Illiberal Reformers: Race, Eugenics and American Economics in the Progressive Era

In Illiberal Reformers (Princeton University Press), research scholar Thomas C. Leonard explores the rise of the “administrative state” during the Progressive Era of the late 19th century, demonstrating the move towards a belief in a government run by “experts” of the social sciences – economists, sociologists, and the like – instead of politicians. In doing so he also analyzes how these reformers, whose stated purpose was to banish the stratifying and denigrating impulse of raw capitalism, often proposed solutions that punished minorities and the most vulnerable in the name of progress.