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.
![](https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_650w/s3/static-page/img/crisis_and_leviathan_higgs.jpg.webp?itok=rXaBf2kJ 650w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_870w/s3/static-page/img/crisis_and_leviathan_higgs.jpg.webp?itok=E6S_x36C 870w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1090w/s3/static-page/img/crisis_and_leviathan_higgs.jpg.webp?itok=bMMxLUVd 1090w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1310w/s3/static-page/img/crisis_and_leviathan_higgs.jpg.webp?itok=4oSXjxrn 1310w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1530w/s3/static-page/img/crisis_and_leviathan_higgs.jpg.webp?itok=Rq1kfPvg 1530w)
![Robert Higgs](https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_650w/s3/static-page/img/Higgs_0.jpg.webp?itok=a7ya1xX6 650w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_870w/s3/static-page/img/Higgs_0.jpg.webp?itok=qzjv6476 870w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1090w/s3/static-page/img/Higgs_0.jpg.webp?itok=bVx_fnBM 1090w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1310w/s3/static-page/img/Higgs_0.jpg.webp?itok=GGH-R0Gk 1310w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_6_9_1530w/s3/static-page/img/Higgs_0.jpg.webp?itok=5VtMV9a7 1530w)
Dr. Robert Higgs is retired and lives in Mexico. He was a senior fellow in political economy for the Independent Institute and longtime editor of The Independent Review; he was also a senior fellow of the Mises Institute. He is the 2007 recipient of the Gary G. Schlarbaum Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Cause of Liberty, and the 2015 Murray N. Rothbard Medal of Freedom.