Today, Daniel Lipinski notes parallels as well as key differences between the rise of the Tea Party and today’s Democratic Socialist movement; Ross Levine advances both the economic and the moral case for market-based capitalism; and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya returns to GoodFellows to discuss his efforts to restore Americans’ trust in public health and scientific institutions.
Politics, Institutions, and Public Opinion
In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Distinguished Visiting Fellow Daniel Lipinski contrasts the rise of the Tea Party within the Republican Party in the early 2010s with the current ascent of the Democratic Socialist (DSA) faction within the Democratic Party. Lipinski argues that “it is best to understand what is happening inside the Democratic Party today not as a widespread endorsement of the DSA platform, but more broadly as a protest by those fearful about the future and feeling betrayed by the perceived fecklessness of party leaders.” Still, he sees the movement as having the potential for electoral success, given current societal conditions including diminished belief in the efficacy of capitalism and the possibility of attaining the American dream. But the former Illinois Democratic congressman cautions that whereas the Tea Party, though featuring “angry and sometimes offensive voices,” was ultimately “a conventional libertarian-leaning movement,” the DSA is “an extreme socialist organization.” Lipinski argues that the rise of the DSA is something that should concern all Americans. Read more here.
Markets and Capitalism
A new essay by Senior Fellow Ross Levine responds directly to rising anticapitalist sentiment. Market-based capitalism can generate unrivaled prosperity and freedom, Levine writes at Freedom Frequency, but only when it features open competition under the rule of law. When the law binds the powerful as tightly as everyone else, individuals can prosper by offering something others value but are free to refuse. In other words, capitalism rightly structured functions on persuasion, not coercion. But that arrangement is fragile: Incumbent firms, politicians, and organized groups often seek tariffs, rent controls, licensing walls, bailouts, and other governmental favors that bend the rules, erode trust, and close markets to challengers—limiting capitalism’s dynamism. Markets have raised living standards, including at the bottom, Levine says, but rank, dignity, and unequal starting points still matter. The economist concludes that the answer to rising critiques of capitalism is to widen economic opportunity, lower barriers to competition, and prevent privilege from hardening into law. Read more here.
Science and Health Policy
Former Hoover Senior Fellow Jay Bhattacharya returns to GoodFellows—now as director of the National Institutes of Health and acting director of the Centers for Disease Control—for a candid conversation on public health policy.
The Big Idea: Bhattacharya discusses what went wrong with the nation’s COVID response, why science needs a replication revolution, and how to restore public trust. He also reflects on the legacy of lockdowns and school closures, Dr. Anthony Fauci, gain-of-function research, China, AI-enabled biosecurity risks, vaccine questions, and the fight to make scientific dissent possible again. Watch or listen here.
Economics
Are generative AI tools spurring a boom in businesses operated by a single person? A new episode of Economics, Applied brings in an expert guest to discuss.
The Big Idea: Senior Fellow and Director of Research Steven J. Davis chats with Liya Palagashvili of the Mercatus Center about her new paper, “Artificial Intelligence and the Rise of Independent Work.” They consider Liya’s argument and evidence suggesting that AI has helped spur the growth of one-person businesses in the United States since 2024. They close with a discussion of how this development should inform our thinking about labor market policies. Watch or listen here.
Technology Policy
The Hoover Institution, in partnership with the US Department of State, brought together 47 foreign diplomats and technology policymakers, State Department officials, and policy leaders from leading AI companies on July 21 to discuss how governments can ensure widespread public benefits from artificial intelligence while protecting against possible harms. Research Fellow Sarah Shirazyan and Senior Fellow Eugene Volokh moderated a pair of panels that discussed how to best protect children from harmful uses of AI, how to design smart regulation that does not stifle innovation, issues such as data sovereignty, and how to ensure whole societies benefit from the rollout of AI in workplaces and within government. Read more here.
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