When confronting recent debates, historians of migration often muse over similarities between past and present. Certainly there are so many continuities in the positive and negative qualities attributed to foreigners a century ago and today that one wonders whether any new data could ever possibly resolve such long-standing disagreements. Here, however, I want to focus […]
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Border Battles
Migrant “Illegality” and the Metaphysics of Antiterrorism: “Immigrants’ Rights” in the Aftermath of the Homeland Security State
by Nicholas De Genova and Items Admin
The mass protest mobilizations in defense of the rights of immigrants, and especially the undocumented, took the United States by storm during the spring of 2006, with half a million marching in Chicago on March 10 (reportedly the largest single demonstration on record in the city’s history), at least a million in Los Angeles on […]
Border Battles
Looking Beyond the Moment: American Immigration Seen from Historically and Internationally Comparative Perspectives
by Richard Alba and Items Admin
The great void in the US discussion of immigration policy, which today seems to split the society as well as its political representatives, is the absence of a clearly articulated vision of the role of immigration in the society’s future. It combines dangerously with the deeply rooted sense of American exceptionalism, which keeps many Americans […]
The Privatization of Risk
Rewriting the Rules: Families, Money and Risk
by Elizabeth Warren and Items Admin
Over the past generation, an economic transformation has taken place in the heart of the middle class family. The once-secure family that could count on hard work and fair play to keep it safe has been transformed by current economic risk and realities. Now a pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can […]
The Privatization of Risk
The Rising Risks of Rising Economic Inequality: Do Americans Care?
by Leslie McCall and Items Admin
The increasing burden on individuals to finance periods of heightened insecurity and risk out of their own pockets is at the very heart of what Jacob Hacker calls the increasing privatization of risk. But the increasing privatization of risk is but one part of a larger transformation in American society, albeit a very central part: […]
The Privatization of Risk
Risk versus Uncertainty: Frank Knight’s “Brute” Facts of Economic Life
by William Janeway and Items Admin
“…there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know.” —Donald Rumsfeld “Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul, […]
The Privatization of Risk
Rising Angst? Change and Stability in Perceptions of Economic Insecurity
by Elisabeth Jacobs, Kathryn Newman and Items Admin
“Free agency is over. Layoffs are back. Many of the people losing their jobs are white-collar and college-educated. You could be next.” —Fortune magazine, July 23, 2001 While academics argue over whether “real” insecurity has increased, Americans’ experience of their economic well-being remains a separate question. Perceptions of risk and insecurity may not match reality. […]
The Privatization of Risk
Identifying and Managing Household Risk: Lessons from Bankruptcy
by Melissa Jacoby and Items Admin
Over the past several years, millions of individuals and families with middle class attributes have found themselves doing the unthinkable: filing for bankruptcy. We can learn a lot about household risk from these bankruptcy filers. By tracing their paths to bankruptcy, we can also see how households cope with risk in ways that may exacerbate […]
The Privatization of Risk
The Privatization of Risk and the Growing Economic Insecurity of Americans
by Jacob Hacker and Items Admin
When Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast in September 2005, leaving death, wreckage, and grief in its wake, Americans were reminded that risk is an integral element of everyday life. Natural disasters are a magnifying glass into popular perceptions of fate and responsibility, and in the aftermath of Katrina, it became clear that most […]
The Privatization of Risk
Catastrophic Risks: The Need for New Tools, Financial Instruments, and Institutions
by Graciela Chichilnisky and Items Admin
The tipping point: Katrina exposes a new trend We live in a world that is increasingly uncertain. For the first time in history humans dominate the planet and yet, paradoxically, the success of globalization has increased the risks we face. Nature has raised the stakes. In 2004 a record number of hurricanes and typhoons struck […]