Inequality for All and Activating Empowerment Amid Economic Despair

In this edited interview, psychologists Eric Greene and Nisha Gupta converse with filmmaker Jacob Kornbluth about his documentary film Inequality for All (2013), which is a passionate argument on behalf of the middle class. The film features Robert Reich—professor, best-selling author, and Clinton cabinet member—as he demonstrates how the widening income gap has a devastating impact on the American economy. The film is an intimate portrait of a man whose lifelong goal remains protecting those who are unable to protect themselves, as Reich explains how the massive consolidation of wealth by a precious few threatens the viability of the American workforce and the foundation of democracy itself. In this dialogue with the film director, Kornbluth describes his personal socioeconomic background that inspired this project, his creative collaboration with Reich in attempt to evoke critical consciousness among the public about the truth of income inequality, and his vision of creating an emotionally intimate story that balances righteous despair and anger with a tone of political hope.

Where Are the Women? Descriptive Representation and COVID-19 in U.K. Daily Press Briefings

As governments tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, both the role of women in governments and the specific effect of the pandemic on women have come under scrutiny. This research note examines the descriptive representation of women in the U.K. government's response to the coronavirus. It finds that 43% of the government's daily press briefings featured an all-male lineup with no female politician or expert present. In particular, female politicians are missing, with only one female cabinet member ever leading the briefing. Women's (in)visibility raises concerns about the legitimacy of democratic decisions and likely has policy consequences: women's absence may exacerbate gendered inequalities resulting from the crisis.

Mental Health In Educational Settings

Lecture from Les Lawrence, Chair of Children’s Quarter, former Chair at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, former Cabinet Member for Children and Young People on 'Mental Health Matters in Schools: Big Picture and Detail'

How Confidential Negotiations of the TTIP Affect Public Trust

“When EU Heads of States and Governments unanimously gave the European Commission a mandate to negotiate the EU–US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on 17 June 2013, they understood that these talks would become the leitmotiv of a new era in EU trade policy. However, few people would have guessed that it would primarily be because of transparency.”The public demands for more transparent EU negotiations have significantly increased, especially with regard to the EU–US negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. For many pundits transparency in negotiations comes as a surprise, as the candid statement by the Commissioner's Malmström cabinet member illustrates, since traditionally EU negotiations almost exclusively take place behind closed doors and with almost no public disclosure of documents. Scholars have also noted how ‘remarkable’ the TTIP negotiations are for the fact that the negotiating directives were publically released, which was not a common practice before, leading someMembers of European Parliament to initiate adjudication for public disclosure of documents.

What Determines the Tenure of Cabinet Members? A Comparative Study of Korea and the United States, 1948-2013

This article analyzes the determinants of the tenure of cabinet members in Korea and the United States from 1948 to 2013. It concentrates on three sets of factors that can affect the tenure of cabinet members: the personal characteristics of the cabinet member, his or her political characteristics, and the characteristics of the president under whom the cabinet member serves. This article finds that some of the personal and political characteristics of the cabinet member affect the length of a minister's tenure in Korea. However, these same characteristics do not affect the length of tenure of cabinet members in the United States, although the characteristics of the president do have an impact on the tenure length of cabinet members in both Korea and the United States. The mix of a presidential system with a parliamentary system in Korea perhaps accounts for difference between the two countries. Therefore, this article raises the possibility that the theories and practices of public administration and political science in the United States may not be applicable in Korea.

Leo Strauss on Social and Natural Science: Two Previously Unpublished Papers

The two papers published here for the first time were written by Leo Strauss (1899–1973) in or around 1945, when he was teaching at the New School for Social Research in New York City. One of Strauss's colleagues at the New School was Kurt Riezler (1882–1955). Riezler had earned a PhD in classics, but had an even more distinguished career as a practical politician; he had been a high-ranking cabinet member in both Imperial and Weimar Germany and a drafter of the Weimar constitution. He had wide-ranging scholarly interests, having written books on the theoretical foundations of politics, art, ancient philosophy, and the fundamental structure of social life. Because they shared an interest in the foundations of social science, he and Strauss co-taught a couple of courses in the mid-1940s (on Aristotle's De anima and Descartes's Passions of the Soul [along with Solomon Asch], and on Plato's Theaetetus [along with Alexandre Koyré]). Strauss indicated the enduring respect he had for Riezler in a eulogy he wrote for him in 1955 and republished as the concluding essay in What Is Political Philosophy? and Other Studies in 1959.

Perkins, Frances

Frances Perkins (1882–1965) was the first female U.S. Cabinet member, appointed secretary of labor in 1933 by Franklin D. Roosevelt. She helped standardize state industrial legislation, promoted the adoption of the social security system, and pushed for improved workers' conditions.