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Crisis and Leviathan
Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government (25th Anniversary Edition)
Robert Higgs (Author), Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr. (Foreword)
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Robert Higgs (Author), Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr. (Foreword)
Paperback • 384 pages • 5 figures • 7 tables • 6 x 9 inches • Index
ISBN-13: 978-1-59813-111-6
Publication Date: Nov. 1, 2012
Publisher: Independent Institute
Educators: Request exam copy
Bulk discounts available: Learn more
Crisis and Leviathan
Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government (25th Anniversary Edition)
Robert Higgs (Author), Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr. (Foreword)
Price: $19.95
Free Shipping On Orders Over $60! (Within U.S.A.)
Or, Become a Member and Get FREE!
Paperback • 384 pages • 5 figures • 7 tables • 6 x 9 inches • Index
ISBN-13: 978-1-59813-111-6
Publication Date: Nov. 1, 2012
Publisher: Independent Institute
Educators: Request exam copy
Bulk discounts available: Learn more

Overview

Everyone knows that the U.S. government has grown in size, scope, and power during the past century, but how did this breathtaking transformation come about? Crisis and Leviathan offers a coherent, multi-causal explanation, guided by a novel analytical framework firmly grounded in historical evidence.

Integrating the contributions of scholars in diverse disciplines, including history, law, political philosophy, and the social sciences, this book makes compelling reading for all those who seek to understand the transformation of America’s political economy over the past century. One of the most important books ever written on the nature of government power, Crisis and Leviathan is a powerful work of first-rate scholarship whose message becomes more important with each passing day.

Contents

Table of Contents

Foreword by Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr.
Preface to the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition
Preface to the Original Edition
Acknowledgments

PART I. Framework

1. The Sources of Big Government: A Critical Survey of Hypotheses
2 . How Much Has Government Grown? Conventional Measures and an Alternative View
3. On Ideology as an Analytical Concept in the Study of Political Economy
4. Crisis, Bigger Government, and Ideological Change: Toward an Understanding of the Ratchet

PART II. History

5. Crisis under the Old Regime, 1893–1896
6. The Progressive Era: A Bridge to Modern Times
7. The Political Economy of War, 1916–1918
8. The Great Depression: “An Emergency More Serious Than War”
9. The Political Economy of War, 1940–1945
10. Crisis and Leviathan: From World War II to the 1980s
11. Retrospect and Prospect

Appendix to Chapter 2
Appendix to Chapter 9
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
About the Author

Detailed Summary

Highlights
  • How did a federal government that was originally conceived to be one of limited, enumerated powers become so large and powerful in the twentieth century? Robert Higgs’s Crisis and Leviathan puts forth an illuminating explanation consistent with historical facts, economic understanding, and the role of ideology in social change: A series of national crises eroded the traditional barriers to government’s growth, leaving legacies that have endured long after each crisis passed. This ratchet effect also helps explain the decline of economic liberties and the failure of efforts to fundamentally reform government.
  • By conventional quantitative measures, the U.S. government was three to six times as large in the 1980s as it was in 1900. This sounds like a huge increase, but in fact those estimates understate the enormity of the transformation. That’s because quantitative measures (e.g., federal expenditures as a percentage of GDP) overlook the profound qualitative changes that have occurred, such as increased involvement in matters formerly considered constitutionally "off limits" to the federal government.
  • Most explanations for the growth of the U.S. government have failed because they’ve tried to reduce complex historical change to a single causal factor. To understand why government has grown, one must understand how it has grown. This requires a thorough, multidisciplinary examination of the motives and capabilities of key government officials and opinion leaders—and of the causes and effects of ideological change—especially during national crises, when the traditional barriers to government growth are weakened.
  • Crisis alone does not cause government to grow; certain ideological conditions must also be present. The economic depression of 1893–1896 is instructive. President Grover Cleveland faced pressure to provide relief for the unemployed, support an income tax, and abandon the gold standard, but he opposed those measures because they clashed with his classical-liberal ideology. He and his allies were victorious because the ideological climate was not conducive to an expansion of the role of the federal government.
  • The Progressive Era laid the foundation for the federal curtailment of economic liberties during World War I. The federal income tax and the Federal Reserve System were two key legacies of the Progressive Era, but even more important was the profound shift that occurred in the thinking of the nation’s intellectuals and business leaders. Some business leaders benefited greatly from the government’s restriction of competition and other wartime controls.
  • FDR’s attempts to pull the economy out of the Great Depression failed for many of the same reasons that Hoover’s efforts failed. In the Depression’s early years, President Hoover raised federal spending and dissuaded business leaders from letting wage rates fall with the contraction of spending caused by a rash of bank failures. Unfortunately, rather than abandon this course, President Roosevelt pursued it on a bolder scale, astutely manipulating the public’s fears to push through his arch-activist New Deal agenda. Production for the private economy did not return to pre-Depression levels until after the conclusion of World War II.
  • World War II and the Cold War secured exceptionally high profitability for defense contractors, who became a potent political lobby. During World War II, one hundred firms got two-thirds of the war business and just thirty-three got about half; General Motors alone got 8 percent. During the Cold War the ongoing development weapons systems, and the great migration of retired military officers into the defense industries, practically insured that the military-industrial complex would prosper.

