Steven Klein
@stevenklein.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Political Theory, King's College London. Writing a global history and philosophy of unions (Allen Lane/Oxford) and PI for DERISK https://www.derisk.org.uk/
Reposted by Steven Klein
Breaking the tax pledge is the right call...and politically sulphurous. Reeves must argue, far more forcefully, that taxes are *the* essential downpayment we all pay for a fairer society.
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
If Labour want a fairer society, they must argue for it
Labour must make the political argument: taxes are the critical downpayment we all pay to live in a fairer society.
It now seems all but certain that direct taxes will rise in the forthcoming Budget...
renewal.org.uk
November 10, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Breaking the tax pledge is the right call...and politically sulphurous. Reeves must argue, far more forcefully, that taxes are *the* essential downpayment we all pay for a fairer society.
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
Wolf wrote a massive book arguing that the relationship between democracy and capitalism has broken down and needs a rebalancing, but when faced with the concrete policies that would enable that he balks
the Greens surge on an affordability crisis platform, Labour government bleeding support for embracing New Labour, and Martin Wolf's advice: stay New Labour
www.ft.com/content/b88e...
www.ft.com/content/b88e...
The disturbing victory of Old Labour over New Labour
In education, labour and housing we risk going back towards what we know will not work
www.ft.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Wolf wrote a massive book arguing that the relationship between democracy and capitalism has broken down and needs a rebalancing, but when faced with the concrete policies that would enable that he balks
Reposted by Steven Klein
we honestly have no idea what we are creating and doing here do we.
I fully believe in the corporate death penalty and believe we would be a better world if OpenAI lost its corporate charter and was forcibly dissolved.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
ChatGPT encouraged college graduate to commit suicide, family claims in lawsuit against OpenAI | CNN
A 23-year-old man killed himself in Texas after ChatGPT ‘goaded’ him to commit suicide, his family says in a lawsuit.
www.cnn.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:42 PM
we honestly have no idea what we are creating and doing here do we.
Reposted by Steven Klein
BREAKING: Starbucks workers have just authorized a massive strike.
Union Starbucks baristas voted to authorize the strike by 92%.
Now baristas in over 25 cities could launch an unfair labor practice strike on Thursday, November 13th.
Union Starbucks baristas voted to authorize the strike by 92%.
Now baristas in over 25 cities could launch an unfair labor practice strike on Thursday, November 13th.
November 5, 2025 at 5:13 PM
BREAKING: Starbucks workers have just authorized a massive strike.
Union Starbucks baristas voted to authorize the strike by 92%.
Now baristas in over 25 cities could launch an unfair labor practice strike on Thursday, November 13th.
Union Starbucks baristas voted to authorize the strike by 92%.
Now baristas in over 25 cities could launch an unfair labor practice strike on Thursday, November 13th.
Reposted by Steven Klein
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
November 7, 2025 at 3:08 AM
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
Reposted by Steven Klein
FULL STORY: Finding that federal agents repeatedly used force that “shocks the conscience” and lied about their actions, a federal judge issued a sweeping injunction designed to permanently rein in agents’ use of tear gas and pepper balls. @wttw.bsky.social
news.wttw.com/2025/11/06/f...
news.wttw.com/2025/11/06/f...
November 6, 2025 at 7:38 PM
FULL STORY: Finding that federal agents repeatedly used force that “shocks the conscience” and lied about their actions, a federal judge issued a sweeping injunction designed to permanently rein in agents’ use of tear gas and pepper balls. @wttw.bsky.social
news.wttw.com/2025/11/06/f...
news.wttw.com/2025/11/06/f...
great news for Udit and Bruno, really excited we will be co-hosting this project!
🆕 Congratulations to our academic, Dr Udit Bhatia, and the POPGOV research team who have been awarded a €9 million Synergy Grant by the European Research Council 🙌
Read more about their ground-breaking project focussed on democratic systems here ⬇️
www.kcl.ac.uk/news/ground-...
Read more about their ground-breaking project focussed on democratic systems here ⬇️
www.kcl.ac.uk/news/ground-...
Ground-breaking project examining future of democracy awarded major grant | King's College London
A King’s academic is part of a research team that has been awarded more than €9 million by the European Research Council to deliver a landmark project that will seek to challenge the way we think abou...
www.kcl.ac.uk
November 6, 2025 at 11:21 AM
great news for Udit and Bruno, really excited we will be co-hosting this project!
