Doomsday Fears & Apocalyptic Dread
Passively waiting for the end of the world
Dr. Robert Higgs, American economist, historian and self proclaimed ‘libertarian anarchist’ asserted, “fear is the foundation of every government’s power.” By this he means that governments often rely on fear to maintain and expand their authority. His argument is that, in times of crisis or perceived threats, whether they be wars, economic depressions, terrorist attacks, or pandemics, governments can exploit the public’s fear to justify increased control, reduced freedoms, and expanded powers.
This use of fear can lead to the public accepting or even demanding measures that they might ordinarily resist, such as higher taxes, increased surveillance, or military interventions. Higgs suggests that once these powers are granted, they tend to persist even after the crisis has passed, resulting in a long-term expansion of government influence. This idea aligns with his ratchet effect theory, where government power expands during crises and does not fully revert afterward.
The Patriot Act is exemplary of this premise.
Essentially, Higgs contends that fear enables governments to consolidate power and that this dynamic underlies the growth of state authority over time. Given this line of thinking, it’s reasonable to say that we are living in a…
