Book Cover
E-book
Author Higgs, Robert

Title Neither liberty nor safety : fear, ideology, and the growth of government / Robert Higgs
Published Oakland, CA : Independent Institute, ©2007

Copies

Description 1 online resource (xvii, 202 pages)
Contents Introduction -- Fear : the foundation of every government's power -- Eighteen problematic propositions in the analysis of the growth of government -- The complex course of ideological change -- Crisis and leviathan : review and response -- What got us into and out of the great depression? -- The United States won the world wars, but Americans lost -- Government and the economy in the United States since World War II -- The ongoing growth of government in the economically advanced countries -- About the author -- Index
Summary 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 authoritythe 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 securityin Benjamin Franklin's words, Neither liberty nor safety
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL
Print version record
digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL
Subject Political science.
Ideology.
Fear.
ideology.
fear.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Political Ideologies -- General.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- American Government -- General.
Fear
Ideology
Political science
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2007001637
ISBN 9781598130997
1598130994
9781598130980
1598130986
9781431405060
143140506X