My short piece on democracy and elections was just republished in the magazine Kronika published by the Institute for Philosophy in Zagreb, Croatia
kronika.ifzg.hr/2025/11/04/a...
kronika.ifzg.hr/2025/11/04/a...
Are Elections Enough? Democracy and Collective Power - Kronika
Stephen Klein on the limits of elections
kronika.ifzg.hr
November 5, 2025 at 6:36 PM
My short piece on democracy and elections was just republished in the magazine Kronika published by the Institute for Philosophy in Zagreb, Croatia
kronika.ifzg.hr/2025/11/04/a...
kronika.ifzg.hr/2025/11/04/a...
I'm excited that we will be hosting a discussion of John McCormick's new book, The People’s Princes: Machiavelli, Leadership, and Liberty, here at KCL, with comments from Lawrence Hamilton, Camila Vergara, and David Wootton. Do sign up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-people...
The People’s Princes: Machiavelli, Leadership, and Liberty
A book discussion with author and academic, John McCormick.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 10:36 AM
I'm excited that we will be hosting a discussion of John McCormick's new book, The People’s Princes: Machiavelli, Leadership, and Liberty, here at KCL, with comments from Lawrence Hamilton, Camila Vergara, and David Wootton. Do sign up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-people...
Wanting a European welfare state with less-than-American taxation system.
How on earth can Rachel Reeves balance the books? Well, maybe there is a bit of room for taxes to go up, given the vast majority of OECD countries have higher - and in some cases much much higher - taxes on average incomes www.oecd.org/content/dam/...
November 4, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Wanting a European welfare state with less-than-American taxation system.
Reposted by Steven Klein
Labour government preparing to hike income taxes - blaming bond markets.
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
Keir Starmer puts Labour MPs on notice for Budget tax rises
Prime minister declines to rule out higher income taxes as Treasury lays foundations for bigger fiscal buffer
www.ft.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Labour government preparing to hike income taxes - blaming bond markets.
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
not one adult in the room will say the obvious:
1. Britain's fiscal rules are shambles
2. Bank of England has too much power over fiscal decisions
3. ignore bond vigilantes
www.ft.com/content/5c8f...
Bond markets love it when you do two contradictory things at once.
October 31, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Bond markets love it when you do two contradictory things at once.
From the late 19th century to 1920s, American corporations invented "americanness" and forced it on immigrants, in part to reduce labour mobilisation and unrest. Ford famously paid bonuses if immigrants could prove they had become American. Assimilation was a tool of union busting.
JD Vance claims that diversity weakens unions, as people end up distrusting each other and not organizing.
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
October 30, 2025 at 9:49 AM
From the late 19th century to 1920s, American corporations invented "americanness" and forced it on immigrants, in part to reduce labour mobilisation and unrest. Ford famously paid bonuses if immigrants could prove they had become American. Assimilation was a tool of union busting.
Reposted by Steven Klein
🆕 Enemies of the people: How Stalin’s Gulags shaped Russia
Gerhard Toews (New Economic School) & Pierre-Louis Vézina (King's College London) discuss how Stalin’s forced deportation of educated ‘enemies of the people’ inadvertently concentrated human capital in Gulag towns: https://ow.ly/Eceb50Xch32
Gerhard Toews (New Economic School) & Pierre-Louis Vézina (King's College London) discuss how Stalin’s forced deportation of educated ‘enemies of the people’ inadvertently concentrated human capital in Gulag towns: https://ow.ly/Eceb50Xch32
Enemies of the people: How Stalin’s Gulags shaped Russia
Stalin’s forced deportation of educated ‘enemies of the people’ inadvertently concentrated human capital in Gulag towns, fostering inter-generational prosperity and long-term development despite the destructive intent of the repression.
ow.ly
October 16, 2025 at 9:38 AM
🆕 Enemies of the people: How Stalin’s Gulags shaped Russia
Gerhard Toews (New Economic School) & Pierre-Louis Vézina (King's College London) discuss how Stalin’s forced deportation of educated ‘enemies of the people’ inadvertently concentrated human capital in Gulag towns: https://ow.ly/Eceb50Xch32
Gerhard Toews (New Economic School) & Pierre-Louis Vézina (King's College London) discuss how Stalin’s forced deportation of educated ‘enemies of the people’ inadvertently concentrated human capital in Gulag towns: https://ow.ly/Eceb50Xch32
Reposted by Steven Klein
In their new book, Dr Martin Moore and King's colleague Dr Thomas Colley show how states are battling to control and shape the news in order to entrench their power, evade scrutiny, and ensure that their political narratives are accepted 📚
Read a short preview here 👇
www.kcl.ac.uk/how-news-is-...
