Robert Higgs, an economic historian and author, spoke to students and faculty at Mississippi State University about the “political economy of war” during an event sponsored by the Young Americans for Liberty on Wednesday night.
Higgs earned a Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University and is a senior fellow in political economy at the Independent Institute.
Higgs said he thinks his lecture, “The Catastrophic Impact of War on Liberty,” is particularly relevant today.
“There’s a lot of talk about the economy lately because we’re in a recession,” Higgs said.
Higgs spoke about the condition of a country in wartime and the means a country has to go through to obtain the resources it needs for a war.
“They think it’s a great idea to spend money the government doesn’t have so they borrow it, and that’s how you end up with a recession,” Higgs said.
Higgs has written several books on the subject, including “Crisis and Leviathan” and “Depression War and Cold War: Studies in Political Economy.”
Higgs is an economic historian who has focused on the causes and effects of the government during times of war.
“I’m trained as an economist. I’ve been doing work in history all my adult life,” Higgs said.
President of Young Americans for Liberty, Alexander Habighorst, said Higgs was an important figure to bring to speak at MSU.
“Dr. Higgs is one of the most distinguished economic historians on government growth during times of warfare,” he said.
Higgs has won several awards throughout his lifetime, including the Gary Schlarbaum Award for Lifetime Defense of Liberty, the Thomas Szasz Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Cause of Civil Liberties and the Friedrich von Wieser Memorial Prize for Excellence in Economic Education.