hospice from market logic. To achieve this, we need to do more than merely stabilize the hospice industry through greater competition—we need to create spaces where care remains uncommodified."
Today, Elle Rothermich explains how hospice care, once rooted in service and compassion, became fertile ground for private equity—and why antitrust scrutiny alone can’t restore what was lost when care became subject to market logic.
Hospice Commodification and the Limits of Antitrust
As hospice care is increasingly dominated by private equity firms, an antitrust response, while necessary, has the potential to normalize the language of the market as the default mode for discussing…
lpeproject.org
November 12, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Medicare's hospice benefit "was designed not to maintain a healthy market for hospice, but to disentangle hospice from market logic. To achieve this, we need to do more than merely stabilize the hospice industry through greater competition—we need to create spaces where care remains uncommodified."
Fascinating piece. While not the author's main point, the fact that Medicare's attempt to disentangle hospice from market logic instead made it a private equity goldmine raises a more general challenge to the idea that we can decommodify certain aspects of care within a capitalist healthcare system.
Today, Elle Rothermich explains how hospice care, once rooted in service and compassion, became fertile ground for private equity—and why antitrust scrutiny alone can’t restore what was lost when care became subject to market logic.
Hospice Commodification and the Limits of Antitrust
As hospice care is increasingly dominated by private equity firms, an antitrust response, while necessary, has the potential to normalize the language of the market as the default mode for discussing…
lpeproject.org
November 12, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Fascinating piece. While not the author's main point, the fact that Medicare's attempt to disentangle hospice from market logic instead made it a private equity goldmine raises a more general challenge to the idea that we can decommodify certain aspects of care within a capitalist healthcare system.
At this point, the easiest way to unify the Democrats would be a change in leadership.
The sooner we get past internal recriminations and back to fighting united, the better off we all are — the likelier our victory next November.
November 11, 2025 at 12:13 AM
At this point, the easiest way to unify the Democrats would be a change in leadership.
Reposted by James Brandt
Trump's tariffs are always described as chaotic. They aren't chaotic. They are part of a concerted attack on the rule of law.
If you want to read about that at more length and with more penguins:
If you want to read about that at more length and with more penguins:
Today, @vanessawilliamson.bsky.social explains how Trump's capricious tariffs and attacks on the IRS are the latest iteration of a long anti-tax, anti-democratic tradition.
The Long Anti-Tax Tradition of American Oligarchy
Throughout U.S. history, oligarchs have fettered the tax power of the state to ensure that the government would be too feeble to rein in their power. The Trump Administration'
lpeproject.org
November 10, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Trump's tariffs are always described as chaotic. They aren't chaotic. They are part of a concerted attack on the rule of law.
If you want to read about that at more length and with more penguins:
If you want to read about that at more length and with more penguins:
"Slaveholders also ensured that there was no effective bureaucracy for tax assessment. In Georgia, for example, property holders simply asserted the value of their estate and, by law, tax officials could not dispute the owner’s estimate."
Today, @vanessawilliamson.bsky.social explains how Trump's capricious tariffs and attacks on the IRS are the latest iteration of a long anti-tax, anti-democratic tradition.
The Long Anti-Tax Tradition of American Oligarchy
Throughout U.S. history, oligarchs have fettered the tax power of the state to ensure that the government would be too feeble to rein in their power. The Trump Administration'
lpeproject.org
November 10, 2025 at 5:15 PM
"Slaveholders also ensured that there was no effective bureaucracy for tax assessment. In Georgia, for example, property holders simply asserted the value of their estate and, by law, tax officials could not dispute the owner’s estimate."
Reposted by James Brandt
New from me today! An article at @lpeblog.bsky.social, about Trump's tariffs, Magna Carta, and why opponents of democracy always try to undermine the tax system.
lpeproject.org/blog/the-lon...
Also, I got to write this one sentence:
lpeproject.org/blog/the-lon...
Also, I got to write this one sentence:
November 10, 2025 at 3:53 PM
New from me today! An article at @lpeblog.bsky.social, about Trump's tariffs, Magna Carta, and why opponents of democracy always try to undermine the tax system.
lpeproject.org/blog/the-lon...
Also, I got to write this one sentence:
lpeproject.org/blog/the-lon...
Also, I got to write this one sentence:
Reposted by James Brandt
Apparently, it is negotiable!
Health care isn’t negotiable.
We need to both reopen the government and work together to protect access to affordable health care by extending the ACA enhanced premium tax credits.
We need to both reopen the government and work together to protect access to affordable health care by extending the ACA enhanced premium tax credits.
November 10, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Apparently, it is negotiable!