Synopsis

Everyone knows that the U.S. government has grown in size and scope during the past century, but how did this breathtaking transformation come about?

In Crisis and Leviathan, economist and historian Robert Higgs shows how Big Government emerged from responses to national emergencies that occurred as attitudes about the role of government were changing dramatically. In particular, governmental responses to the Great Depression, two World Wars, the Cold War, and various minor “crises” (real or imagined) led to a host of new federal programs, activities, and functions that left legacies—including greater acceptance of bigger government—that endured long after each crisis passed. The result was not only a new baseline for further growth, but also a government more intrusive in the lives of ordinary citizens and more resistant to meaningful reform.

One of the most important books ever written on the nature of government power, Crisis and Leviathan is a powerful work of first-rate scholarship whose message has become more important in the twenty-five years since its original publication.

Framework

The book begins with a critique of competing explanations offered by scholars to account for the growth of the U.S. government since the early 1900s. No single cause explains the rise of Big Government in America, according to Higgs. He proposes a multi-causal theory that puts human agency in the driver’s seat.

Big Government, he explains, is not One Big Nonhuman Thing with a unity of purpose; rather, it comprises many coexisting human institutions, each one rife with the struggles and rivalries of individuals who possess clashing objectives. Moreover, Big Government requires the support, or at least the toleration, of people outside of government; and some people are always circulating between the rulers and the ruled. Always, people’s ideologies shape their political behavior (a truism that many social scientists fail to incorporate into their analyses).

The growth of government, Higgs emphasizes, has been not a steady climb, but a rocky path punctuated by growth spurts during national military or economic crises, when the traditional barriers to the growth of government face tremendous pressures. Although increases of federal spending and governmental controls often subsided after a crisis ended, those episodes left institutional and ideological legacies that raised the secular growth rate of the government during subsequent, non-crisis years. This progression of “two steps forward, one step back” helps explain what Higgs calls the ratchet effect.

The rest of Crisis and Leviathan employs the framework established in the book’s beginning chapters to shed light on the pivotal events of twentieth-century America.

The Crisis of the 1890s

National emergencies alone do not cause the growth of government: ideological conditions that favor its growth must also be present. The economic crisis of 1893 to 1896 is illustrative, Higgs shows.

As the unemployment rate soared to 18 percent of the total workforce, legions of unemployed men marched toward Washington, D.C., demanding federal relief. President Grover Cleveland would have found it politically easy to accede to their demands, but doing so would have run counter to his conviction that the Constitution left such matters exclusively to local governments and private charity. He also resisted pressures to abandon the gold standard and to endorse legislation to reinstate the federal income tax.

Because Cleveland and his allies clung steadfastly to an ideology that espoused the rule of law, private property rights, and public peace, the old regime of classical liberalism withstood pressures for greater federal intervention in the economy.

The Progressive Era

The turn of the twentieth century ushered in the Progressive Era, during which the elites who shape public opinion increasingly embraced federal activism and derided traditional views that espoused free-market economic policies and limited government.

Perhaps the most striking transformation involved the attitudes of big businessmen—railway presidents, financiers, and captains of industry—especially among the Eastern elite. Some business leaders jumped on the Progressive bandwagon to serve their narrow material interests. Whatever their motives, big businessmen would play a key role in the new political economy.

World War I

Although government authority grew during the Progressive Era, as late as 1916 the American economy was still mostly a market system. U.S. reaction to the war in Europe, however, led to unprecedented federal intervention in the nation’s economic affairs.

It began with legislation, introduced before U.S. entry into the war, that regulated ocean shipping rates. Soon after, the government would operate competing ships and the President would gain authority to compel suppliers to sell to the government at “reasonable prices” or risk confiscation. Six weeks after the U.S. declaration of war, President Wilson signed into law the Selective Service Act, thereby saving the government the expense of paying soldiers a market wage. Government agencies such as the War Industries Board directed what came to be called “war socialism”: collectivist economic planning on an unprecedented scale.

Looming over everything was the ideological shift. Americans had won the war, or at least they had been on the winning side, and many attributed the defeat of the Central Powers to the wartime collectivism.

The Great Depression

The normalcy that returned after the armistice was eventually destroyed by the onset of the Great Depression. President Hoover’s unprecedented interventions failed to revive the economy. President Roosevelt, a shrewder politician, relied on the emergency rationale and the wartime analogy to push through a host of programs during the frantic Hundred Days after he took office in March 1933. Wartime precedents helped enable new programs such as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (modeled after Hoover’s War Finance Corporation), the restrictive New Deal gold policy, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and agencies regulating agriculture and labor relations.

