Jacob T. Levy
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jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy
@jacobtlevy.bsky.social
60K followers 1K following 14K posts

Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory, Associate member of Philosophy, Coordinator of Research Group on Constitutional Studies, McGill.
Posts here speak only for myself.
Americo-Canadian; liberaltarian; aging geek.
http://jacobtlevy.com .. more

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Jacob T. Levy is an American political theorist and Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory at McGill University. Levy is the Chair of the Department of Political Science at McGill, as well as the coordinator of McGill's Research Group on Constitutional Studies and the founding director of McGill's Yan P. Lin Centre for the Study of Freedom and Global Orders in the Ancient and Modern Worlds. Levy is also a Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center and the Institute for Humane Studies. He is known for his expertise on multiculturalism, liberalism, and pluralism. .. more

Political science 68%
Law 8%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by David M. Farrell, Jacob T. Levy

alexdukalskis.bsky.social
Alex Dukalskis @alexdukalskis.bsky.social · 2h
. @davidfarrell-ucd.bsky.social and I wrote about this in the Irish Times four years ago warning about our university’s entanglement with China.

IMO not much has changed. If anything in many ways we’re more in on China now than we were then.

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/ucd-...
UCD risks being a pawn in China’s bigger game
There are worrying signs of the potential erosion of academic freedom in Ireland
www.irishtimes.com

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

thebulwark.com
The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 6h
Trump’s team expected easy wins in the streets. Instead, they’re losing in courts, getting chased out of cities, and facing organized pushback from ordinary citizens. @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social and @timmiller.bsky.social explain how public resistance is working.

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 8h
But that panel is an especially bad *drawing* of her. She's just Johnny with earrings!

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 9h
Several Good Place callbacks on this season of Man on the Inside, but this was obviously the best one.

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 11h
"My wife walks out on me"???

I'm sorry, *what*?

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

theonion.com
The Onion @theonion.com · 11h
“I brought this horrid creature into the world, and now I must take him out!” Winfrey said
Oprah Pursues Dr. Phil On Ship Through Arctic
THE ARCTIC CIRCLE—With a vow to destroy the abomination she had created if it was the last thing she ever did, television host Oprah Winfrey has spent weeks on a ship pursuing Dr. Phil through the Arc...
theonion.com

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 15h
whaaaaaaat

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 15h
stop, stop, I was already on board, no need to gild the lily

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 16h
She could not resign, as she did not hold the office at all.
nytimes.com The New York Times @nytimes.com · 16h
Breaking News: Alina Habba resigned as U.S. attorney in New Jersey after a panel of federal judges ruled last week that she was serving in the position unlawfully.
Alina Habba, a Trump Loyalist, Resigns as New Jersey’s Top Prosecutor
Ms. Habba resigned on Monday, after a federal appeals court last week found she had been serving as U.S. attorney unlawfully.
nyti.ms

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

nytimes.com
The New York Times @nytimes.com · 16h
Breaking News: Alina Habba resigned as U.S. attorney in New Jersey after a panel of federal judges ruled last week that she was serving in the position unlawfully.
Alina Habba, a Trump Loyalist, Resigns as New Jersey’s Top Prosecutor
Ms. Habba resigned on Monday, after a federal appeals court last week found she had been serving as U.S. attorney unlawfully.
nyti.ms

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

shelleydclark.bsky.social
Shelley Clark @shelleydclark.bsky.social · 16h
That trade-off reduces the other social and economic contributions women are making right now, just so they can produce future workers.”

3/3

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

shelleydclark.bsky.social
Shelley Clark @shelleydclark.bsky.social · 16h
“And even progressive pronatalism risks ratifying the notion that women’s most important contribution to solving major social problems is to birth and raise children. More children inevitably (so far) means fewer women in the workforce....

2/

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

shelleydclark.bsky.social
Shelley Clark @shelleydclark.bsky.social · 16h
newrepublic.com/article/2040...

New by UMd demographer @philipncohen.com in TNR, on the pronatalist panic. Some key lines:

"giving in to population panic and endorsing a plan to increase birth rates implicitly supports anti-immigration politics and yields ground to racist fearmongering.”

