--- title: "Best Robert Higgs Quotes" description: "Robert Higgs is an American economic historian and economist. Browse 54 Robert Higgs quotes." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-robert-higgs-79843.jpg" --- ![Portrait of Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-robert-higgs-79843.jpg) # Robert Higgs (1944) Economist **54** quotes in **534** categories Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet Robert Higgs is an economist, best known for *Opposing the crusader state*. ## Quick Facts About Robert Higgs Born February 1, 1944 Profession Economist Notable works Opposing the crusader state ## About Robert Higgs Robert Higgs is an American economic historian and economist. He is known for research on the growth of the United States government, especially the ratchet effect, the idea that state power expands during wars and other crises and only partly recedes afterward, which he developed in Crisis and Leviathan (1987). He is a retired senior fellow in political economy at the Independent Institute, where he founded and later served as editor at large of The Independent Review, and he has held faculty appointments at the University of Washington, Lafayette College, and Seattle University. In an essay he has described his political philosophy as a libertarian anarchism. ## Quotes by Robert Higgs · Page 2 > [Any society that entails the strengthening of the state apparatus by giving it unchecked control over the economy, and re-unites the polity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/any-society-that-entails-the-strengthening-of-the-state-apparatus-by/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/622/robert-higgs-12637_economics_any-society-that-entails-the-strengtheni_1115298.jpg) > [Many anti-energy groups display little appreciation of the extent to which modern economies depend pervasively on the use of fossil fuels and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/many-anti-energy-groups-display-little-appreciation-of-the-extent-to/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b7/robert-higgs-12637_appreciation_many-anti-energy-groups-display-little-a_3212489.jpg) > [Of course, political leaders are much more ambitious than gangsters. The latter are content to take your money, whereas the former, besides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/of-course-political-leaders-are-much-more-ambitious-than-gangsters/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/robert-higgs-12637_ambitious_of-course-political-leaders-are-much-mor_1839050.jpg) > [Ironically, in the full-fledged transfer society, where governments busy themselves redistributing income by means of hundreds of distinct programs, hardly anyone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/ironically-in-the-full-fledged-transfer-society-where-governments/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/robert-higgs-12637_better-off_ironically-in-the-full-fledged-transfer_2524414.jpg) > [To continue on the road we Americans have traveled for the past century is ultimately to deliver ourselves completely into the hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/to-continue-on-the-road-we-americans-have-traveled-for-the-past/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/robert-higgs-12637_century_to-continue-on-the-road-we-americans-hav_301660.jpg) > [Austria, Germany and the U.S. South did not disappear as a result of their currencies' ruin. Although many people suffered, most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/austria-germany-and-the-u-s-south-did-not-disappear-as-a-result-of/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a6/robert-higgs-12637_activity_austria-germany-and-the-u-s-south-did-no_2877012.jpg) > [If anarchists are idealists, they may simply be likened to someone who finds himself swimming in a cesspool and, rather than paddling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/if-anarchists-are-idealists-they-may-simply-be-likened-to-someone-who/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/519/robert-higgs-12637_amount_if-anarchists-are-idealists-they-may-sim_3171972.jpg) > [The state is the most destructive institution human beings have ever devised - a fire that, at best, can be controlled for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-state-is-the-most-destructive-institution-human-beings-have-ever/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Confinement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confinement/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/robert-higgs-12637_confinement_the-state-is-the-most-destructive-instit_1806089.jpg) > [H. L. Mencken famously said that 'every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.' By now, however, I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/h-l-mencken-famously-said-that-every-decent-man-is-ashamed-of-the/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Ashamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66e/robert-higgs-12637_ashamed_h-l-mencken-famously-said-that-every-dec_3008050.jpg) > [In the transfer society, the general public is not only poorer but also less contented, less autonomous, more rancorous, and more politicized.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/in-the-transfer-society-the-general-public-is-not-only-poorer-but/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/robert-higgs-12637_activity_in-the-transfer-society-the-general-publ_2110396.jpg) > [In U.S. history, war has served as an important diversionary tactic, causing the people at large to shift their attention away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/in-u-s-history-war-has-served-as-an-important-diversionary-tactic/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/robert-higgs-12637_attention_in-u-s-history-war-has-served-as-an-impo_2164663.jpg) > [“If the man in the street remembers anything about Herbert Hoover it is that his middle name was Laissez-Faire and he did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/if-the-man-in-the-street-remembers-anything-about-herbert-hoover-it/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [American economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-economy/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20e/robert-higgs-12637_quote_if-the-man-in-the-street-remembers-anyth_1966076.jpg) > [Voting, the be all and end all of modern democratic politicians, has become a farce, if indeed it was ever anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/voting-the-be-all-and-end-all-of-modern-democratic-politicians-has/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/robert-higgs-12637_accomplices_voting-the-be-all-and-end-all-of-modern_1643513.jpg) > [Recipients of transfers tend to become less self-reliant and more dependent on government payments. When people can get support without exercising their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/recipients-of-transfers-tend-to-become-less-self-reliant-and-more/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/robert-higgs-12637_ability_recipients-of-transfers-tend-to-become-l_3183596.jpg) ## Robert Higgs by topic [Government (24)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/robert-higgs/) [Politics (21)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/robert-higgs/) [People (10)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/robert-higgs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/#itemlist", "name": "Robert Higgs Quotes", "numberOfItems": 14, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any society that entails the strengthening of the state apparatus by giving it unchecked control over the economy, and re-unites the polity and the economy, is an historical regression. 