Read a short preview here 👇
www.kcl.ac.uk/how-news-is-...
How news is being used to dictate reality
In an age where state directed media and tightly managed information are enabling world leaders to determine their own narratives, it is harder than ever for global citizens to share the same…
www.kcl.ac.uk
October 29, 2025 at 7:47 AM
In their new book, Dr Martin Moore and King's colleague Dr Thomas Colley show how states are battling to control and shape the news in order to entrench their power, evade scrutiny, and ensure that their political narratives are accepted 📚
Read a short preview here 👇
www.kcl.ac.uk/how-news-is-...
Read a short preview here 👇
www.kcl.ac.uk/how-news-is-...
My gym now has a psychic
October 28, 2025 at 5:58 PM
My gym now has a psychic
Reposted by Steven Klein
A happy change: my article on Rousseau’s three general wills is now open access at the Review of Politics. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
October 28, 2025 at 11:14 AM
A happy change: my article on Rousseau’s three general wills is now open access at the Review of Politics. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
American politics are somehow simultaneously the most depressing and the most hopeful/awesome of any democracy
Hakeem Jeffries will reportedly endorse Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor today
After a lengthy wait, Jeffries to endorse Mamdani
The powerful Brooklyn Democrat plans to endorse the democratic socialist Friday afternoon.
www.politico.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:26 PM
American politics are somehow simultaneously the most depressing and the most hopeful/awesome of any democracy
Luckily this opens up a space for labour to seem moderate and sensible which they will surely take and win the day
If *any* dependent receives *any* form of social protection at any point, you lose your legal status, as drafted. It is sloppy, mad & ludicrously extreme all at once
October 22, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Luckily this opens up a space for labour to seem moderate and sensible which they will surely take and win the day
Lazily reading Schmitt's Political Theology and deciding Love Island is the antichrist
October 10, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Lazily reading Schmitt's Political Theology and deciding Love Island is the antichrist
Excited to be back at the University of Chicago for this already excellent conference
October 10, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Excited to be back at the University of Chicago for this already excellent conference
Me trying to interpret the meaning of a status update in editorial manager
October 10, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Me trying to interpret the meaning of a status update in editorial manager
Reposted by Steven Klein
My colleague and friend Ed Hall is, by his own admission, not the best at the self-promotion that is part and parcel of modern academia. But I have just finished this and think it’s a really important book that political theorists of all stripes ought to read.
amzn.eu/d/3RfY3xr
amzn.eu/d/3RfY3xr
Power and Powerlessness: The Liberalism of Fear in the Twenty-First Century: Amazon.co.uk: Hall, Edward: 9780192870032: Books
Buy Power and Powerlessness: The Liberalism of Fear in the Twenty-First Century by Hall, Edward (ISBN: 9780192870032) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders...
amzn.eu
October 9, 2025 at 8:09 PM
My colleague and friend Ed Hall is, by his own admission, not the best at the self-promotion that is part and parcel of modern academia. But I have just finished this and think it’s a really important book that political theorists of all stripes ought to read.
amzn.eu/d/3RfY3xr
amzn.eu/d/3RfY3xr
Reposted by Steven Klein
In a new paper, we provide fresh evidence on the macroeconomic effects of public investment in 27 EU member states. We find that public investment has favorable effects on output and unemployment; doesn't crowd out private investment; and doesn't jeopardise debt sustainability.
October 8, 2025 at 8:00 AM
In a new paper, we provide fresh evidence on the macroeconomic effects of public investment in 27 EU member states. We find that public investment has favorable effects on output and unemployment; doesn't crowd out private investment; and doesn't jeopardise debt sustainability.