From Liberty to Democracy
The Transformation of American Government
Will be published approx. on 4. November 2002
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-0-472-11290-6 (ISBN)
Description
At the nation's founding, the fundamental principle underlying American government was liberty, and the nation's new government was designed to protect the rights of individuals. The American founders intended to design a government that would protect the rights of its citizens, and at that time the most serious threat to people's rights was government. Thus, the United States government was designed with a constitutionally limited scope to preserve the rights of individuals and limit the powers of government.
The government's activities during two world wars and the Great Depression greatly increased its involvement in people's economic affairs, and by the time of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, the transformation was complete. By the end of the twentieth century, the fundamental principle underlying American government had been transformed to democracy, and public policy was designed to further the will of the majority. The result has been a government that is larger and broader in scope.
From Liberty to Democracy examines American political history using the framework of public choice theory to show how American government grew more democratic, and how this resulted in an increase in the size and scope of government. It should appeal to historians, political scientists, and economists who are interested in the evolution of American government but does not assume any specialized training and can be read by anyone interested in American political history.
Randall G. Holcombe is DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics, Florida State University
The government's activities during two world wars and the Great Depression greatly increased its involvement in people's economic affairs, and by the time of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, the transformation was complete. By the end of the twentieth century, the fundamental principle underlying American government had been transformed to democracy, and public policy was designed to further the will of the majority. The result has been a government that is larger and broader in scope.
From Liberty to Democracy examines American political history using the framework of public choice theory to show how American government grew more democratic, and how this resulted in an increase in the size and scope of government. It should appeal to historians, political scientists, and economists who are interested in the evolution of American government but does not assume any specialized training and can be read by anyone interested in American political history.
Randall G. Holcombe is DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics, Florida State University
Reviews / Votes
Demonstrating a strong command of public choice principles, Holcombe has produced an insightful analytical survey of the growth of government from the colonial era to the present. An important contribution." -Robert Higgs, editor of The Independent Review and author of Crisis and LeviathanMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Ann Arbor
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
8 drawings, 6 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-472-11290-6 (9780472112906)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Randall G. Holcombe is DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics, Florida State University. He is also the chairman of the Research Advisory Council of the James Madison Institute for Public Policy Studies, a Tallahassee-based think tank that specializes in issues facing state governments. Through the James Madison Institute, Professor Holcombe has written numerous articles and reports on Florida's growth management program and its impact on economic development in the State of Florida. He is the author of nine books and more than a hundred articles and reviews published in academic and professional journals. His primary areas of research are public finance and the economic analysis of public policy issues.
Content
Liberty : the revolutionary cause -- Liberty and democracy as economic systems -- Consensus versus democracy : politics in eighteenth-century America -- Constitutions as constraints : the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States -- The growth of parties and interests before the War between the States -- The impact of the War between the States -- Interest groups and the transition to government growth : 1870-1915 -- Populism and progressivism -- The growth of the federal government in the 1920s -- The New Deal and World War II -- Democracy triumphs : the great society -- The dangers of democracy.