Most traditional restraints on federal power gave way. The Supreme Court struck down some legislation, but Roosevelt ultimately won: changes in the Court’s composition led to a revolution in constitutional jurisprudence that weakened the protection of private property rights and gave federal economic regulation free rein.

The governmental response during the worst years of the Great Depression (1932–1933) left the most enduring legacies: federal lending for many different purposes; federal production and sale of electricity; federal manipulation of agricultural production, prices, and marketing; federal regulation of virtually every aspect of labor markets; a vast federal social insurance system; a plethora of anticompetitive federal laws; and a large variety of federal subsidies—the list could go on.

The ideological legacy was even more important. Elite opinion no longer questioned the propriety of federal economic intervention—during emergencies or otherwise. The promise of social security and protection from the rigors of market competition became entrenched in the national mindset.

World War II

The power and managerial expertise acquired by the federal bureaucracy during the New Deal hastened the development of economic controls during the Second World War, mobilization for which began at least a year and a half before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

In mid-1940, Congress expanded the powers of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, enabling the government to make loans to, or purchase the capital stock of, corporations involved in “strategic and critical materials.” The Selective Service Act, enacted in September 1940, not only established the nation’s first peacetime draft, but it also empowered the President to requisition supplies from private industry and to impose harsh penalties on noncompliant suppliers, including government takeover.

Congress broadened the President’s discretionary authority to deal with private suppliers by passing the First War Powers Acts, enacted after Pearl Harbor, and the Second War Powers Act, enacted in March 1942. The latter also enabled the Treasury Department to use the Federal Reserve System as a virtual printing press to help finance the government’s ever-growing deficits. This new power was too great to resist, and the ensuing price inflation prompted the passage of the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942. A presidential edict issued on April 8, 1943, brought virtually all wages and prices under federal control for the duration of the war.

The wartime chaos also created labor unrest. On January 12, 1942, the President created the National War Labor Board, patterned after the War Labor Board of World War I, to resolve disputes by mediation or arbitration. The board possessed the authority to enforce its decisions through plant seizures. Eventually dozens of seizures were ordered, some involving entire industries.

Although much of the administrative apparatus of control was quickly dismantled after the war ended, a host of legacies remained, including the government-financed plants and equipment; the Employment Act of 1946; the Taft-Hartley Act; the Selective Service Act of 1948; the GI Bill; a voracious and effective federal income-tax system; and a massive foreign-aid program. Most importantly, the notion of a “peacetime Constitution” was lost, and the prevailing ideology moved toward the acceptance of a large role for government in the economy.

Crisis and Leviathan: Retrospect and Prospect

Three decades of crisis after crisis left the free-market system constrained and corrupted almost beyond recognition. They also established a pattern, repeated during subsequent so-called “crises,” including the “urban crisis,” the “environmental crisis,” the “consumerist crisis,” and the sundry “crises” associated with the decades-long emergency known as the Cold War. Each episode reinforced shifts in public beliefs and attitudes about the proper role of government.

What to make of this? The economist Joseph Schumpeter predicted that the free-market system would degenerate into socialism. Despite his powers of observation, he overlooked the eagerness and ability of Big Business to secure government subsidies and barriers to competition. He also overlooked the significance of a governmental class whose material and ideological interests diverged from those ascribed to the bourgeoisie and the working classes. A climate of ongoing national emergencies helped transform the U.S. political economy into an example, not of socialism, as Schumpeter had predicted, but of a type of collectivism that maintains the pretense of private property rights: call it participatory fascism.

The prospect of reversing course is not encouraging, but neither is the continued growth of Leviathan foreordained, Higgs concludes.

“If ideologies are not mere superstructure,” he writes, “if ideas can gain sway through rational consideration in the light of historical evidence and moral persuasion, then there remains a hope, however slight, that the American people may rediscover the worth of individual rights, limited government, and a free society under a true rule of law.”

Praise

Praise

Crisis and Leviathan is a book of major importance, thoroughly researched, closely argued, and meticulously documented. It should be high on the reading list of every serious student of the American political system.”
Political Science Quarterly

Crisis and Leviathan is an important, powerful, and profoundly disturbing book.”
James M. Buchanan, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, Journal of Economic History

“... Higgs refuses to treat political, cultural, or ideological aspects of historical reality as irrelevant to the study of economic development.”
Reviews in American History

Crisis and Leviathan is a thoughtful and challenging work.”
Harper’s Magazine

“By focusing on certain critical episodes in American history, Robert Higgs has documented the remarkable and alarming growth of Big Government. His ambitious work covers the subject in great detail and in a way that will appeal to both scholars and a more general audience. . . . The conclusion of Higgs’s analysis is a thoughtful but disturbing view of American prospects. Whether traditional constitutional restraints or the unique operation of a mixed economy can avert what he and others fear as a march into socialism or fascism no one knows. As we consider the future, Higgs offers enlightenment if not optimism.”
Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr., Professor of History, State University of New York, Albany

“How big government gets that way: It takes over new turf in time of crisis, then hangs on to much of it after the crisis is over.”
Fortune

