The Invisible Code of Capitalism
Breaking down how the law structures the global economy, shelters corporations from accountability and stalls climate action.
Capitalism could not exist without the power and structure of the law — that is the simple but radical argument made by this episode's esteemed guest Katharina Pistor, Law professor at Columbia University and the author of The Code of Capital: How The Law Creates Wealth and Inequality (Princeton University Press).
In this episode, Adrienne and Katharina break down how the law "encodes" capital and invisibly structures our economic systems, from granting corporations the rights of personhood to obscure international treaties that enable fossil fuel giants to sue governments in secretive courts when they attempt to take bold action on the climate crisis. Ultimately, Katharina explores whether the law can be harnessed as a force for progress on climate and ecological crisis, and what needs to change to break the legal deadlock.
Katharina Pistor is a leading legal scholar and a professor at Columbia University Law School, where directs the Center on Global Legal Transformation. She is the author of several celebrated books, most recently of The Code of Capital: How The Law Creates Wealth and Inequality (Princeton University Press).
Further Reading
Kate Aronoff, "The Obscure Treaty That Could Kill A Global Green Recovery", The New Republic, 2020.
Katharina Pistor, The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality, Princeton University Press, 2019.
Katharina Pistor, "Green Markets Won't Save Us", Project Syndicate, 2021.
Video & Sound by Paula Romeu Garcia.