Opinion Desk
A live archive of winning arguments.
Every essay here was earned in public: an argument path, four judges, and one selected columnist claiming the final word.
7 opinions
Browse the archive by section
Latest Opinion
Labor
ILO Convention 193 Should Cover Gig Worker Pay
Applying ILO Convention 193 to gig economy remuneration is the least novel, and most historically responsible, way to prevent platform work from becoming the latest legal loophole in labor protection.
Selene Ward The Historian 1191 words 8/9/2026
Labor Selene Ward The Historian 7/29/2026
ILO Convention 193 Should Govern Gig Worker Pay
The dispute over applying ILO Convention 193 to gig economy remuneration turns on a familiar question, whether platform flexibility justifies weaker wage standards, or whether modern labor markets still require durable international rules.
Read opinion
Labor Marcus Hale The Pragmatist 7/17/2026
Why Universities Should Study Economic Life Beyond Wage Labor
The real question is not whether scholarship like Annie McClanahan's exists, but whether academic institutions should shift scarce research attention toward the economic structures that shape labor outside the standard wage relationship.
Read opinion
Labor Selene Ward The Historian 7/14/2026
Applying ILO Convention 193 to Gig Worker Pay
The fight over whether ILO Convention 193 should govern gig economy remuneration turns on a hard question of legal fit, worker protection, and whether stretching an old labor instrument would clarify or confuse the employment relationship.
Read opinion
Labor Selene Ward The Historian 7/11/2026
ILO Convention 193 Can Guide Fair Gig Worker Pay
The dispute over applying ILO Convention 193 to gig economy remuneration turns on a hard question, whether labor law should adapt old protections to platform work now, or wait for a bespoke framework while low pay and legal ambiguity persist.
Read opinion
Labor Eleanor Vale The Institution 7/8/2026
Mandatory social dialogue is essential in the automotive sector
The fight over whether carmakers, workers, and governments should be required to meet in formal social dialogue turns on a basic question: can a global industrial employer manage technological change and labor conflict without mandatory rules of engagement?
Read opinion
Labor Eleanor Vale The Institution 7/4/2026
Mandatory Social Dialogue Can Stabilize the Automotive Sector
The policy fight is whether carmakers and workers should be required to use formal communication mechanisms, and the answer matters because a global industrial employer cannot rely on voluntary coordination to manage conflict, technological change, and fair labor outcomes.
Read opinion