The Banana King Who (Tried to) Put People Over Profits

1970s United Fruit CEO Eli Black Got Caught Between the Warring Ideals of ‘Social Responsibility’ and Shareholder Gains

After the latest banking crisis, an old question has resurfaced: What should corporate executives care about, people or profits?

Hard-right Republicans contend that it was “woke” investment strategies of liberal executives—who cared about the “ESG” (Environmental, Social, and Governance) credentials of target companies—that led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Their position harkens to a 1970 doctrine of Chicago School economist Milton Friedman, who chastised proponents of “social responsibility” in corporate management for “preaching pure and unadulterated socialism.” He famously advised CEOs to scrap high-minded attempts to improve the world …

Why Is the Latinx Debate So Fierce?

Gender, Language, and Identity Are Complicated. But Inclusivity Doesn’t Have to Be

In 2018, I was interviewed for Univision’s morning talk show ¡Despierta América! (Wake up, America!) to discuss the meaning of the identity label Latinx. I was nervous because I had …

How Latin America Built L.A.

Excavating the Century of Economic Domination Beneath the 2022 Summit of the Americas

Los Angeles is just the second U.S. city to host the Summit of the Americas, which brings together political leaders, civil society organizations, and business executives from North, South, and …

How Movies and TV Are Helping Venezuelans Negotiate Their Country’s Collapse

Amid Food Shortages and Rising Crime, My Students Turn to The Hunger Games and Walking Dead

Last March, I was teaching twice a week at the Universidad Bicentenaria de Aragua, 75 miles west of Caracas, Venezuela. While protests were breaking out in the streets around the …

Will Los Angeles Tear Down the Walls That Keep It Apart From Latin America?

By Standing up to Trump and Letting People Move Freely, We Could Become a True LA-LA Land

Los Angeles is a great many things, but it is not Latin America.

Such a statement should be as uncontroversial as a map of the Western hemisphere. But today, elite conventional …