AI, Energy and Climate: Power Prices, Data Centers and the Bipartisan PJM Agreement: Peter Fox-Penner

Gangsters of Capitalism tells an urgent story about a formative era of U.S. imperialism, tracing a path from the first wave of U.S. overseas expansionism to the rise of fascism in the 1930s and the crises of democracy today. Jonathan Myerson Katz traveled the world to recreate Butler’s journeys and analyzed personal letters to reveal how memories of U.S. imperialism remain a vital force shaping politics and culture globally. The book is a comprehensive biography of General Smedley Butler, who personified the first four decades of the American imperium, and it tallies the true costs of empire.

In this book, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt examine why American democracy has reached a breaking point while other Western democracies appear more stable. They argue that the U.S. Constitution, forged in the 18th century, has created a system that allows partisan minorities to consistently thwart and rule over popular majorities. The authors highlight institutions such as the Electoral College, the Senate's disproportionate representation of small states, and the filibuster as key factors. They compare the U.S. system to other democracies and propose reforms to address these issues, including reimagining the Senate, abolishing the filibuster, and eliminating the Electoral College. The book serves as a clarion call for reform, grounded in a deep understanding of the American political fabric and a visionary outlook for its transformation.