Laissez Faire Rome????
25 December 2007
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Timothy Kane asserts that among the cause of the collapse of the Roman Empire was "small government" (Letters, December 25).
Mr. Kane's history is wrong. Emperor Diocletian (reigned 284-305 AD) brought many industries, including mercantile trade, under state control. And with the Edictum de pretiis, he infamously imposed an empire-wide system of wage and price controls. The results were calamitous.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Timothy Kane asserts that among the cause of the collapse of the Roman Empire was "small government" (Letters, December 25).
Mr. Kane's history is wrong. Emperor Diocletian (reigned 284-305 AD) brought many industries, including mercantile trade, under state control. And with the Edictum de pretiis, he infamously imposed an empire-wide system of wage and price controls. The results were calamitous.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Sunday May 25, 2008 at 10:16am