The recent pronounced shifts in American politics and economics intensify the need for sustained reflection, as we consider how to shape legal activism, scholarship, and policy-making against poverty. The re-emergence of the Democratic Party in national politics and the renewed support for government action simultaneously create openings for activists and advocates and invite caution. Similarly, the failures of the American banking system, massive government deficits, and the continued restructuring and globalization of the U.S. economy cause great misery for those at the bottom and present opportunities to press for fundamental and progressive reform. It remains unclear whether this period is one in which power will be redistributed downward and outward to poor and working people or whether the defining values and hierarchies of the political economy in the last thirty years - variously labeled neo-liberalism, neo-conservatism, or free market fundamentalism - will be reinforced.
This program will feature the work of five innovative advocates working in the crucible of post-Katrina New Orleans. Their legal strategies both stem from and transcend the particular conditions facing poor people in a former disaster zone. Professor Quigley will situate their approaches in the larger contexts of poverty law scholarship and the current complex political moment.
Business Meeting at Program Conclusion.