The Goal Is Freedom: Crisis and Opportunity

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” — Rahm Emanuel

Has President Obama's chief of staff read Robert Higgs's Crisis and Leviathan? Probably not, and he wouldn't have had to. Higgs's classic is a history of political opportunism during crises. Throughout American history, economic and foreign upheaval has been used to justify expansion of government power. When the crisis subsided, government never shrunk back to its pre-crisis dimensions. Some “emergency” powers were retained, while others were shelved but nevertheless available for quick retrieval thanks to precedent and the public's reinforced belief that only government can manage a crisis. Moreover, the rate of government growth was faster after the crisis than before.

What's noteworthy about Emanuel's statement is its candor. A crisis without an expansion of government would be a tragic waste in his view. It presumably is Obama's view also. (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a similar remark.)