Labor Day: A Celebration of Working in America
Our best stories about workers' rights, labor unions, and international movements to improve working conditions, from the factory to the farm.
Where Do Economic Statistics Come From?
Many ways of measuring the economy came about in the decades between the American Civil War and World War II. We’ve been arguing about them ever since.
How Forced Labor Built Western Australia
The nineteenth-century colonial economy of Western Australia depended on unfree labor, whether from indentured workers, convicts, or Indigenous people.
Autocratic Capitalism: An Introduction
Americans are taught that capitalism and democracy go together like motherhood and apple pie. It may be time to unlearn that lesson.
Fashion’s Flaws
Environmental historian Adam Rome considers the destructive history of fashion and style.
Are Millionaire Taxes Self-Defeating?
A common argument against increasing taxes on high earners is that the wealthy will simply move out of the city or state with higher taxes.
The High Cost of Sand in Southeast Asia
The clean, green garden city of Singapore has been built on sand extracted—at significant environmental cost—from its neighbors.
The Art of the Deal or the Dirt?
Will so-called Trump Tariffs ensure that the United States has the minerals it needs to transition to sustainable energy?
How Progressives Legalized Usury
In the early twentieth century, reformers united with capitalists to promote high-interest lending, overthrowing opposition to usury rooted in Christian tradition.
How IBM Took Europe
After World War II, IBM worked to influence the new balance of power by locating facilities for the production of its electric typewriter across Europe.