Reposted by James Brandt
The week in review: Matthew Dimick on antitrust and the logic of capitalism, and @gshans.bsky.social on protecting legal clinics from political interference.
Plus, the best of LPE from around the web, including new fellowships, reports, interviews, and articles 🧵👇
Plus, the best of LPE from around the web, including new fellowships, reports, interviews, and articles 🧵👇
Weekly Roundup: Nov 7
Matthew Dimick on antitrust and the logic of capitalism, and G.S. Hans on legal clinics under political attack. Plus, a cool new fellowship at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, Cea Weaver on the…
lpeproject.org
November 7, 2025 at 4:49 PM
The week in review: Matthew Dimick on antitrust and the logic of capitalism, and @gshans.bsky.social on protecting legal clinics from political interference.
Plus, the best of LPE from around the web, including new fellowships, reports, interviews, and articles 🧵👇
Plus, the best of LPE from around the web, including new fellowships, reports, interviews, and articles 🧵👇
Reposted by James Brandt
Chuck Schumer's inability to say whether he voted for the Democratic nominee in a general election in his city is the final straw for @ryanlcooper.com.
prospect.org/2025/11/06/c...
prospect.org/2025/11/06/c...
Chuck Schumer Is Not Fit to Lead the Democratic Party - The American Prospect
The Senate leader doesn’t just betray his own party, he’s also terrible at leading it. In Trump’s second term, facing a full-on authoritarian attack on America’s democracy and constitutional structure...
prospect.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Chuck Schumer's inability to say whether he voted for the Democratic nominee in a general election in his city is the final straw for @ryanlcooper.com.
prospect.org/2025/11/06/c...
prospect.org/2025/11/06/c...
I have a new verse for Alanis Morissette.
Mike Johnson: "I'll remind you that I'm a jealous guardian of Article I..... If I felt like the executive branch had overstepped its bounds on trade or on the tariffs or something. I would have stepped in. I mean, that's my job as the Speaker of the House."
Mike Johnson: "I'll remind you that I'm a jealous guardian of Article I..... If I felt like the executive branch had overstepped its bounds on trade or on the tariffs or something. I would have stepped in. I mean, that's my job as the Speaker of the House."
User Clip: Mike Johnson on Tariffs
Mike Johnson on Tariffs
www.c-span.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I have a new verse for Alanis Morissette.
Mike Johnson: "I'll remind you that I'm a jealous guardian of Article I..... If I felt like the executive branch had overstepped its bounds on trade or on the tariffs or something. I would have stepped in. I mean, that's my job as the Speaker of the House."
Mike Johnson: "I'll remind you that I'm a jealous guardian of Article I..... If I felt like the executive branch had overstepped its bounds on trade or on the tariffs or something. I would have stepped in. I mean, that's my job as the Speaker of the House."
Reposted by James Brandt
John Roberts now faces the ultimate heartbreak: deciding whether to keep polishing Donald Trump's boots or to continue his lifelong romance with America's corporate overlords.
November 5, 2025 at 10:32 PM
John Roberts now faces the ultimate heartbreak: deciding whether to keep polishing Donald Trump's boots or to continue his lifelong romance with America's corporate overlords.
Reposted by James Brandt
Today for @lpeblog.bsky.social I have a short piece on clinical academic freedom and the challenges we face in vindicating our rights as clinical faculty amid political interference. This piece stems from an Essay I have forthcoming on the topic in 2026. lpeproject.org/blog/clinics...
Clinics Under Fire: Defending Legal Education from Political Interference
While legal clinics have long been vulnerable to pressure from outside forces, recent attacks by the federal government represent an alarming new level of interference. Protecting clinical work now…
lpeproject.org
November 5, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Today for @lpeblog.bsky.social I have a short piece on clinical academic freedom and the challenges we face in vindicating our rights as clinical faculty amid political interference. This piece stems from an Essay I have forthcoming on the topic in 2026. lpeproject.org/blog/clinics...
Reposted by James Brandt
And again, a pattern of putting out statements accusing people of serious Federal crimes and then releasing them hours or days or weeks later with no charges. And no retraction.
NEWS: Federal agents crashed with woman’s car, pointed guns at her, dragged her out by legs, tossed her in a minivan, held her and (eventually) let her go without charges. This as Chicagoans say the immigration blitz is out of control. (DHS blames her.)
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/03/c...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/03/c...
Chicago woman dragged out of her car after colliding with ICE demands accountability
The arrest of Dayanne Figueroa highlights growing concerns about the use of force against U.S. citizens and due process. She was released after a few hours without charges.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:32 PM
And again, a pattern of putting out statements accusing people of serious Federal crimes and then releasing them hours or days or weeks later with no charges. And no retraction.