{"product_id":"the-laissez-faire-experiment-w-walker-hanlon-9780691213415","title":"The Laissez-Faire Experiment: Why Britain Embraced and Then Abandoned Small Government, 1800-1914","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhy Britain's attempt at small government proved unable to cope with the challenges of the modern world\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the nineteenth century, as Britain attained a leading economic and political position in Europe, British policymakers embarked on a bold experiment with small and limited government. By the outbreak of the First World War, however, this laissez-faire philosophy of government had been abandoned and the country had taken its first steps toward becoming a modern welfare state. This book tells the story of Britain's laissez-faire experiment, examining why it was done, how it functioned, and why it was ultimately rejected in favor of a more interventionist form of governance. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBlending insights from modern economic theory with a wealth of historical evidence, W. Walker Hanlon traces the slow expansion of government intervention across a broad spectrum of government functions in order to understand why and how Britain gave up on laissez-faire. It was not abandoned because Britain's leaders lost faith in small government as some have suggested, nor did it collapse under the growing influence of working-class political power. Instead, Britain's move away from small government was a pragmatic and piecemeal response--by policymakers who often deeply believed in laissez-faire--to the economic forces unleashed by the Industrial Revolution.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e W. Walker Hanlon\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691213410\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691213415\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/10\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 504\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.90lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.50h x 6.50w x 1.50d","brand":"W. Walker Hanlon","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46070403662079,"sku":"9780691213415","price":49.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_2663df16-9bc9-4915-9316-c2e6b6d950d5.jpg?v=1724243163","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-laissez-faire-experiment-w-walker-hanlon-9780691213415","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}