The state causes a crisis and who wins in the end? If history is our test, the state wins. Looking through the lens of the history of crisis, we can see that state takes a giant leap in power and never rolls back to its former self after it is over.
Proving this point is Robert Higgs, who wrote the classic work on the subject: Crisis and Leviathan. Higgs’s thesis is so compelling that it has become the dominant paradigm for understanding the so-called ratchet effect. This book is absolutely essential for anyone who seeks to understand the dynamics of government growth and the loss of liberty. It is a book to understand in the coming days as we see the state volunteer itself to "solve" the very problem it created. This book was written before 9-11 but it was cited as the work that explains what happened after. Since those days, he has come out with three wonderful books applying the concept to our current times, and, in more detail to World War II.
The Resurgence of the Warfare State paints a bleak picture, showing how America’s political leaders in the name of crisis management have discarded many of the checks and balances created to thwart potential abuses of government power, spent additional billions of dollars on programs unrelated to national security, trampled civil liberties and due process at home, and pursued reckless military adventures that have needlessly killed thousands of innocents abroad. This collection of articles covers airport security, the costs of war, the decline of civil liberties, the lies of empire, the militarization of government, fiscal explosion, the nature of the military bureaucracy, and more.
Against Leviathan shows why all these trends must be resisted. It combines an economist’s analytical scrutiny, an historian’s respect for the facts, and a refusal to accept the standard excuses and cruelties of government officialdom. Topics include Social Security, the paternalism of the FDA, the "War on Drugs," the nature of political leadership, civil liberties, the conduct of the national surveillance state, and governmental responses to a continuing stream of "crises," including domestic economic busts and foreign wars both hot and cold.
Depression, War, and Cold War is a book that scholars must contend with, for he shows that almost everything we think we know about these periods is wrong. He shows that the official statistics are little more than fiction. He proves that the level of corruption in the warfare state is egregious. He shows that the liberty and property taken from you in the name of "security" is just as objectionable as that taken in the name of "social welfare."
Higgs is also a wonderful teacher in audio format. His course-long lecture series on these topics is available in tape and MP3 CD.
March 22, 2008
