1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910462956803321

Autore

Higgs Robert

Titolo

Crisis and Leviathan [[electronic resource] ] : critical episodes in the growth of American government / / Robert Higgs ; with a new preface by the author ; foreword by Arthur A. Ekirch

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Oakland, Calif., : Independent Institute, 2012

ISBN

1-59813-113-3

Edizione

[25th anniversary ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (386 p.)

Collana

Independent studies in political economy Crisis and leviathan

Disciplina

320.973

Soggetti

Administrative agencies - United States - History

Bureaucracy - United States - History

Welfare state - United States - History

Ideology - United States - History

Electronic books.

United States Politics and government 19th century

United States Politics and government 20th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Part I. Framework; 1. The Sources of Big Government: A Critical Survey of Hypotheses; Explanations of the Growth of Government; Modernization; Public Goods; The Welfare State; Political Redistribution; Ideology; Crisis; Conclusions; 2. How much has Government Grown?: Conventional Measures and an Alternative View; Conventional Measures of the Growth of Government; The Essence of Big Government: An Alternative View; Ratchets: Conventional Measures versus Fundamentals; Conclusions; 3. On Ideology as an Analytical Concept in the Study of Political Economy; What is Ideology?

Ideology and Political Action Ideology in Analysis; Ideology and Rhetoric; Ideology: Exogenous or Endogenous?; Conclusions; 4. Crisis, Bigger Government, and Ideological Change: Toward an Understanding of the Ratchet; A Schematic View of the Problem; Why Stage II?: A Cost-Concealment Hypothesis; Why Stage IV?: A (Partial) Hypothesis on Ideological Change; Recapitulation: Why the Ratchet?; The Task Ahead; Part II. History; 5. Crisis under the Old Regime, 1893-1896; Creative



Destruction Ideologically Sustained, 1865-1893; Depression and Social Unrest, 1893-1896; Saving the Gold Standard

Maintaining Law and Order in the Labor Market Striking Down the Income Tax; Conclusions; 6. The Progressive Era: A Bridge to Modern Times; Economic Development and Political Change, 1898-1916; The Ideological Winds Shift; End and Beginning: The Railroad Labor Troubles, 1916-1917; Conclusions; 7. The Political Economy of War, 1916-1918; Neutral Prosperity and the Shipping Crisis; The Preparedness Controversy and New Governmental Powers; War and Conscription; Manipulating the Market Economy: The Major Agencies; Labor Problems and the Railroad Takeover; Supreme Court Rulings on War Measures

Legacies, Institutional and Ideological Conclusions; 8. The Great Depression: ""An Emergency More Serious Than War""; Economic Rise and fall, 1922-1933; What did Hoover Do?; Interregnum of Despair; Emergency, Emergency!; Planting the First New Deal: The Hundred Days; Cultivating and Pruning the First New Deal: The Supreme Court; Legacies, Institutional and Ideological; Conclusions; 9. The Political Economy of War, 1940-1945; De Jure Neutrality, De Facto Belligerency, 1939-1941; More Powers and Price Controls; The Armed Forces and the Economy; Work or Fight; The Supreme Court also Goes to War

Legacies, Institutional and Ideological Conclusions; 10. Crisis and Leviathan: From World War II to the 1980's; The Mixed Economy: March into Socialism or Fascism?; Crisis and Leviathan: The Recent Episodes; Conclusions; 11. Retrospect and Prospect; Retrospect; Prospect; Appendix to Chapter 2; Appendix to Chapter 9; Notes; Select Bibliography; Index; Back Cover

Sommario/riassunto

Discussing how government has continually grown in size and scope during the past century, this account demonstrates that the main reason lies in government's responses to national "crises" (real or imagined), including economic upheavals and, especially, war. The result, this book argues, is the ever-increasing government power, which endures long after each crisis has passed, impinging on both civil and economic liberties and fostering extensive corporate welfare. Offering ideological explanations for the ascension of the role of government...