Robert Higgs is een Amerikaanse economisch historicus en econoom die materiaal uit de Public Choice, de Nieuwe Institutionele Economie en de Oostenrijkse school combineert. Zijn geschriften over economie en economische geschiedenis hebben zich het vaakst gericht op de oorzaken, middelen en gevolgen van overheidsmacht en -groei. Higgs analyseert hoe staatsinterventie de economische en maatschappelijke ontwikkeling vormgeeft. Zijn perspectief komt voort uit een libertair-anarchistische houding in de politieke en juridische theorie en het overheidsbeleid.
Distils complex economic and political issues for the layperson. Combining an economist's analytical scrutiny with an historian's respect for empirical evidence, the book attacks the data on which governments base their economic management and their responses to an ongoing stream of crises. číst celé
The history of the United States, from the 19th century to present day, is included in this examination of the very foundations of unwarranted government intrusiveness that illuminates the two essential elements that have led to the expansion of the state’s authority—the ideology that the government should serve as a savior whenever people face threats to their well-being and the public fear that follows the perception of a large-scale threat to peace or prosperity. When these two factors operate simultaneously, people demand that the government take protective measures on their behalf. Hence, in an outburst of opportunism, the growth of government accelerates during the crisis, at the expense of liberty. Dr. Higgs’s conclusion is undeniable: placing confidence in the government to function as savior or problem solver does not lead to the peace, prosperity, and safety that people crave. On the contrary, that misplaced confidence ultimately leads to tyranny and diminished security—in Benjamin Franklin’s words, “Neither liberty nor safety.”
Profesor Higgs patří mezi největší světové znalce problematiky nárůstu moci státu. Jeho schopnost kombinovat poznatky ekonomie a znalost dějin je famózní. Proto jsou i jeho argumenty tak přesvědčivé. Kniha vysvětlí, proč na celém světě dochází k neustálému nárůstu moci státu, a objasní, jak klíčové okamžiky dějin (války a krize) vytvářejí prostor pro "válečné" řízení i v době míru.