Although some writers have argued that imperialism can supply a “public good,” such as the enforcement of a secure property-rights regime, few have examined systematically the many “public bads” that tend to accompany this sort of foreign interventionism. A comprehensive list of the potential social harms associated with empire, nation building, and the like is long overdue.
Christopher J. Coyne is a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, and Co-Editor of The Independent Review.
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Steve Davies is the Head of Education at the IEA. Previously he was program officer at the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) at George Mason University in Virginia.
Defense and Foreign Policy
Other Independent Review articles by Christopher J. Coyne
Spring 2025 The Nuclear Ratchet: Crisis, Leviathan, and Atomic Weapons
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Spring 2024 Murray Rothbard on War and Foreign Policy
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Other Independent Review articles by Steve Davies
Winter 2021/22 The Struggle for a Better World