Economics

War, Deficits, and Liberty

ABSTRACT

This Liberty Fund conference explored the interrelation between war, deficits, and liberty. The conference approached this topic from historical, philosophical, and economic perspectives.

READING LIST

From Liberty Fund

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (vol. 2)

by By Adam Smith
Edited by R. H. Campbell and A. S. Skinner
William B. Todd, Textual Editor

First published in 1776, the year in which the American Revolution officially began, Smith’s Wealth of Nations sparked a revolution of its own. In it Smith analyzes the major elements of political economy, from market pricing and the division of labor to monetary, tax, trade, and other government policies that…

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Additional Readings

Frohnen, Bruce P., eds. The American Nation: Primary Sources, Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Inc., 2009.

Adams, Ephraim Douglass and Benjamin Russell. A League of Nations. Boston: World Peace Foundation, 1919.

Aftalion, Florin. The French Revolution: An Economic Interpretation. Translated by Martin Thom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Byrd, Robert C. The Senate 1789-1989: Classic Speeches 1830-1993: Volume III Bicentennial Edition. Edited by Wendy Wolff. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994.

Coyne, Christopher J., and Steve Davies. "Empire: Public Goods and Bads." Econ Journal Watch 4, no. 1 (January 2007): 3-15.

Friedman, Milton and Anna Jacobson Schwartz. A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963.

Goldberg, Jonah. Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning. San Francisco, CA: Doubleday, 2008.

Lal, Deepak. In Defense of Empires (Henry Wendt Lecture). Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 2004.

Niall Ferguson. "The Reluctant Empire." Hoover Digest 3 (2004): 1-5.

Pope Pius XI . "“Non Abbiamo Bisogno,” Encyclical of Pope Pius XI on Catholic Action in Italy ." The Vatican. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_29061931_non-abbiamo-bisogno_en.html (July 1, 2009).

Randolph Bourne. "War Is the Health of the State." Flag. http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/hist_texts/warhealthstate1918.html (July 1, 2009).

Roosevelt, Theodore. Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star. Edited by Ralph Stout. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1921.

Sumner, William Graham. On Liberty, Society, and Politics: The Essential Essays of William Graham Sumner. Edited by Robert C. Bannister. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Inc., 1992.

Wilson, Woodrow. President Wilson's State Papers and Addresses. Edited by Albert Shaw. New York: George H. Doran Company, 1918.

Woodrow Wilson. "“War Message to Congress” April 2, 1917 ." Mount Holyoke College. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/ww18.htm (July 17, 2009).

Woodrow Wilson. "Address of President Woodrow Wilson to the U.S. Senate 22 January 1917." Michael Duffy. http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/peacewithoutvictory.htm (August 6, 2009).

Woodrow Wilson. "One of President Woodrow Wilson’s Final Addresses in Support of the League of Nations, 25 September 1919, Pueblo, CO." Michael Duffy. http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/wilsonspeech_league.htm (August 6, 2009).