Randall G. Holcombe - Liberty in Peril: Power and Democracy in American History

Liberty in Peril is an important book. It seeks to show the transformation of the underlying ideology of American government since the Revolution from commitment to the principle of individual liberty to the principle of democracythat government should be responsive to the will of the people. It combines sophisticatedbut easily readableeconomics with sophisticated political science and a deep historical interpretation of changes in American politics over this period which have completed the transformation. It is an outstanding political and economic history of the U.S.

George L. Priest, Edward J. Phelps Professor of Law and Economics, Yale University

Liberty in Peril is a gem. Randall Holcombe traces the inexorable growth of government through war and peace, from railroads to autos, and during prosperity and depression.

Burton W. Folsom Jr., Distinguished Fellow, Hillsdale College; author, New Deal or Raw Deal? How FDRs Economic Legacy Has Damaged America and FDR Goes to War: How Expanded Executive Power, Spiraling National Debt, and Restricted Civil Liberties Shaped Wartime America

The Independent Institute has been leading the way for some time in asking uncomfortable questions about a disturbing tendency: the transformation of the American government and market system toward cronyism. In his marvelous Independent book, Liberty in Peril, Holcombe lays bare the case in careful detail. Using the interest group model of public choice, Holcombe is able to show the slow but cumulatively catastrophic changes that have taken place, punctuated by a few crises of the type Robert Higgs has emphasized for decades. The problem, at its base, has been the erosion of the protections for liberty in favor of populist democracy. I hope that this timely and well-written call to action can motivate a consideration of the limits, and the need to limit, the dangerous impulses of interest-group politics.

Michael C. Munger, Professor of Political Science, Economics and Public Policy and Director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program, Duke University

Randall Holcombes Liberty in Peril illuminates the forces that have shifted power and responsibility from individuals to government, and from local to centralized government, throughout American history. This timely reminder is must reading for all those concerned with the erosion of, and new threats to, the legal rights and liberties that form the core of a successful society.

Michael J. Boskin, former Chairman, Presidents Council of Economic Advisors; T. M. Friedman Professor of Economics, Stanford University; Wohlford Family Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution; Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research

Every new book by Randy Holcombe is a pleasure to read. Clearly written, insightful, thought-provoking and of high importance to the state of the world, Liberty in Peril is no exception. The book describes how fundamentally the U.S. has changed as a political system, and how the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and separation of powers have eroded. It should be read by everyone concerned about the growth and abuse of government power, no matter whether it is done by the left, the right or the center.

Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard, Professor of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

In Liberty in Peril, Randall Holcombe dissects the commonplace assertion that democracy and liberty support one another and rejects it. His rejection is based on a careful analysis of the working properties of democratic institutions and processes. Any reader looking to find a short and readable explanation of how political democracy can erode personal liberty should read this book.

Richard E. Wagner, Holbert L. Harris Professor of Economics, George Mason University

Liberty for individuals guided the U.S. founding fathers. Randall Holcombe gives a powerful explanation as to why over time liberty gave way to the will of the people or democracy. Citizens get what they think they want but do not fully appreciate the loss of liberty. Liberty in Peril is a welcome wake-up call about the stakes at play.

Lee J. Alston, Ostrom Chair, Professor of Economics and Law, and Director of the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University

Holcombes well-written book Liberty in Peril provides the reader with a clearly stated explanation of how the grand American experiment, which began as a republic formed by people who prized liberty, evolved to become a highly politicized democratic economy. Taking a bold political economy approach, the book is brimming with fresh constitutional comparisons and historic treatments. Woven together, they yield a coherent story of how, over the course of our history, liberty, broadly speaking, has been systematically compromised. Liberty in Peril is a must read for those who wish better to understand the deep roots of Americas politically intertwined economy.

Bruce Yandle, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus and Dean Emeritus, Clemson University

Individual liberty and democratic self-government, the twin ideals on which the United States were founded, do not co-exist in perfect harmony. Aware of this fact the Founders designed a constitutionally limited government to guard against the threat majoritarian democracy may pose to individual liberty. Holcombes book Liberty in Peril is about how over time a growing role of majoritarian rule and direct popular vote worked to erode the constitutional constraints the Founders intended, resulting in continuous government expansion and spreading interest group politics. With his detailed and instructive historical account Holcombe demonstrates the causes that are behind and the mechanisms that have propelled this transformation. His sobering account of the evolution of American democracy calls for renewed inquiry into the problem the Founders sought to solve: How to limit democratic self-government by constitutional constraints that effectively protect individual liberty and keep interest-group politics in bound.

Viktor J. Vanberg, Professor Emeritus of Economic Policy at Freiburg University and former Director and Senior Research Fellow of the Walter Eucken Institute

Liberty in Peril is pure Holcombe, with a fine linear lucid narrative that presents the gradual disencumbering of the Federal Government from constitutional constraints as a shift from a government conceived in liberty to one emphasizing democracy.

Roger D. Congleton, BB&T Professor of Economics, West Virginia University

To protect individual liberty or to promote the general welfarewhich is the proper role of government? Charting the 200-year transformation of American government from the former to the latter, Randall Holcombes book Liberty in Peril is a masterful work of U.S. political-economic history. Learned and scholarly, yet fun and accessible, Liberty in Peril is perfect for anyone interested in how we got here.

Edward J. Lpez is Professor of Economics and BB&T Distinguished Professor of Capitalism, Western Carolina University; and Executive Director, Public Choice Society

Randy Holcombes book, Liberty in Peril, continues his intensive study of American political and economic history which he began in From Liberty to Democracy. In this latest work, Holcombe argues that wars and interest groups have eroded Americas emphasis on liberty and replaced it with an emphasis on democracy. From the Revolutionary War through the New Deal, he finds government interventions increasingly detrimental to freedom and to the American Republic. If you like thought-provoking and provocative arguments, you will certainly enjoy Liberty in Peril.