🥕 The Stick Breaks Both Ways

When dictators depend on markets, boycotts become weapons.

📡 On my Radar

For decades, we tolerated capitalism’s excesses - the inequality, the wealth hoarding, the insecurity, because the government underlying a capitalist state - liberal democracy - promised something in return: freedoms, rights, a voice. The carrot kept us invested in the system.

That bargain is breaking down.

Today, those same countries are turning to authoritarianism without losing their focus on capitalism: same market structure, same wealth concentration, but now the carrot’s gone. What’s left is the stick.

Today’s authoritarians use more insidious means of control: economic and social annihilation. Speak up? Lose your job. Organize? Get doxxed. Dissent? Face deportation or deplatforming. The fear is quieter but just as effective.

And yet, if modern authoritarians rely on capitalism, they’re vulnerable to it too. Boycotts bite. Sanctions work. Economic pressure has teeth when the regime depends on markets.

Some leaders want to “restore” liberal democracy - to go back to 1995. That ship has sailed. Liberal democracy failed people. That’s why we’re here.

We need something radically better. A system that actually delivers: healthcare, housing, economic security. Maybe that’s universal basic income. Maybe it’s FDR-style economic revival. Maybe it’s all of the above.

📈 By the Numbers

👊🏽 Make a Difference

13 jobs | 2 fellowships

JOB | Barry Friedman from the Policing Project is hiring a Senior Communications Associate to help effect change and spread the word about their impactful work.

JOB | The Rockefeller Foundation seeks a Manager of Innovation to work on all things AI in this amazing role.

FELLOWSHIP | Echoing Green is now accepting applications for its 2026 Fellowship program, supporting bold early-stage leaders tackling the world’s most urgent challenges with an 18-month program offering financial support, leadership development, and a global community.

JOB | Kathryn Wells shares that the City of Long Beach is hiring a Public Affairs Officer for its Health and Human Services department.

JOB | Jake Pinholster shares that the University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts advancement office is hiring an Assistant Director of Advancement during a transformative time for the team.

JOB | Grande Lum shares a mediator position available at Resolvium Mediation Group.

FELLOWSHIP | Christina Ngo shares that applications are open for the Morgridge Acceleration Program (MAP) Fellowship.

JOB | Dr. Erroll Southers reshares that the California Civil Rights Department is hiring a Staff Services Manager I (Specialist) to support the Research and Policy Unit.

JOB | Caribou is hiring a Program Operations and Partnerships Manager to help keep their programs, proposals and internal projects running smoothly for those who love organization and thrive on multitasking in a global, mission-driven environment.

JOB | Christine Tsang invites applications for Executive Director of Stanford RegLab.

JOB (4) | Zeenat Rahman shares that Johns Hopkins University’s School of Government and Policy is hiring multiple senior faculty across political science, economics, history, sociology, philosophy, law, and computer science.

JOB | Diego Cartagena of Bet Tzedek Legal Services is hiring a Staff Attorney I focused on Transgender Advocacy to advance rights and dignity through direct legal services, policy advocacy, and community engagement.

🤓 This is Your Next

The Map of Salt and Stars, by Zeyn Joukhadar

🙌🏽 FairNation

Look past the costumes and prosthetics and you realize this was filmed in the past, takes place in the future … and teaches us about today.