Constructing countervailing power: Law and organizing in an era of political inequality

• Published in: The Yale law journal Vol. 130; no. 3; pp. 546 - 635
• Main Authors: Andrias, Kate, Sachs, Benjamin I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Haven Yale University, School of Law 01.01.2021; Yale Law Journal Company, Inc
• Subjects: Beneficiaries; Campaigns; Community organization; Countervailing power; COVID-19; COVID-19 (Disease); DEMOCRACY; EMPLOYMENT LAW; Equality; Inequality; Labor law; Labor laws and legislation; Labor unions; Lobbying; Methods; Organizing; Pandemics; Political aspects; Political economy; Political finance; Political power; Political reform; Politics; POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT; Power (Social sciences); Public debt; PUBLIC HEALTH; PUBLIC LAW; Public officials; Social aspects; Social change; Social movements; Tenants; Welfare; Working class; UNITED STATES
• ISSN: 0044-0094; 1939-8611

This article proposes an innovative approach to remedying the crisis of political inequality: using law to facilitate organizing by the poor and working class, not only as workers, but also as tenants, debtors, welfare beneficiaries, and others. The piece draws on the social-movements literature, and the successes and failures of labor law, to show how law can supplement the deficient regimes of campaign finance and lobbying reform and enable lower-income groups to build organizations capable of countervailing the political power of the wealthy. As such, the article offers a new direction forward for the public-law literature on political power and political inequality. It also offers critical lessons for government officials, organizers, and advocates seeking to respond to the inequalities made painfully evident by the COVID-19 pandemic.