Commentary

Across Civitas Outlook and the broader media landscape, our scholars provide timely insights into issues of national significance.

Los Angeles Has Fallen

How can riot-rocked LA be trusted to host the Olympics?

Joel Kotkin
Politics
Jun 11, 2025
Class Warfare, LA Style

The unrest in LA is not primarily a movement of organized working people, but the outgrowth of a heavily racialized politics.

Joel Kotkin
Politics
Jun 11, 2025
LA Riots Reflect Failure of Progressive Leadership

The current unrest reflects a deeper dysfunction steadily eroding the city’s foundations.

Joel Kotkin
Politics
Jun 9, 2025
Trump Should Be Thanking Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society, Not Waging War

Trump is lashing out at those who helped him pick judges in his first term.

John Yoo
Politics
Jun 6, 2025
Locked Out of the Dream: Regulation Making Homes Unaffordable Around the World
Economic Dynamism
Jun 5, 2025
Humanity According to Alasdair MacIntyre
Pursuit of Happiness
Jun 5, 2025
Musk’s Outbursts Reveal a Deeper Rift in MAGA
Politics
Jun 4, 2025
Is ‘Eating the Tariffs’ Good for Business?
Politics
Jun 3, 2025
Charter Schools Are Not ‘State Actors,’ And SCOTUS Should Have Said So
Pursuit of Happiness
May 28, 2025
The Progressive Presidency Envelops American Politics
Constitutionalism
May 27, 2025
All commentary
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The Death of the Family Home Is Killing the American Middle Class
Joel Kotkin
Pursuit of Happiness
May 25, 2025
The One-Two Punch Working Parents Need for Educational Choice
Michael Toth, Dan Lips
Pursuit of Happiness
May 22, 2025
A Most Favored National Policy for Pharma Drugs Makes Sense
Dirk Mateer
Economic Dynamism
May 19, 2025
Assessing the Wreckage of Affirmative Action
Richard Epstein
Pursuit of Happiness
May 18, 2025
Trump, Lincoln and a ‘Habeas Corpus Threat’
John Yoo
Constitutionalism
May 18, 2025
Donald Trump Has Scrambled the Old Class Allegiances
Joel Kotkin
Politics
May 14, 2025
Other

Content

National Poll from Civitas Institute: Americans Concerned About AI, Economic Issues

The Civitas Institute Poll, conducted from March 11-20, 2025, asked 1,200 Americans an array of questions about how things are going in the country.

Daron Shaw
Pursuit of Happiness
Jun 11, 2025
Defending Technological Dynamism & the Freedom to Innovate in the Age of AI

Human flourishing, economic growth, and geopolitical resilience requires innovation—especially in artificial intelligence.

Adam Thierer
Economic Dynamism
Jun 6, 2025
Divorce, Family Arrangements, and Children's Adult Outcomes

This paper uses linked tax and Census records for over 5 million children to examine how divorce affects family arrangements and children's long-term outcomes.

Andrew C. Johnston
Pursuit of Happiness
May 22, 2025
Religious Exemptions?: What the Free Exercise Clause Means

A conversation among three religious liberty scholars on the Free Exercise Clause’s original meaning.

Andrew Koppelman, Michael McConnell, Vincent Phillip Muñoz
Constitutionalism
Apr 28, 2025
Partisan Trust in the Federal Reserve

This paper examines partisanship in public perceptions of the Federal Reserve.

Carola Binder, Cody Couture, Abhiprerna Smit
Economic Dynamism
Apr 22, 2025
The American Dream Is Not a Coin Flip, and Wages Have Not Stagnated

This paper challenges the prevailing narrative that stagnant wages are causing the American dream to fade. It contrasts subjective public opinion with revised objective intergenerational mobility measures.

Scott Winship
Economic Dynamism
Mar 6, 2025
Political Economy and the Rise of Commercial Humanism

Western attitudes toward commerce have transformed from early moral condemnation to a modern appreciation that sees trade as socially beneficial.

Erik Matson
Economic Dynamism
Feb 28, 2025

Law Talk

Welcome to Law Talk with Richard Epstein and John Yoo. Our show is hosted by Charles C. W. Cooke.

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The Three Whiskey Happy Hour

Steven Hayward brings you the Power Line Blog's perspective on the week's big headlines.

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Wall Street Journal: Donald Trump Takes On the Conservative Judiciary

Politics
Sept 15, 24
25:37

Can the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Meet Today’s Challenges?

Economic Dynamism
Sept 15, 24
1:35:10

Trump’s Drug Pricing Plan: Consequences for Innovation and Patient Access

Politics
Sept 15, 24
18:50

Virginia Postrel and Adam Thierer on Big Trends and Big Ideas in Dynamism

Economic Dynamism
Sept 15, 24
1:09:22

Joel Mokyr on American Dynamism vs. Techno-pessimism

Economic Dynamism
Sept 15, 24
1:04:30
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