1/
What If Both Sides in the Birth Rate Debate Are Wrong?
The right wants to steer women away from work and toward motherhood. The left wants to provide them with more state support so it’s easier to have children. We should refuse this choice.
newrepublic.com

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 16h
na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 16h
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

Entirely appropriate to use the power of the purse to back up oversight authority, but runs into the problem that Congressional Republicans have surrendered the power of the purse to the White House already.
Congress to withhold Pentagon travel funds until it sees boat strike videos
Lawmakers quietly stuck the requirement into their must-pass annual defense policy bill.
www.politico.com

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

dov.bsky.social
Marxist-Tolkienist-Zelenskyist 🇺🇦🇱🇹🇵🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @dov.bsky.social · 17h
it is dangerous to tell the truth to men who think they are god's gift to motorcycles

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, David R. Miller, Jacob T. Levy

annabower.bsky.social
Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 17h
Habba out
STATEMENT FROM ALINA HABBA, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY AND SPECIAL ATTORNEY TO THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL For the past five years, I've fought for justice on behalf of the American people, and in my tenure under our great Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, we made New Jersey safer. Camden had its first murder-free summer in 50 years. We drove down crime, took violent offenders off the streets, caught terrorists, and put away child predators. While I was focused on delivering real results, judges in my state took advantage of a flawed blue slip tradition and became weapons for the politicized left. For months, these judges stopped conducting trials and entering sentences, leaving violent criminals on the streets. They joined New Jersey senators, who care more about fighting President Trump than the well being of residents which they serve. For four years, I fought against lawfare aimed at President Trump and against politics infecting our justice system. What these obstructionists misunderstood is that my loyalty is not to politics, a title, or a ZIP code. It is to this great country. As a result of the Third Circuit's ruling, and to protect the stability and integrity of the office which I love, I have decided to step down in my role as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. But do not mistake compliance for surrender. This decision will not weaken the Justice Department and it will not weaken me. My fight will now stretch across the country. As we wait for further review of the courts ruling, I will continue to serve the Department of Justice as the Senior Advisor to the Attorney General for U.S. Attorneys. Make no mistake, you can take the girl out of New Jersey, but you cannot take New Jersey out of the girl. -DECEMBER 8, 2025-

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

dov.bsky.social
Marxist-Tolkienist-Zelenskyist 🇺🇦🇱🇹🇵🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @dov.bsky.social · 17h
it's great how while actually quite a lot of the european left copped on to its russia blindspot since 2022, varoufakis actually radicalised into a full blown tankie simply because razem politicians dared confront him about it to his face

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 18h
While the Supremacy Clause makes Congressional statutes supreme over state statutes, it makes no mention of executive memos.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/u...
Trump Promises Executive Order to Block State A.I. Regulations
www.nytimes.com

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 18h
Seems like a good day to repost my two articles on the separation of powers and the danger of executive tyranny.

two:
www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
The Separation of Powers (Chapter 17) - The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory
The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory - April 2025
www.cambridge.org

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 18h
Seems like a good day to repost my two articles on the separation of powers and the danger of executive tyranny.

one: www.constitutionalstudies.ca/wp-content/u...

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 18h
By watching “Train Dreams,” which is nominated for best song, two nights ago, I just barely missed being able to say that I have seen *zero* movies nominated for any Golden Globe this year. (I exclude the “box office achievement” award.)

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

ericmgarcia.bsky.social
Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 20h
Bit of a narrative buster (and something that surprised me):

Sports betting on phones doesn't raise as much as allowing a full legal casino, slot machines and all, on your phone.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/u...
States Are Raking In Billions From Slot Machines on Your Phone
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Michael E. Mann, Richard S.J. Tol, David Rothschild , and 4 more

karlbode.com
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 20h
Jared Kushner's involvement was "not mentioned in Paramount's press release on Monday morning about its $108 billion bid, nor were participating sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar."

fancy that
Jared Kushner is part of Paramount's hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
Paramount is telling WBD shareholders that it has a smoother path to regulatory approval than does Netflix.
www.axios.com

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy, Simon Lester

judah-grunstein.bsky.social
Judah Grunstein @judah-grunstein.bsky.social · 21h
Not at all surprising that @gideonrachman.bsky.social nails it in his reading of the NSS here.

