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This seminal treatise in the history of ideas demonstrates what has come to be known as the Higgs thesis: that government grows in periods of crisis, for example, war and depression. He demonstrates this with a detailed look at twentieth century economic history.
Higgs's thesis is so compelling that it has become the dominant paradigm for understanding the so-called ratchet effect: government grows during crisis and then retrenches afterwards, but not to the same level as before.
This book is absolutely essential for anyone who seeks to understand the dynamics of government growth and the loss of liberty. The contents of this volume include:
- Part I. Framework
- 1. The Sources of Big Government: A Critical Survey of Hypotheses
- 2. How Much Has the 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
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