Editors-in-Chief: Gabriel Rubin Sonya Schoenberger
Executive Director: Nahuel Fefer
Staff Editors: Joe Lenoff Billie Mandelbaum Aryeh Mellman
Features Editor: Grace Portelance
Director of Design: Alex Chiu
Assistant Directors of Design: Simin Lim Andrew Kay
INTERNATIONAL
Director of New Media: Ari Moses
Managing Web Editors: Henry Kopesky Aaron Christensen
Programming Director: Hannah Waldman
Finance Director:
Front Cover: Alex Chiu
Theme Page: Andrew Kay
Back Cover: Alex Chiu
In 1776, Adam Smith famously wrote that an “Invisible Hand” guides markets to ensure an efficient allocation of resources. Many free marketeers today still argue that the unfettered market promotes prosperity on national and international levels. This argument may be true in the abstract, but economic forces do not exist in a vacuum. The Invisible Hand is ultimately subordinate to the realities of geopolitics, as powers manipulate global markets to advance their agendas and interests. Even when left to their own efficient devices, market forces are hardly adequate arbiters of a just distribution of global resources. They intrinsically reflect historical inequalities and power dynamics.
Rachel Butler
Alex Beaulieu
Dear Reader,
In this issue, writers examine the relationship between Markets and Power through many lenses. Bill Feng argues that the Obama administration’s recent decision to normalize relations with Cuba will strengthen the Castro regime and its support for forces of terrorism—without helping the Cuban people. Suhas Gondi explores the ways that economic incentives shape our healthcare system, and Max Hofmeister analyzes the state of American industrial agriculture. Other writers address global trade, labor rights, and other topics of national and international import. We welcome you to join our discussion of Markets and Power and other topics by submitting feedback and original article ideas to editor@wupr.org.
With best regards, Gabriel Rubin and Sonya Schoenberger Editors-in-Chief