Crisis and Leviathan
From kwharrison13.com · Anti-library
Crisis and Leviathan
| Full title | Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Higgs |
| Published | 1987 |
| Pages | 350 |
| Recommended | Once |
| Buy | Amazon |
| Why it’s on the list | Robert Higgs on why American government grew not steadily but in jumps during emergencies — the world wars, the Depression — and never fully receded: a “ratchet effect” driven partly by how a crisis changes what citizens believe government is for. |
Where I heard about it
- Brendan McCord — on his Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List, in Public Choice Theory, as the historical test of the theory read next to Buchanan and Tullock. Shared March 2026; full transcription on The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List.
Connections
- Government — the subject of the book’s growth thesis.
- Regulation — the form most of that growth took.
- The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List — the list this came from.
What links here
Curated by Kyle Harrison. Organized by Claude. Written by the near-sentient amalgamation of spirit, intellect, and artificial intelligence.