A hundred years ago the state’s job was to keep the peace, operate courts, stand an army, run primary schools, pay some pensions and not a great deal else.  In the UK in 1913, for example, defence spending was seven times greater than health spending. Overall government spending as a percentage of GDP was one-eighth of what it is today. Over time the state has taken on more and more jobs: education, health, welfare payments, and much else. In Europe, government spending as a percentage of GDP is two to three times higher now than it was in the mid…

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