“In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, everyone should read Robert Higgs's economic classic Crisis and Leviathan. The critical warning of this masterpiece is that government always uses a crisis—from the Civil War, to the Great Depression, to World War II—to expand power, not just during the emergency, but afterward as well. Emergencies tend to ratchet up the cost and power of government permanently. That expansion of government authority is especially unwise now given that when this coronavirus fiasco is finally over, it may go down in history as one of the great government screw-ups in American history. That’s saying a lot.”
Stephen J. Moore, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Project for Economic Growth, Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity, Heritage Foundation

“Robert Higgs is a first-rate economist and economic historian who sets out a provocative thesis—namely, that governments exploit crises (real and fabricated) as excuses to grow and to strip people of their wealth and liberties. “
Donald J. Boudreaux, Professor of Economics, George Mason University

“A superb history. . . . I can think of no more important reading than Crisis and Leviathan, aside from the Constitution itself.”
The American Spectator

“One well-established thesis of modern political science and economic history is that government not only grows bigger in periods of crisis, particularly during wars and economic upheavals, but that any later reversals never reset the dials back to the same level as before. The book Crisis and Leviathan, by Robert Higgs, provides an extensive historical review and analysis behind this paradigm for the so-called ‘ratchet effect’ behind ever-increasing government power that lives long beyond the periodic crises that help fuel it. The balance between America’s civil society, market economy, and federalist system on the one hand and its more centralized, bureaucratized welfare/warfare state on the other hand has been dramatically altered by political upheavals throughout history—including the Civil War, both world wars, and both the Great Depression and Great Recession.”
Thomas P. Miller, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

“Economist Robert Higgs has presented the theory of a ‘ratchet effect’ to explain the power and scope of government during times of crisis. Higgs shows that crisis situations afford the state the opportunity to stretch its power into areas of life that were before beyond its reach. The lesson from his work is clear.”
The Hill

“The most masterful and persuasive treatment of the role of war in making big government bigger and liberty less secure is Robert Higgs’s book, Crisis and Leviathan. ”
Orange County Register

Crisis and Leviathan is a blockbuster of a book, one of the most important of the last decade. It is that rare and wondrous combination: scholarly and hard-hitting, lucidly written and libertarian as well. “
Murray N. Rothbard, late S.J. Hall Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

“Insightful, compelling, and clear, Higgs breaks new ground in explicating the most important socio-political trend of our time—the growth of American government.”
The Freeman

“That big government grew from crises is not a new idea, but just how that happened is an astounding story, and the superb account that Higgs gives of that process may come as something of a shock to his readers.”
Jonathan R. T. Hughes, late Professor of Economics, Northwestern University

“His thesis can be simply stated. Crises such as depressions and wars produce calls for the expansion of government. The increase in the public sector that occurs is more fundamental than the budgetary growth required to deal with the crisis. The essence of Big Government ‘is a wide scope of effective authority over economic decision-making. Authority comes first: no authority, then no taxing, spending, or employment.’ Once the crisis has passed, government shrinks back, but the new trend line of government growth is above the old. In short, a ratchet operates. . . . a common feature of most crises is the government’s wish to impose large exactions on citizens without the citizens perceiving all the costs. One way to do this is through a command economy using such devices as a military draft, price controls, and direct regulatory orders. Given the democratic nature of our government, such policies can only be successful if people are convinced that they are a patriotic necessity required to overcome the crisis. Higgs notes with sadness that success of such ideological campaigns and their capacity to influence attitudes toward government after the crisis has passed. For him, the ideal government is one which cannot hide the true opportunity costs of its policies, with the result, so Higgs believes, that government would not be able to become Big Government. Higgs is thus not a standard conservative thinker pushing for a large military budget and arguing against domestic, social welfare spending. Instead, he saves some of his scathing rhetoric for the military-industrial complex and the draft. . . it is refreshing to read a book with such an idiosyncratic perspective—a perspective that views Calvin Coolidge as the hero of the twentieth century simply because there is very little anyone can say about him. . . Higgs is at his best in illustrating how the rhetoric of war is used during peacetime emergencies such as the Depression to drum up enthusiasms for public policies."
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

“Historically, government spending increases substantially in reaction to a serious national crisis and thereafter never falls back to pre-crisis levels, even once the instigating circumstances have passed. This ratchet effect, described with prescient clarity by Robert Higgs in his masterful book Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government, is well established. Government spending, measured as a percentage of GDP, increased dramatically during the Great Depression and World War II, and thereafter never dropped back to pre-war, let alone pre-Depression figures. Similarly, federal spending has never retreated to pre-Sept. 11 levels, nor has it dipped below 20% of GDP since the 2008 financial crisis. Given the current figures being churned out by Washington, that is an ominous realization.”
Washington Examiner

“Everyone should read Robert Higgs’ economic classic Crisis and Leviathan. The critical warning is that government always uses a crisis—from the Civil War to the Great Depression to World War II—to expand power, not only during the emergency but also afterward.”
Boston Herald