"The Trump administration view of 'western civilisation' is based on race, Christianity and nationalism. The European version is a liberal view founded on democracy, human rights and the rule of law ..."

Reposted by Tom Clark, Rebecca Tushnet, Jacob T. Levy , and 1 more

annmlipton.bsky.social
Ann M. Lipton @annmlipton.bsky.social · 21h
This is just how we do mergers now.

"Paramount executives also plan to argue their deal will have a much shorter regulatory approval process given the company’s smaller size and friendly relationship with the Trump administration."

www.cnbc.com/2025/12/08/p...
Paramount Skydance launches hostile bid for WBD after Netflix wins bidding war
Netflix won a bidding war for the Warner Bros. film studio and HBO Max streaming service, but it doesn't plan to buy WBD's TV networks.
www.cnbc.com

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com
Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 21h
one of the things i've been building towards in this section is how the economic theories of north, wallis, and weingast--especially their conception of how rents derive from exclusion and exclusion from decrease social *options*--can be used to understand patriarchy

www.patreon.com/posts/chapte...
Chapter 4.3: Prey to the Species | Samantha Hancox-Li
Get more from Samantha Hancox-Li on Patreon
www.patreon.com

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 1d
newrepublic.com/post/204067/...
The Internet Schools Trump’s Treasury Department on Economics
People took to social media to mock the government agency after an extremely optimistic post on X.
newrepublic.com

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

philipncohen.com
Philip N Cohen @philipncohen.com · 1d
The story (www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/u...) also lets people believe a million immigrants is a lot. It's not. In 2023 there were 32 million immigrants here who arrived in the last 26 years -- well over a million a year. A healthy level of immigration is probably higher than that.
Mr. Biden created new legal pathways for migration to ease pressure at the border, under which more than one million people were allowed into the United States, fueling public resistance. And he failed to convince Congress to change immigration laws, dragging his feet on a crucial Senate border deal, according to the lead Republican negotiator, who said the effort might have otherwise succeeded. Variables Role Name Label Row yrimmig Year of immigration Weight perwt Person weight Filter year(2023) Census year(=2023) Filter yrimmig(1998-2023) Year of immigration Frequency Distribution Cells contain: -Weighted N Distribution 1998: 1998 1,114,400.0 1999: 1999 1,217,107.0 2000: 2000 1,764,452.0 2001: 2001 1,371,424.0 2002: 2002 1,032,239.0 2003: 2003 1,121,184.0 2004: 2004 1,033,244.0 2005: 2005 1,131,948.0 2006: 2006 1,007,763.0 2007: 2007 974,474.0 2008: 2008 980,593.0 2009: 2009 888,219.0 2010: 2010 1,059,709.0 yrimmig 2011: 2011 889,250.0 2012: 2012 1,001,368.0 2013: 2013 1,142,538.0 2014: 2014 1,228,932.0 2015: 2015 1,450,938.0 2016: 2016 1,532,356.0 2017: 2017 1,364,712.0 2018: 2018 1,347,380.0 2019: 2019 1,438,287.0 2020: 2020 862,543.0 2021: 2021 1,631,176.0 2022: 2022 2,237,746.0 2023: 2023 1,260,362.0 COL TOTAL 32,084,344.0 Range 0-2023 1.00-4,044.00 2001-2023 0-2023 MD Dataset

Reposted by Jacob T. Levy

dhnexon.bsky.social
Dan Nexon @dhnexon.bsky.social · 1d
5. FWIW, that's also why, if the pro-Constitutional Democracy factions of the U.S. political order ever get the trifecta, they can't wait to pass their reforms. They can't spend time hashing them out in committee. They need prêt à passer legislation.