Seth Frotman and Ben Kaufman’s essay in The Harvard Civil Rights - Civil Liberties Review argues that the United States can better tackle mounting challenges like affordability and climate change when its residents have stronger legal tools to demand corporate accountability and leverage public protection in the courts.
(In other words, society is better off when people have the power to sue corporations that violate laws, rather than relying entirely on government regulators.)
The authors argue that despite “well-funded hatchetwork” weakening private rights of action – most notably by a century-long campaign funded by the Chamber of Commerce – growing support for reform presents an opportunity. They call for "a federal government that takes the side of working people" and works to ensure that private rights of action are included in laws at the federal, state and local level.
Read the full piece, “Want “State Capacity”? That Means Private Rights of Action,” here