Political Economy of Justice

Danielle Allen is the James Bryant Conant University Professor and Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. Yochai Benkler is the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School and faculty co-director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Rebecca Henderson is the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a fellow of both the British Academy and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Josh Simons is a postdoctoral fellow in technology and democracy at the Edmond J. Safra Centre for Ethics at Harvard University. Leah Downey is a PhD candidate in government at Harvard University and a visiting academic at the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute.

• IntroductionD. Allen, Y. Benkler, L. Downey, R. Henderson, and J. SimonsPart 1. New Goals for a Just Economy1 Power and Productivity: Institutions, Ideology, and Technology in Political EconomyYochai Benkler2 Building a Good Jobs EconomyDani Rodrik and Charles Sabel3 The Political Philosophy of RadicalxChangeE. Glen Weyl4 On Flourishing: Political Economy and the Pursuit of Well-Being in the PolityDeva Woodly5 Beyond the Perpetual Pursuit of Economic GrowthJulie L. RosePart 2. New Aspirations for Firms and Other Organizations6 What’s Wrong with the Prison Industrial Complex? Profit, Privatization, and the Circumstances of InjusticeTommie Shelby7 Firms, Morality, and the Search for a Better WorldRebecca Henderson8 Corporate Purpose in a Post-Covid WorldMalcolm S. Salter9 Corporate Engagement in the Political Process and Democratic IdealsF. Christopher Eaglin10 The Just and Democratic Platform? Possibilities of Platform CooperativismJuliet B. Schor and Samantha EddyPart 3. The Role of Democratic Associations, Institutions, and Governance in a Just Economy11 New Rules for Revolutionaries: Reflections on the Democratic Theory of Economic System ChangeMarc Stears12 Structural Justice and the Infrastructure of Inclusion                                                                   K. Sabeel Rahman13 Governing Money Democratically: Rechartering the Federal ReserveLeah Downey14 Polypolitanism: An Approach to Immigration Policy to Support a Just Political EconomyDanielle AllenAcknowledgmentsList of ContributorsIndex

Despite polarized attitudes, Rebecca Henderson argues that it's the perfect time for companies to reset their moral compass. In an essay from the book A Political Economy of Justice, she explores the social efforts of Cadbury and Unilever. Henderson says companies and societies have long had qualms about the pursuit of profit only for profit’s sake. In early capitalist Renaissance Italy, for instance, lending money was considered a sin. Plus, she points to Walmart, founded in 1962 with a mission of making consumer goods more affordable for a broader swath of low-income Americans. Her chapter, “Reimagining Capitalism: Could Purpose-Driven Firms Help to Build a Just and Sustainable World?” also explores corporate partnerships that support social good, such as one that Unilever pioneered to unite a group of companies to sustainably produce palm oil.