Eric Posner
Washington Post
Chicago, IL, United States
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Past articles by Eric:
In emergencies, judges usually defer to politicians. Not during the pandemic.
Especially in cases involving religion, evidence of judicial partisanship was widespread. → Read More
The Supreme Court’s NCAA ruling has huge implications outside of sports
The court is finally taking note of monopolistic wage suppression. → Read More
Legal assaults on coronavirus shutdowns threaten to undermine the liberal state
Trump-appointed judges fuse extreme ideas about religious freedom with libertarianism. → Read More
You can sue to stop lockdowns, but you can’t sue to get them. That’s dangerous.
There are strong reasons for the courts to defer to the governors. → Read More
The administration’s plan to redefine ‘human rights’ along conservative lines
The aims of the mysterious new “Commission on Unalienable Rights” → Read More
Trump has plenty of bark. His predecessors had more bite.
A closer inspection of his record suggests he’s acted less aggressively than previous presidents. → Read More
Trump could be removed for political incompetence — using the 25th Amendment
The amendment doesn’t have to apply only in cases of incapacitation by mental or physical illness. → Read More
Trump Is Violating Federal Law by Pushing His Attorney General to Go After Hillary Clinton
In a fusillade of Twitter posts this week, President Donald Trump blasted his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, for failing to pursue probes of Hillary ... → Read More
When it comes to climate change, payback isn’t enough
Wholesale wealth redistribution is morally desirable. → Read More
ISIS Gives Us No Choice but to Consider Limits on Speech
It has become increasingly clear that terrorist groups such as ISIS can extend their reach to American territory via the Internet. Using their own websites → Read More
Denying Guns to Those on the No-Fly List Is Much More Complicated Than It Seems
In his speech Sunday night on the San Bernardino killings, President Obama called on Congress “to make sure no one on a no-fly list is able to buy a gun.” → Read More
Why Are People So Scared of Syrian Refugees?
Americans want to shut the door on Syrian refugees. According to one poll, 53 percent of Americans disapprove of allowing them into the country while anoth → Read More
Obama’s Lawyers Have Been Nothing More Than a Rubber Stamp
The title of Charlie Savage’s new book promises to put you “inside Obama’s post-9/11 presidency,” so that you can see how national security policy was made → Read More
Ben Bernanke, Student of the Great Depression, Repeated a Mistake of the Great Depression
In his just-published memoir, Ben Bernanke repeats his claim that he failed to rescue the Lehman Brothers investment bank in September 2008, while he was c → Read More
American Presidents Have More Power Than Ever. Are We Heading Toward Dictatorship?
Is American democracy doomed? An intellectual tradition going back to the nation’s founding holds that it is. Opponents of the Constitution argued that it → Read More
The Supreme Court Is Losing Public Approval and Prestige
The Supreme Court begins its term this year with a smorgasbord of ideologically tasty morsels, including cases on affirmative action, labor rights, the death penalty, religion, and probably abortion. The court has never been more aggressive about resolving the country’s political debates. And yet it is ideologically polarized and more... → Read More
Europe Should Learn From the United States and Australia How to Handle a Refugee Crisis
The refugees pouring into Europe are no threat to the people who live there, but they do threaten something of considerable importance—the European Idea. This is the idea that neighboring countries can coexist peacefully within political structures that transcend national boundaries. For many decades, the Europeans held out their political... → Read More
When Immigration Opponents Talk About “Jobs,” That’s Code for “Culture”
Immigration is back in the news, thanks to Donald Trump. He has sparked attention by arguing that people who entered the country illegally should be rounded up and expelled and that birthright citizenship should be revoked, a proposal (briefly) echoed by Scott Walker. Neither of these things will happen. Deporting... → Read More
This Man Wants to Become President, Pass One Law, and Resign. You Should Support Him.
On Tuesday Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard law professor, announced that he would run for president if he receives $1 million in donations by Labor Day. Lessig’s plan is decidedly idiosyncratic—he has never held political office, and he declares that he will resign and hand over the orb of power to... → Read More
Women Don’t “Donate” Eggs, They Sell Them. And They Should Get a Better Price.
If a woman supplies one of her own eggs to a fertility clinic, how much should she be paid? Under the economic laws of supply and demand, the price of the egg will reflect a balance between the willingness of one party, usually an infertile couple, to pay and the... → Read More