The Journal of Libertarian Studies

Home | Mises Library | George Stigler and the Myth of Efficient Government

George Stigler and the Myth of Efficient Government

The Journal of Libertarian Studies

Tags Big GovernmentFiscal TheoryPolitical Theory

07/30/2014Thomas J. DiLorenzo

This article argues that while there are a few transparent similarities between politics and markets, the fundamental differences between them render the Stigler-Wittman view that politics is “just another market,” and therefore always “efficient,” dubious at best. Markets are not perfect in any neoclassical sense (nor is anything else on earth, for that matter), and neither is democracy. The Stigler-Wittman view is based on a false view of how both markets and governments operate and also suffers from being ahistorical.

Volume 16, Number 4 (2002)

Author:

Contact Thomas J. DiLorenzo

Thomas DiLorenzo is a former professor of economics at Loyola University Maryland and a member of the senior faculty of the Mises Institute. He is the author of The Real Lincoln; How Capitalism Saved America; Lincoln Unmasked; Hamilton's Curse; Organized Crime: The Unvarnished Truth About Government; and The Problem with Socialism.

Cite This Article

DiLorenzo, Thomas J. "George Stigler and the Myth of Efficient Government." Journal of Libertarian Studies 16, No. 4 (2002): 55–73.