Against Leviathan - by Robert Higgs (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

What is fundamentally wrong with government today? In Against Leviathan, economist and historian Robert Higgs, offers an unflinching critical analysis of government power.

Against Leviathan combines an economist's analytical scrutiny, an historian's respect for the facts, and a refusal to accept the standard excuses and cruelties of government officialdom. Topics include Social Security, the paternalism of the FDA, the "War on Drugs," the nature of political leadership, civil liberties, the conduct of the national surveillance state, and governmental responses to a continuing stream of "crises," including domestic economic busts and foreign wars both hot and cold. Against Leviathan is a thorough and penetrating critique, and a significant contribution in this current time of crisis and unchecked expansion of government power.

Review Quotes

"I wish liberals and even radicals felt and wrote as strongly about the Iron Heel of government power..."--Alexander Cockburn, columnist, The Nation

"One of the best books on economic policy in [recent] years...Higgs s case against government oppression is tight and persuasive."--David Henderson, Professor of Economics, Naval Postgraduate School

"Robert Higgs is a gutsy, passionate, and learned defender of liberty. America the real country, not the rotten empire needs him."--Bill Kauffman, Associate Editor, American Enterprise

"This hard-hitting book exposes the multitude of ways the growth of the welfare-warfare state threatens our freedom and prosperity."--Congressman Ron Paul

"This is a book that should be read by anyone concerned with American freedoms in the 21st century."--Thomas Gale Moore, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution

About the Author

Robert Higgs is Retired Senior Fellow in Political Economy, Founding Editor and former Editor at Large of the Independent Institute's quarterly journal The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University, and he has taught at the University of Washington, Lafayette College, Seattle University, the University of Economics, Prague, and George Mason University. He has been a visiting scholar at Oxford University and Stanford University, and a fellow for the Hoover Institution and the National Science Foundation. His many books include Crisis and Leviathan; Depression, War, and Cold War; After Leviathan; Delusions of Power; Neither Liberty Nor Safety; Resurgence of the Warfare State; Taking a Stand; and multiple edited collections.