… is from Robert Higgs Important July 1987 page 213. Reason An article entitledIn the name of emergency” As an expanded version of this essay appears in Bob’s brilliant 2004 collection of essays, “Normal Constitution versus Crisis Constitution,” On Leviathan:
A normal constitution can be preserved from the introduction of a crisis constitution only if the politically influential elites who make policy and shape public opinion are willing to deal with the national emergency.
DBX: Yes. But I fear that the experience of governments – and the media – during the Covid-19 period will further fuel their desire to use more force to protect the masses from some of the greatest dangers.