Economic and Ideological Corruptions of the Regulatory State

What accounts for the excesses of the regulatory state? Economists have shown that bad regulations are often due to “rent seeking” and “regulatory capture” and have provided compelling accounts of the incentives that drive these processes. However, there remain many unwarranted regulations, such as recent gun control measures, that cannot be explained by an economic rationale. Rather, it is essential to understand the distinctively ideological origins and functions of such regulations. This paper examines both the economic and ideological corruptions on the regulatory state, suggesting that those concerned with the growth of state power will have to address both of these phenomena.     

Wordsworth and the old men

In the 1830s the poet William Wordsworth bought government annuities on the lives of old men from the Lake District and elsewhere. This episode is recounted for the light which it throws on the history of the government's life annuity business in the early nineteenth century. An account of this business is given, and an explanation offered for the fact that the government suffered heavy losses at the hands of life assurance companies and other speculators, including Wordsworth and the banker friend who led him into the investment. Wordsworth's financial dealings are also considered from the perspective of a literary historian, for the insights which they afford into Wordsworth's understanding of a poet's public and private responsibilities.     

Locke, Hegel, and the Economy

Peter Lawler’s insightful critique of American individualism offers many important lessons, but his diagnosis of our economic situation is overly optimistic. Indeed, “big government” is more of a problem than Lawler suggests. This essay draws on two central figures of Lawler’s analysis—Locke and Hegel—to explore the problems that individualism poses for modern political economy. Although individualism is unlikely to make the regulatory state or welfare state wither away, the psychology of individualism confirms the importance of cultivating forms of recognition beyond economic life.