Crisis and Leviathan is a blockbuster of a book, one of the most important of the last decade. It is that wondrous and rare combination: scholarly and hard-hitting, lucid and libertarian as well.”
Liberty

Awards

Awards

EconLib.org

  • One of The Five Best Introductory Books on Public Choice

News

Media Inquiries
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News
“Biden’s ‘climate crisis’ rhetoric isn’t supported by data” Senior Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan mentioned in the Washington Examiner Wed., Mar. 13, 2024
“Biden Claims ‘Wartime Power’ to Subsidize Electric Heat Pumps & Kill Gas Furnaces” Senior Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan mentioned on MRCTV Mon., Nov. 20, 2023
“The Great Medicaid Unwinding” Senior Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Reason and Yahoo News Fri., Nov. 17, 2023
“The Problem with Joe Manchin’s Centrism” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Mises.org Wed., Nov. 15, 2023
“Warm-Mongers vs. Classical Liberals” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in American Institute for Economic Research Thu., Sep. 14, 2023
“Beyond Crisis: The Ratchet Effect and the Erosion of Liberty” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Mises.org Fri., Aug. 18, 2023
“Foreign Policy Matters” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan quoted in AntiWar.com Thu., Jun. 29, 2023
“Hayek, Friedman, Mises, and Rothbard on the Political Economy of Free Speech” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on LewRockwell.com Mon., Mar. 27, 2023
“Government Grows on Crisis” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in National Review Thu., Mar. 23, 2023
“Will Federal Spending Be Brought Under Control?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Heartland Daily News Fri., Feb. 10, 2023
“I Truly Miss the Clarity of the Great Robert Higgs: A Real Man of Freedom” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on LewRockwell.com Sat., Jan. 21, 2023
“End the COVID National Emergency Now” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Op-Ed by Sen. Rand Paul in the Washington Examiner Thu., Nov. 17, 2022
“The Last President Worth Voting For?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Law & Liberty Mon., Nov. 14, 2022
“It Looks Like Putin Cannot Lose” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Library of Economics and Liberty (Econlib) Fri., Sep. 16, 2022
“Freedom’s landscape eroding” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Republican Herald and the Gettysburg Times Fri., Jul. 1, 2022
“Something for Nothing” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Cafe Hayek Tue., Jun. 21, 2022
“The Federal Government’s Own Study Concluded Its Ban on ‘Assault Weapons’ Didn’t Reduce Gun Violence” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on FEE.org Tue., Jun. 7, 2022
“Freedom Is a Victim of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Reason.com Fri., Apr. 22, 2022
“Why the Feds Are Clinging to Their Mask Mandate” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on FEE.org Thu., Apr. 21, 2022
“Suffering from Apocalypse Fatigue? Here’s How to Fight It” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan mentioned on Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) Thu., Mar. 31, 2022
“Evaluating Pandemic Deregulation” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan mentioned in Yellowhammer News Fri., Mar. 11, 2022
“Limitation of Individual and Entrepreneurial Freedom” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Austrian Economics Center Mon., Feb. 21, 2022
“Covid-19’s Ratchet Effect is Becoming Endemic” Research Fellow and Director of FDAReview.org Raymond March Op-Ed in American Institute for Economic Research and cites Crisis and Leviathan by Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs Mon., Feb. 7, 2022
“Will the COVID Pandemic Cause a Big Government ‘Ratchet Effect’?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in American Thinker Mon., Jan. 10, 2022
“‘Authoritarianism’ May Be Necessary to Fight Climate Change, Cambridge Study Argues” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Tennessee Star,The Minnesota Sun, The Michigan Star and The Ohio Star Mon., Jan. 10, 2022
“‘Authoritarianism’ May Be Necessary to Fight Climate Change, Cambridge Study Argues” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on FEE.org Wed., Jan. 5, 2022
“Why Libertarians Should Prioritize the Bitcoin Strategy Above All Others” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Bitcoin Magazine Wed., Dec. 1, 2021
“The Economist on the growth of government” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Library of Economics and Liberty (Econlib) Sat., Nov. 27, 2021
“The REAL ID Means a Real Leviathan” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Mises.org Mon., Nov. 22, 2021
Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Cafe Hayek Tue., Oct. 26, 2021
“Americans Now Prefer Smaller Government, but May Not Get It” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Reason Mon., Oct. 25, 2021
“COVID-19: The Weaponization of Fear & the Loss of Freedom” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Washington Standard Sun., Oct. 24, 2021
“What Jack Dorsey Should Realize about Twitter from Reading Rothbard” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on The Foundation for Economic Education FEE.org Wed., Oct. 20, 2021
“An End to Tax Withholding” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in American Thinker Tue., Oct. 19, 2021
“COVID-19: The Weaponization of Fear and the Loss of Freedom” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Epoch Times (subscription required) Sun., Oct. 10, 2021
“The Myth That Hurricanes Are Getting Worse (Because of Climate Change)” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Stream Mon., Sep. 20, 2021
