Archive - The Main Street Journal

David Plouffe Is Wrong: The Case for Democracy Homesteading

This week, I want to talk politics because I—like most of you—believe our democracy is in serious danger.

3 hrs ago • Michael Shuman

Making Participatory Democracy Playful

Gathering opinions on substantive questions of governance can start out casual and exploratory

Feb 11 • Paul Spinrad

North Dakota: America’s Best Local Business State

This week, I keynoted a meeting of the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber EDC, which was attended by 600 economic developers, businesses, and politicians in the…

Feb 5

Restoring We the People

Graduate Programs in Sustainability

Feb 3 • Paul Spinrad

January 2026

We All Need To Go To Business School

When my generation sought to do good in the world, one of the most common career paths—and the one I followed—was to go to a great law school, work for…

Jan 29 • Michael Shuman

Makers Can Use A.I. As Much As They Want

Corporate balancing of A.I. vs. human creativity doesn't impact the maker movement

Jan 28

13 Ways Trump Has Made Life Less Affordable

Thriving local economies necessarily depend on the national and global economies, and on the one-year anniversary of the Trump Administration, it’s…

Jan 22

Announcing: Conference Calendar, February 2026 (Oakland/Berkeley)

My upcoming experiment scaffolding topic-based, in-person discussions at local venues

Jan 20 • Paul Spinrad

Schumacher Is Beautiful

When I began my undergraduate education at Stanford in 1974, I had every intention of becoming a filmmaker.

Jan 15 • Michael Shuman

Fixing Capitalism with Shared Visions and Aesthetics

The founder of The Elysian discusses publishing, humanism, and the Via Pulchritudinis

Jan 13 • Paul Spinrad

Top 10 State Policies for 2026

As promised, we are now making The Main Street Journal 100% available to all readers in 2026.

Jan 8

3D Printer Manufacturers Defend Indie Creators Against Pirates

Industry heavyweights introduce new license, legal actions, and protection service to combat widespread IP theft of hardware designs

Jan 6 • Paul Spinrad

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