WASHINGTON, DC—It is getting harder by the day to justify the slow pace of adaptation to climate change. Last year was one of the hottest on record, with economies and communities around the world disrupted by extreme heat, heavy rainfall, and tropical cyclones. As November’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Turkey approaches, governments must move beyond climate commitments and focus on implementation.

Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Longer Reads 9 What Killed Liberalism? Gene Frieda Governments have abandoned many of the economic ideas blamed for the populist backlash, yet support for populist parties continues to grow. This puzzle lies at the heart of two new books, both of which suggest that liberalism’s decline may outlast the economic forces that set it in motion. explains why neither stronger communities nor greater economic agency can turn back the populist tide.

What Killed Liberalism?

Governments have abandoned many of the economic ideas blamed for the populist backlash, yet support for populist parties continues to grow. This puzzle lies at the heart of two new books, both of which suggest that liberalism’s decline may outlast the economic forces that set it in motion.

Neil Leslei/Getty Images Economics 2 The Dismally Obedient Science Carolina Alves While empirical inquiry has its place in economics, the pursuit of causality must not be allowed to displace the pursuit of explanation. Beyond identifying causal effects within existing arrangements, economists must investigate how those arrangements are produced, reproduced, and contested. warns that empirical research in economics is displacing investigation of underlying causes.

The Dismally Obedient Science

While empirical inquiry has its place in economics, the pursuit of causality must not be allowed to displace the pursuit of explanation. Beyond identifying........

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