The New Road to Serfdom (21 page)

United Kingdom, 31

Tea Party Movement, 153–58, 161–62

terrorism, 111–12

assassination of Theo Van Gogh, 106

EU and Hamas, 125

IRA and, 112–13

London Underground bombing, 37

modern welfare state and, 112–13

UK Muslim terrorists, 106–7, 111

Thatcher, Margaret, 87, 165

Thick of It, The
(TV series), 21

Times
of London, 13

Tocqueville, Alexis de, 116

Turkey

birthrates and family, 104–5

Kurdish minority, 124

World War I and, 110

un-Americanism, 5, 6, 16

United Kingdom

America and, closeness of relationship, 173–87

Anglo-American imperium, 180–82

British character, xv, 5

British Constitution, 171

British election rules, 29–30

British Islam, historically, 109–10

British liberties in America, 171–87

British Tea Party, 176–77

Conservative Party, 34, 38, 158, 164–65, 168

Contract with Britain, 168

Crown prerogative, 185

cultural unity with U.S., 180–81

dislike of politicians, 25–26

election rules, 176

English Civil War, 173, 174–75

financial crisis of 2008 and, 71

governance of, current, 5, 24–25

health system, 85–88

Labour Party, 30, 33, 38

lack of accountability of officials, 30, 36–38

London Underground bombing, 107, 113

Magna Carta, 178

Muslims in, 111–14

Muslim terrorists from, 106–7, 111

open primaries, 34

Parliament’s lack of control of the executive, 30, 31

Police Authorities, 36, 38

political responsibility without power, 25

power of, and loyalty to, 111

quangos and, 24–25, 38, 135, 136

shift in power away from elected representatives, 184–86

South East England, 33

Standing Orders, 185

stimulus package, 31

sympathy with revolutionary American colonists and, 172, 174

taxation, 31

TV political dramas, 20–21

welfare system, 92–93, 111

Westminster expenses crisis, 25–27

United Nations, 130, 143, 144, 149

U.S. Constitution, xviii, xxiii, 41–49

amendments, 64–66

Bill of Rights, 42, 62

British liberties, and, 171–87

broad principles, 41

danger of loss, 16

decentralization of government in, 3

dispersal of power, 46, 59

Eighteenth Amendment, 65

emphasis on the individual, 4, 42, 45, 62

executive branch, checks on, 46

freedoms guaranteed by, 4

as inspirational to other countries, 118

length, 41

major concerns of, 45–46

Nineteenth Amendment, 66

opening line, 45

powers granted to the federal government, 59

racial issues and, 10–11

ratification of, 42–43

representative government, 3, 47

sense of nationhood and, 48–49, 173

Seventeenth Amendment, 65

Sixteenth Amendment, 64

states’ rights and, 59, 62, 64

taxes and, 46

Tenth Amendment, 62

U.S. Declaration of Independence, 42, 185–86

U.S. government

as accountable to the governed, 34

Anglo-American imperium, 180–82

bailouts, 155, 169

balanced budget rules, 28

centralization of power in, 16, 18, 53, 58, 63, 64–70, 117, 155–58, 168

centralization of welfare, 97

congressional regulation of industry, 64, 68, 118, 128, 168

diversity in the legislature, 33–34

election of senators, 65

Europeanizing of American, 16

executive branch growth, 46, 63, 66–71

expenditure and borrowing, 18, 58, 69, 70, 85, 153, 162

financial crisis of 2008 and, 71

foreign policy, 120–51

genius of republican principles, 183

health care reform and, 90–91

intervention into state and personal affairs, 16, 168

negatives of big government, 60–61, 71, 73

powers vested by the Constitution, 59

prevention of corruption in, 27–28

programs easier to establish than discontinue, 70

security forces, increased powers, 168–69

separation of powers, 30–31, 59

state ownership of key enterprises, 85

U.S. Supreme Court, 67

Uzbekistan, 134

Van Gogh, Theo, 106, 113

Van Rompuy, Herman, 57

Vaubel, Roland, 61

Washington, George, 174

Washington Times,
149

welfare, 91–98

American model, xxi, 92

cradle to grave welfare, effect of, 105

deleterious effect of, 112

Europeanizing of American, xvi, 75

European Union (EU), 98

Florida reform of, 96

localism, advantages of, 96–98

as terrorist breeding ground, 111–13

U.S. Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, 93–96

Wisconsin reform of, 95

West Wing, The
(TV series), 20, 39

Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century
(Leonard), 124–26

Wilson, Woodrow, 63, 65, 66

Winthrop, John, 1, 3, 186

Wooldridge, Adrian, 163–64

World War II, 9, 47

economic growth and, 82–83

expansion of government and, 105

plebiscitary democracy and, 47

U.S.-UK alliance, 180

Wright, Jeremiah, 11–12

Yes, Minister (TV
series), 20, 39

Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal, 145

I
am grateful to the many Americans who hosted me during the six months while I was writing this book: to Ed Feulner and Sally McNamara at the Heritage Foundation; to Fred Smith, Iain Murray, and Myron Ebell at the Competitive Enterprise Institute; to Michael Bowman and the American Legislative Exchange Council; to John Caldara of the Independence Institute; to John Goodman and Tab Boyles of the National Center for Policy Analysis; to Allen Roth and Jonah Goldberg; to Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey; and, most of all, to Lori Roman of Regular Folks United.

Thanks, too, to Adam Bellow for having had the idea in the first place, and to the brilliant David Batt, with whom, in many long conversations, I shaped my opinions into a semblance of order.

Thanks to my wonderful Scottish-American cousins in Philadelphia, John, Nancy, Mary, Ryan, and Lavina. And thanks especially to Annabel and Allegra, who have more patience than any father has the right to expect.