“How Nixon and FDR Used ‘Crises’ to Destroy the Dollar’s Links to Gold” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Mises.org Mon., Aug. 16, 2021
“Has the pandemic put property rights in the crosshairs?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Hill and MSN News Sat., Aug. 7, 2021
“Mask Mandate Reinstated in San Francisco—as Daily COVID Deaths Hit Zero” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on FEE.org Wed., Aug. 4, 2021
“A Balanced Budget in Canada? Not for the Next 50 Years” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Liberty Nation Sat., Jul. 31, 2021
“On the Dangers of Big COVID” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Quillette Sat., Jul. 3, 2021
“Learning about Liberty and Its Loss” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) Sun., Jun. 27, 2021
“Tocqueville and Us” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Quillette Mon., Jun. 21, 2021
“Biden’s Budget Shows the Big-Spending State Is Here to Stay” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Quartz and Tribune News Service Sun., May. 30, 2021
“Restricting the Unvaccinated Sets a Dangerous Precedent” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Hill Thu., May. 6, 2021
“Is This Our 1914 Moment?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in American Institute for Economic Research Wed., May. 5, 2021
Economics in One Lesson Is Still the Best Layman’s Intro to Economics” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Mises Wire Thu., Mar. 4, 2021
“In case of emergency” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Yellow Hammer News Mon., Feb. 15, 2021
“In Case of Emergency” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Alabama Today Thu., Feb. 11, 2021
“The Torture of Lockdown” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Conservative Woman Thu., Feb. 4, 2021
“Tulsi Gabbard Slays the Swamp with a Sword of Truth” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Liberty Nation Mon., Feb. 1, 2021
“Robert Higgs: A Birthday Appreciation” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited by Research Fellow Art Carden Op-Ed on American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) Mon., Feb. 1, 2021
“No More Wartime Presidents” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in American Institute for Economic Research Fri., Jan. 29, 2021
“The government-control virus, unlike the coronavirus, is nearly impossible to fully recover from” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in the Financial Post and MSN Money Canada Thu., Jan. 21, 2021
“3 Glaring Problems with Joe Biden’s New Multi-Trillion COVID Package” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on FEE.org Fri., Jan. 15, 2021
“How Political Moralism Leads to Despotism” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan mentioned in Townhall Fri., Jan. 1, 2021
“Tulsi Gabbard and Thomas Massie Take a Stand for the Fourth Amendment” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on FEE.org Thu., Dec. 17, 2020
“The Rescue from Madness” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) Tue., Dec. 15, 2020
“Sri Lanka to change privatization agreement of firms that do not raise salaries” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan quoted in Economy Next Wed., Nov. 18, 2020
“California will cease to be the epicenter of the tech industry and innovation” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan mentioned in The Orange County Register Wed., Nov. 18, 2020
“Lockdowners and ‘the Desire to Dominate’” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Mises Wire Tue., Nov. 3, 2020
“The ‘Rona Squeeze and a Swedish Hip-Hopper” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) Tue., Nov. 3, 2020
“Will Things Ever Go Back to Normal?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in American Institute for Economic Research, Zerohedge and other websites Mon., Oct. 19, 2020
“The President Has an ‘Internet Kill Switch.’ A Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Wants to Change That” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Foundation for Economic Education (FEE.org) Tue., Sep. 29, 2020
“Governments Will Impose New Lockdowns If They Think They Can Get Away with It” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Mises Wire Thu., Sep. 17, 2020
“The COVID trap: will society ever open up again?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Spectator Tue., Sep. 8, 2020
“Big Spending Is a Big Mistake for Canada. Social engineering does zilch to boost the economy” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Epoch Times (subscription required) Tue., Sep. 8, 2020
“Reflections on the Response to Hurricane Katrina After Fifteen Years” Research Fellow Art Carden Op-Ed in Forbes mentions Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan Sat., Aug. 29, 2020
“A Pandemic of Socialism” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in American Thinker Mon., Aug. 24, 2020
“Can we reclaim our freedom?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Alabama Todayand Yellow Hammer News Thu., Aug. 20, 2020
Crisis and Leviathan by Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs featured on Liberty Explained Tue., Aug. 11, 2020
“Contact Tracing Apps: Do People Trust Their Government?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in the Libertas Institute Thu., Jul. 16, 2020
“WE Charity Affair Reveals Ottawa Has Fingers in Too Many Pies” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Epoch Times Wed., Jul. 15, 2020
“Has the U.S. Government Finally Spent Too Much?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Reason Thu., Jul. 9, 2020
“Why should government mandate what we can do ourselves?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Joplin Globe Wed., Jul. 8, 2020
