Traditional public policy and welfare economics have held that "market failures"-the presumed inability of a free market to deliver certain goods and services deemed to be in the public interest- are common and require government intervention to protect the public good. But is this actually the case? Beyond Politics carefully scrutinizes this view through the modern theory of public choice, and systematically explains how government is producing a scandal of political myopia, bureaucratic self-interest, pressure group manipulation, economic stagnation, and public distrust. The book emphasizes the actual, rather than ideal, workings of governments and traces the anatomy of "government failure" and a pathology of political institutions as government has become the vehicle for private gain at public expense. Social welfare, consumer protection, education, trade, the environment, and crime are some of the topics the author examines. Offering a powerful perspective on market processes, property rights, politics, and government bureaucracy, this newly revised and updated edition of Beyond Politics is a lucid and comprehensive study of the foundations of a free and humane society. Book jacket.