ИПИ Библиотека

Dependent on D.C. is a compelling new book that raises serious questions about the future of liberty in America. Charlotte A. Twight proves beyond doubt that the growth of dependence on government in the past seventy years has not been accidental, that its creation has been bipartisan, and that it is accelerating. She reveals a universal tactic used by federal officials to expand government authority over the lives of all Americans and exposes the many forms this tactic has taken. Twight shows how growing federal power--driven by legislation, validated by Supreme Court decisions, and accelerated by presidential ambition--has eroded the rule of law in our nation, leaving almost no activity that the central government cannot at its discretion regulate, manipulate, or prohibit. A constitutional counterrevolution has occurred in America--one so profound that few today can imagine Americans free of dependence on government. Dependent on D.C. shows why Americans have not resisted this expansion of federal power and reveals the daunting magnitude of the changes needed to reverse our nation's spiral into dependency. In these uncertain times, Dependent on D.C. is the book Americans need to read when thinking about the future of their individual liberty in a country long committed to the ideal of personal freedom.

Libertarians have a basic problem with government they don't believe it should exist except to provide a police force and a military. Nor do they appreciate the necessary role politicians perform in a democratic society. Instead, they retreat into the worst romanticisms of Thomas Jefferson. This first book by Twight reflects her specialty training outside political science and history, which includes a Ph.D. in economics, a law degree, and experience in programming computers. Like most libertarians, she espouses unrealistic ideals and ideas unrelated to pragmatic solutions to social and political issues. She fills this work with criticism of the expansion of federal authority during the past 70 years, never mind which political party governed. She also ignores lessons gathered over 2500 years of Western political philosophy, except to acknowledge that politicians may lie to cover up their misdeeds, which the author terms "transaction-cost-augmentation" i.e., they spend public money. September 11 makes most of this seem like abstract economic argument. Not recommended for general libraries; an optional purchase for large academic libraries.
- William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ. in Shreveport

Charlotte A. Twight

Charlotte Twight is Adjunct Fellow with the Center on Peace and Liberty at The Independent Institute. Dr. Twight is Professor of Economics at Boise State University and Contributing Editor of The Independent Review. She received her J.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Washington, and she is a member of the Washington State Bar Association.

She is author of the books, Dependent on D.C.: The Rise of Federal Control Over the Lives of Ordinary Americans and America’s Emerging Fascist Economy, and a contributing author to The Independent Institute books, Arms, Politics and the Economy: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives and American Health Care: Government, Market Processes, and the Public Interest.

Professor Twight’s articles have appeared in Public Choice, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Theoretical Politics, Journal of Public Policy, The Independent Review, and many other scholarly journals.