“Government Should Not Force People to Wear Masks. We Should Do It Voluntarily” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Federalist Tue., Jul. 7, 2020
“Can We Talk about Something Else Now?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on American Institute for Economic Research Fri., Jun. 12, 2020
“Will governments use pandemic emergency orders to expand their powers indefinitely?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Washington Post Mon., Jun. 1, 2020
“To Bounce Back from the Coronavirus, America Must Continue to Deregulate” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The National Interest Thu., May. 28, 2020
“Pandemic and Leviathan” Sr. Fellow Robert Whaples appears on American Medicine Today Wed., May. 27, 2020
“The Crisis Hypothesis Explains Today’s Big Government” Sr. Fellow Robert Whaples appears on the Freedom Adventure podcast to discuss Crisis and Leviathan by Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs Mon., May. 25, 2020
“The Politics of Fear: For economist Robert Higgs, Covid-19 is just the latest emergency justifying expanded government power.” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in City Journal Wed., May. 20, 2020
“Can Trump stop a new era of big government?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in the Washington Examiner Tue., May. 5, 2020
Crisis and Leviathan in Light of the COVID-19 Crisis” Sr. Fellow Robert Whaples speaks at Mackinac Center event about Crisis and Leviathan by Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs Mon., May. 4, 2020
“Liberty in the Wake of Coronavirus” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Library of Economics and Liberty Mon., May. 4, 2020
“Past Crises Have Ratcheted Up Leviathan. The COVID-19 Pandemic Will Too.” retired Senior Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan, and Research Fellow Donald Boudreaux op-ed at Reason.com Fri., May. 1, 2020
“How Shutdowns Will Keep Killing the Economy, Even When They’re Over” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Wall Street Window Thu., Apr. 30, 2020
“This Crisis Will Not Bring Americans Together and Maybe That Is a Good Thing” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Mises.org Thu., Apr. 30, 2020
Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Cafe Hayek Wed., Apr. 29, 2020
“Thanks to Coronavirus Lockdowns, GDP to Shrink, While Unemployment, Deficits Grow: CBO” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The New American Tue., Apr. 28, 2020
“Corona Crisis and Leviathan” Sr. Vice President Mary L. G. Theroux and Executive Director Graham H. Walker discuss growth of government on ThinkSpot.com Fri., Apr. 24, 2020
“The Long-Term Costs to Save the Economy” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Austrian Center Thu., Apr. 23, 2020
“How Much Will Government Expand in Response to COVID-19?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Insurance News Net Mon., Apr. 20, 2020
“How much will government expand in response to COVID-19?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on American Enterprise Institute Mon., Apr. 20, 2020
“Beware Those Who Insist Everything Must Change Following a Crisis” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Hot Air Fri., Apr. 17, 2020
“The Coronavirus Will Be Leviathan’s Enabler” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in National Review Fri., Apr. 17, 2020
“Confronting the Leviathan of the COVID-19 Crisis” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Foundation for Economic Education (FEE.org) Thu., Apr. 16, 2020
“November 2020: The Reichstag Fire Election” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on The Stream Thu., Apr. 16, 2020
“An Accidental New New Deal?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on TheDispatch.com Wed., Apr. 15, 2020
“How one pandemic leads to another” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in the Pan Am Post Mon., Apr. 13, 2020
“The Surveillance State Thrives During the Pandemic” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Reason Magazine Fri., Apr. 10, 2020
“Disasters and Innovative Solutions: The ICI Fund” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Times of Israel Fri., Apr. 10, 2020
“Coronavirus must not rob us of our liberties forever” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Spectator Thu., Apr. 9, 2020
“How one pandemic leads to another” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on CapX and Cato.org Wed., Apr. 8, 2020
“Civil liberties under attack during COVID-19” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Hill Wed., Apr. 8, 2020
“Henry McMaster Is Making the Right Call on ‘Stay-At-Home’ Issue” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on FitsNews.com Mon., Apr. 6, 2020
“The Morbidity of ‘Stimulus’” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in the News and Tribune (IN) Fri., Apr. 3, 2020
“Coercion and the Coronavirus” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in National Review Thu., Apr. 2, 2020
Crisis and Leviathan: How Governments Use Crises to Grow.” Sr. Vice President Mary L. G. Theroux interviewed on Periscope TV by John Dennis Thu., Apr. 2, 2020
“Reflecting on Crisis and Leviathan in the age of the pandemic” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on American Thinker and LewRockwell.com Wed., Apr. 1, 2020
“Will Pandemic Fears Grease the Way for Authoritarian Gun Controls?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Reason Magazine Wed., Apr. 1, 2020
“Federal mismanagement left U.S. unprepared for coronavirus” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in the Boston Herald Tue., Mar. 31, 2020
“Federalism and the Coronavirus Crisis” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Reason Magazine Tue., Mar. 31, 2020
“Leviathan and Crises” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on American Institute for Economic Research and Cafe Hayek and WallStreetWindow.com Mon., Mar. 30, 2020
Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Cafe Hayek Sun., Mar. 29, 2020
“Learn It, Live It, Love It: The Personal Responsibility Edition” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on America’s Future Foundation Fri., Mar. 27, 2020
“With Coronavirus Comes the Hobbesian Leviathan” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on The American Conservative andOltre La Linea (Italy) Wed., Mar. 25, 2020
“The State Has Seized Many New Powers. It Won’t Let Go of Them Easily.” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Mises.org Wed., Mar. 25, 2020
“What If We’re Headed for a Global Depression?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on HoweStreet.com Tue., Mar. 24, 2020
“Paul Ebeling on Wall Street, the Financial World vs the Coronavirus” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on LiveTradingNews.com Mon., Mar. 23, 2020
“This is No Time to Panic” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on LiveTradingNews.com Mon., Mar. 23, 2020
“The ‘Bootleggers and Baptists’ of the Coronavirus Crisis” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Mises.org and Heartland.org Fri., Mar. 20, 2020
“Five Trillion Dollars Down the Drain” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in the Washington Examiner, Creators Syndicate, Rasmussen Reports, Massachusetts Live, Biz Pac Review, Conservative News Today, Epoch Times, WorldTribune.com and The Oklahoman Fri., Mar. 20, 2020
“How Much Privacy Are You Entitled to During a Pandemic?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan on RStreet.org Fri., Mar. 20, 2020
“Book Recommendations from Prufrock Readers During the COVID-19” Crisis and Leviathan by Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs cited in The American Conservative Wed., Mar. 18, 2020
“Debating the Best Economic Policy Response to Coronavirus” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on International Liberty and RealClearMarkets Tue., Mar. 17, 2020
“Ready, Set, Go! Five Great First Books on Public Choice” Crisis and Leviathan by Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs cited on The Library of Economics and Liberty Tue., Mar. 17, 2020
“Coronavirus and Leviathan: Is Gov. Newsom Exploiting a Crisis to Expand State Government Power?” Policy Fellow Lloyd Billingsley Op-Ed in the California Globe cites Crisis and Leviathan by Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs Mon., Mar. 16, 2020
“Coronavirus Is the Health of the State” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Reason Magazine Mon., Mar. 16, 2020
“Liberty in the Time of Coronavirus” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on The Competitive Enterprise Institute cei.org Mon., Mar. 16, 2020
“Coronavirus Nightmares” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on The Library of Economics and Liberty Fri., Mar. 13, 2020
“Politicians Declare Eviction Moratoriums to Combat Coronavirus. Will They Give Up That Power After the Virus Fades?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Reason Magazine Fri., Mar. 13, 2020
“Coronavirus Will Be Deadly to Your Liberty” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on Reason.com Thu., Mar. 5, 2020
Crisis and Leviathan by Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs cited on EconomicRockstar.com Sat., Apr. 14, 2018
“Americans Should Learn From History Before Calling for Regime Change in Iran” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on GlennBeck.com Thu., Jan. 18, 2018
“Has Government Become Too Big?” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Crisis Magazine Thu., Nov. 9, 2017
“Regime Uncertainty Continues to Hold Down Loan Growth and the Economy” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan and Depression, War, and Cold War cited in Forbes Fri., Oct. 27, 2017
“An Outrageous Proposal—Or not” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in GoldSeek.com Wed., Oct. 25, 2017
“Federal Spending Never Forgets a Crisis” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in Indianapolis Business Journal Sat., Jun. 3, 2017
“Trump Can Stop the Big Government ‘Ratchet Effect’” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited in The Hill Tue., Jan. 31, 2017
“Trump Can Stop the Big Government ‘Ratchet Effect’” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan cited on The Hill Thu., Jan. 19, 2017
“The Research Program of Robert Higgs, Part 2” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan interviewed on Medium.com Tue., Jan. 3, 2017
“The Research Program of Robert Higgs” Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan interviewed on Medium.com Wed., Dec. 28, 2016
Crisis and Leviathan by Sr. Fellow Robert Higgs is cited on Cafe Hayek Mon., Jul. 18, 2016
“Not Every Intellectual Gunman Is A Hired Gun,” by Senior Fellow Robert Higgs in the Albany Times Sun., Dec. 30, 2012
“Freedom: Because It Works Or Because It’s Right?”, by Senior Fellow Robert Higgs in the Albany Times Fri., Dec. 28, 2012
“2012: The Year in Books, Reason writers pick the best books of the year” Senior Fellow Robert Higgs’ Crisis and Leviathan, 25th Anniversary Edition recommended by Judge Andrew Napolitano Wed., Dec. 19, 2012
“Romanticizing Taxation: The irresistible temptation to spend other people’s money” Senior Fellow Robert Higgs author of Crisis and Leviathan quoted on Reason.com Mon., Dec. 10, 2012
Crisis and Leviathan by Senior Fellow Robert Higgs recommended at PowerLine Thu., Nov. 22, 2012
Crisis and Leviathan referenced on LewRockwell.com review of TV’s History Channel docudrama The Men Who Built America Thu., Nov. 15, 2012
“Disasters Like Sandy Create Bigger, Not Better, Government” Senior Fellow Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan is mentioned in Bloomberg News article Thu., Nov. 1, 2012

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