Law and Political Economy Reading Group established at UCL Laws

On the 2 October, the UCL Law and Political Economy Group met for its first reading group session. Aimed at LLB, LLM and PhD students, the reading group aims to foster a conversation around how the law mediates, exacerbates and sometimes helps resolve social problems such as rising inequality, worker precarity, political polarisation, racial hierarchies and ecological breakdown.

The meeting was well attended, with students at all stages of their degrees. The group read two foundational LPE papers prior to the session (see below), and proceeded to have a robust discussion. Race, inequality and power were all topics which garnered lots of attention from students, in light of how they are often overlooked during university studies.

Going forward the reading group will run monthly, with each meeting focusing on a different area of law. The second session is scheduled for Monday 13 November, and is titled "Competition(,) Law and Political Economy". It will feature guest speaker Filip Lubinski who will give a short ten minute introduction preceding the discussion. Further sessions are planned on international law, the history of LPE, racial capitalism and climate change.

The UCL LPE group will also be hosting talks and events. Stay tuned to the Twitter/X account!

Reading

• Law and Political Economy in a Time of Accelerating Crises (2020) pages 1-12. (the first four sections, which give an overview of LPE and its development).
• Building a Law-and-Political-Economy Framework: Beyond the Twentieth-Century Synthesis (2019) pages 1784-1794 (just the introduction).