Hearing Secret Harmonies, the last volume

next twenty to 28 years at as fast a rate as it did in the preceding twenty years. Nor is there any reason why it should” (since school enrollments will be down). He believes that the share of GNP channeled through government “could well go higher by a few percentage points,” but should level off soon. Considering only the potential expansion of government payrolls from job creation schemes, however—and not mentioning a nationalized health insurance monopoly-—it is not hard to imagine another sizable burst in government employment. Nor is it inconceivable that government could account for 56 per cent of GNP by the year 2000 (an extension of the 1955-75 trend). If the private economy remains stagnant, as a result of policies which discourage private capital formation (taxes, regulations, and a huge stock of government securities competing with investment in real capital), even relatively modest government growth could result in government’s becoming quite large relative to total income. Britain is an obvious example.

These critical reflections should not detract from the enormous value of this book. Nothing so comprehensive could remain uncontroversial without being dull, and this book is anything but dull. Freeman neatly anticipated the major issues of the presidential campaign, and placed them in an appropriate historical setting. For a proper understanding of the significance of Leviathan’s diet, there is no better source.

AL

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Anthony Lejeune

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next twenty to 28 years at as fast a rate as it did in the preceding twenty years. Nor is there any reason why it should” (since school enrollments will be down). He believes that the share of GNP channeled through government “could well go higher by a few percentage points,” but should level off soon. Considering only the potential expansion of government payrolls from job creation schemes, however—and not mentioning a nationalized health insurance monopoly-—it is not hard to imagine another sizable burst in government employment. Nor is it inconceivable that government could account for 56 per cent of GNP by the year 2000 (an extension of the 1955-75 trend). If the private economy remains stagnant, as a result of policies which discourage private capital formation (taxes, regulations, and a huge stock of government securities competing with investment in real capital), even relatively modest government growth could result in government’s becoming quite large relative to total income. Britain is an obvious example.

These critical reflections should not detract from the enormous value of this book. Nothing so comprehensive could remain uncontroversial without being dull, and this book is anything but dull. Freeman neatly anticipated the major issues of the presidential campaign, and placed them in an appropriate historical setting. For a proper understanding of the significance of Leviathan’s diet, there is no better source.