The Roosevelt Institution
The Nation magazine and the Roosevelt Institution are teaming up to explore what relevance FDR and the New Deal have for the 21st Century, and how today’s college students understand the social contract. We are looking for essays of 600 words or less that answer the following question:
In the 1930s, FDR’s New Deal established a new social compact between government and its citizens. That compact has frayed greatly in the face of economic globalization and the seeming triumph of free-market thinking. What relevance, if any, do you think New Deal politics have today? What ‘usable past’ can be drawn from the New Deal in developing strategies to meet the challenges of the 21st century, especially the economic pressures of globalization and climate change?
The top essay will be published in The Nation, and the author will receive a $500 cash prize. The top five essays will be published on Student Nation and the Roosevelt Institution homepage.
The deadline for submissions is March 2, 2008. Please send your essay to essays@rooseveltinstitution.org, subject line “New Deal Essay;” when sending, please include as an attachment and in the body of the email.
