The James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work officially launched on Nov. 3, 2025, bringing together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to explore critical questions about economic opportunity, technology, and democracy. Co-directed by MIT professors Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, and Simon Johnson, the new Stone Center analyzes the forces that contribute to growing […]
Read MoreTag: Democracy
Trump, 79, Muses About Absolute Power While Covering His Bruised Hand
Leavitt tried to deflect, saying that Trump actually meant that he wants products made in America by American small businesses, even if they cost more, because Americans would get a better-quality product and would be supporting their fellow Americans. “Again, with respect to affordability, every economic metric, Kaitlan, and I wish you would report more […]
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Revisiting a revolution through poetry
There are several narratives surrounding the American Revolution, a well-traveled and -documented series of events leading to the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence and the war that followed. MIT philosopher Brad Skow is taking a new approach to telling this story: a collection of 47 poems about the former American colonies’ journey from […]
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Celebrating the advancement of technology leadership through policy analysis and guidance
In 1965, after completing his PhD in civil engineering at MIT, Professor Richard de Neufville joined the first class of White House Fellows, one of the nation’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service, through which he spent an intensive year working full-time at the highest levels of government. Soon after, de Neufville joined […]
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Senate Democrats: Get Your Stories Straight!
Or … almost? As it turns out, Democrats are planning to take on the GOP—in a few weeks, anyway. “House Democrats are plotting to turn the August recess into the opening salvo of the midterms, including through town halls and organizing programs,” reports Politico, as the party is experiencing “renewed bravado after months in the […]
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Nobel Committee Warns About Rising Authoritarianism as It Snubs Trump
Judge Sara Ellis, the Obama appointee overseeing this case, has suspended federal agents from “using riot control weapons,” “firing [tear gas] canisters,” “using force, such as pulling or shoving a person to the ground, tackling, or body slamming an individual,” “striking any person with a vehicle,” and more abuses of power. The order applies to […]
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Stephen Miller Cites Trump’s “Plenary Authority” in Strange Interview
The White House aide noted that the administration was appealing the decision. “Under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the president has plenary authority, has—” Miller added, before stopping short and staring into the camera, blinking silently, as CNN host Boris Sanchez asked if he could hear him. CNN: Does the administration still plan to […]
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Stephen Miller Gives Strange Interview on Trump’s “Plenary Authority”
The White House aide noted that the administration was appealing the decision. “Under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the president has plenary authority, has—” Miller added, before stopping short and staring into the camera, blinking silently, as CNN host Boris Sanchez asked if he could hear him. CNN: Does the administration still plan to […]
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Can America Become a Democracy?
In a time when it is easy to be pessimistic about the capacities of voters to make reasonable decisions, Nwanevu pushes back. Democracy is a good system, he insists. It is Lincoln’s definition of the concept—“government of the people, by the people, for the people”—that most succinctly captures its aspiration. Democracies are freer, happier, and […]
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Brazil’s Lula Warns U.N. About Rising Fascism Just Before Trump Speaks
“Attacks on sovereignty, arbitrary sanctions, and unilateral interventions are becoming the rule. There is a clear parallel between the multilateralism crisis and the weakening of democracy,” Lula said. “Authoritarianism is strengthened when we fail to act in the face of arbitrary acts. When the international society falters in defending peace, sovereignty and the rule of […]
Read MoreBrazil Stopped Its Trump. It’s Pathetic that We Couldn’t Stop Ours.
Republicans obviously deserve blame too, particularly the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling that defined much of what Trump did after the 2020 election as official acts of the president and therefore not subject to prosecution. It’s worth noting that the United States was particularly ill-equipped to punish an anti-democratic president because we, unlike most other democracies, […]
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More of Trump’s Fake Electors Go Free as Judge Tosses Charges
Epstein, standing alongside two men and a woman whose identity has been redacted, holds a giant check supposedly from Trump, in payment for the woman. The note reads: “Jeffrey showing early talents with money + women! Sells ‘fully depreciated’ [redacted] to Donald Trump for $22,500. Showed early ‘people skills’ too. Even though I handled the […]
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Scholars Say America Under Trump Is Authoritarian, Not Democratic
America is well beyond democratic erosion and democratic backsliding and now approaching a form of authoritarianism with elements of fascism, says Brendan Nyhan, a professor of government at Dartmouth University. Other scholars are making similar arguments. In the latest episode of Right Now With Perry Bacon, Nyhan argued that the lack of opposition to Trump […]
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Beto O’Rourke Is Leading a Texas-Size Charge Against Trump
There’s the power that [California Governor] Gavin Newsom has—as you know, on that one, he’s moving forward. They have a very small window within which to act, and he’s taking maximum advantage of it to redraw California’s congressional districts to maximize Democratic advantage. Potentially every single district in the state of California. There’s potential in […]
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Beto O’Rourke Tells TNR on Texas: “This Is for All the Marbles”
There’s the power that [California Governor] Gavin Newsom has—as you know, on that one, he’s moving forward. They have a very small window within which to act, and he’s taking maximum advantage of it to redraw California’s congressional districts to maximize Democratic advantage. Potentially every single district in the state of California. There’s potential in […]
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Beto O’Rourke on His Big Texas Fight: “This Is for All the Marbles”
There’s the power that [California Governor] Gavin Newsom has—as you know, on that one, he’s moving forward. They have a very small window within which to act, and he’s taking maximum advantage of it to redraw California’s congressional districts to maximize Democratic advantage. Potentially every single district in the state of California. There’s potential in […]
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How government accountability and responsiveness affect tax payment
A fundamental problem for governments is getting citizens to comply with their laws and policies. They can’t monitor everyone and catch all the rule-breakers. “It’s a logistical impossibility,” says Lily L. Tsai, MIT’s Ford Professor of Political Science and the director and founder of the MIT Governance Lab. Instead, governments need citizens to choose to […]
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Exploring data and its influence on political behavior
Data and politics are becoming increasingly intertwined. Today’s political campaigns and voter mobilization efforts are now entirely data-driven. Voters, pollsters, and elected officials are relying on data to make choices that have local, regional, and national impacts. A Department of Political Science course offers students tools to help make sense of these choices and their […]
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Newsom Warns All of America: Dictator Trump Is Destroying Democracy
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that the president’s plan to use the military against U.S. citizens will cost taxpayers a jaw-dropping sum. Testifying before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Tuesday, Hegseth initially refused to address how exactly his department’s overstretched budget would afford the sudden deployment of 700 Marines to Los Angeles—until he was […]
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Newsom Warns America: Trump Is Destroying Democracy
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that the president’s plan to use the military against U.S. citizens will cost taxpayers a jaw-dropping sum. Testifying before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Tuesday, Hegseth initially refused to address how exactly his department’s overstretched budget would afford the sudden deployment of 700 Marines to Los Angeles—until he was […]
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