September 15, 2010 Reading Time: < 1 minute

“Like a river suddenly swollen by the collapse of an upstream dam, the ideological current becomes bloated by the public’s fear and apprehension of impending dangers and its heightened uncertainty about future developments. Bewildered people turn to the government to resolve the situation, demanding that government officials “do something” to repair the damage already done and prevent further harm. The public’s cry, for the most part, is not for any particular government action, because, in truth, few have a definite idea of what should be done. Nevertheless, the people demand that the government do something, trusting that government officials will react to the situation intelligently and effectively.” Read more.

“The Political Economy of Crisis Opportunism” 
Robert Higgs 
Via the Mercatus Center, October 2009. 

Image by Bill Longshaw / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Tom Duncan

Get notified of new articles from Tom Duncan and AIER.

Related Articles – Fiscal Policy, Inflation, Monetary Policy, Regulation, Sound Banking, Sound Money Project