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L. Mencken famously said that 'every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.' By now, however, I am no longer ashamed, because I do not identify with the government under which I live. Rather, I view it as a criminal organization that without provocation has chosen to make war on my just rights-not only mine, of course, but everyone's. 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Genuine communities cannot breathe in the poisonous atmosphere of redistributional politics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Higgs" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/in-the-transfer-society-the-general-public-is-not-only-poorer-but/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/robert-higgs-12637_activity_in-the-transfer-society-the-general-publ_2110396.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/robert-higgs-12637_activity_in-the-transfer-society-the-general-publ_2110396.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/robert-higgs-12637_activity_in-the-transfer-society-the-general-publ_2110396.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the transfer society, the general public is not only poorer but also less contented, less autonomous…” — Robert Higgs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In U.S. history, war has served as an important diversionary tactic, causing the people at large to shift their attention away from the state's own criminality and toward real or fictitious devils abroad. Wars have therefore proved to be extremely useful in propping up the political class and preserving it from the public resistance and rebellion that might otherwise have arisen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Higgs" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/in-u-s-history-war-has-served-as-an-important-diversionary-tactic/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/robert-higgs-12637_attention_in-u-s-history-war-has-served-as-an-impo_2164663.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/robert-higgs-12637_attention_in-u-s-history-war-has-served-as-an-impo_2164663.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/robert-higgs-12637_attention_in-u-s-history-war-has-served-as-an-impo_2164663.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In U.S. history, war has served as an important diversionary tactic, causing the people at large to shift…” — Robert Higgs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If the man in the street remembers anything about Herbert Hoover it is that his middle name was Laissez-Faire and he did nothing while the American economy went to rack and ruin. As usual the knowledge of the man in the street leaves something to be desired. The popular remembrance of Hoover's quiescence in the face of the depression is a myth. The Great Engineer may have had his faults, but fiddling while the economy burned was not one of them. “Do nothing” was never his motto; his middle name was actually Clark.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Higgs" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/if-the-man-in-the-street-remembers-anything-about-herbert-hoover-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20e/robert-higgs-12637_quote_if-the-man-in-the-street-remembers-anyth_1966076.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20e/robert-higgs-12637_quote_if-the-man-in-the-street-remembers-anyth_1966076.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20e/robert-higgs-12637_quote_if-the-man-in-the-street-remembers-anyth_1966076.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the man in the street remembers anything about Herbert Hoover it is that his middle name was…” — Robert Higgs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Voting, the be all and end all of modern democratic politicians, has become a farce, if indeed it was ever anything else. By voting, the people decide only which of the oligarchs preselected for them as viable candidates will wield the whip used to flog them and will command the legion of willing accomplices and anointed lickspittles who perpetrate the countless violations of the people's natural rights. Meanwhile, the masters soothe the masses by assuring them night and day that they - the plundered and bullied multitudes who compose the electorate - are themselves the government.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Higgs" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/voting-the-be-all-and-end-all-of-modern-democratic-politicians-has/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/robert-higgs-12637_accomplices_voting-the-be-all-and-end-all-of-modern_1643513.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/robert-higgs-12637_accomplices_voting-the-be-all-and-end-all-of-modern_1643513.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/robert-higgs-12637_accomplices_voting-the-be-all-and-end-all-of-modern_1643513.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Voting, the be all and end all of modern democratic politicians, has become a farce, if indeed it was ever…” — Robert Higgs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Recipients of transfers tend to become less self-reliant and more dependent on government payments. When people can get support without exercising their own abilities to discover and respond to opportunities for earning income, those abilities atrophy. People forget - or never learn in the first place - how to help themselves, and eventually some of them simply accept their helplessness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Higgs" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/recipients-of-transfers-tend-to-become-less-self-reliant-and-more/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/robert-higgs-12637_ability_recipients-of-transfers-tend-to-become-l_3183596.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/robert-higgs-12637_ability_recipients-of-transfers-tend-to-become-l_3183596.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/robert-higgs-12637_ability_recipients-of-transfers-tend-to-become-l_3183596.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Recipients of transfers tend to become less self-reliant and more dependent on government payments. When…” — Robert Higgs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/#person", "name": "Robert Higgs", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/", "image": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-robert-higgs-79843.jpg" }, { "@type": "ProfilePage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/page/2/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/page/2/", "name": "Robert Higgs", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/#person" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/622/robert-higgs-12637_economics_any-society-that-entails-the-strengtheni_1115298.jpg" }, "description": "Robert Higgs is an American economic historian and economist. Browse 54 Robert Higgs quotes.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/page/2/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/page/2/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Authors", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/authors/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Robert Higgs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/page/2/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```