Association for the Promotion of Political Economy and the Law (APPEAL): Transforming Law and Economic Power

This article reflects on the Association for the Promotion of Political Economy and Law (APPEAL), formed in 2012 as the first contemporary scholarly group named for the emerging field of Law and Political Economy (LPE). APPEAL organizes academics and allies to address urgent social problems by exploring possibilities for reorienting the economy toward justice, equality, and democracy. To mobilize ideas for change, APPEAL emphasizes collaborative intellectual communities. I situate APPEAL in the context of a neoliberal political movement to capture law’s power by investing in the Law and Economics message that economic power inevitably limits democracy and social justice. Though vastly outmatched in funding, APPEAL brings together experts in economics, law, and other disciplines to clarify and change influential neoliberal ideas about both law and economics. I highlight APPEAL participants’ scholarship showing the interconnected social, political, and legal nature of economic power as the basis for transforming economic politics and policy.