[Liberal in Your Pocket] Buchanan (James M. Buchanan)

"Constitutional Constraints and Constitutional Reform for Liberty and the Market Economic Order"

Buchanan (James M. Buchanan, 1919~ )

- Born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States

- Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1948

- Professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University from 1969 to 1983

- Professor at George Mason University from 1983

- Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1986

- Major works: *The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy* (1962), *The Theory of Public Choice: The Political Application of Economics* (1972), *The Power to Tax* (1980), among others

“As the 21st century approaches, the prohibition of excessive political intervention has become more clearly important. The Leviathan state characterizes most of this century. Unless we can limit the growth of such a monster, or productively and potentially arrange it so as to guarantee a system of order in which individuals may in fact pursue the realization of their own identity, all our dreams will be destroyed.”

- From *The Economics and Ethics of Constitutional Order* -

Earlier economists implicitly assumed a benevolent government in the process of political decision-making. Through his theory of public choice, Buchanan played a decisive role in shattering this romantic illusion. Those who act on behalf of the state, like most of us, are ordinary human beings who act from selfish motives within the limits of the information available to them.

Keynesian economics emphasizes the role of fiscal policy, arguing that during recessions the government should undertake deficit-financed spending, while during booms increased tax revenues should produce budget surpluses, thereby calming and stabilizing the business cycle. Buchanan, however, opposed this claim. In reality, he pointed out, taxes tend to increase regardless of the business cycle, because government officials also benefit when more taxes are collected and the size and role of government are expanded.

Buchanan distinguished choice into “choice under given rules” and “choice among the rules themselves,” and focused on the latter question of which rules should be chosen. This is because participants’ behavior differs depending on the rules under which they operate, and as a result the outcomes may also differ.

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Original title: [주머니 속의 자유주의자 ] 뷰캐넌(James M.Buchanan)

Author: Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

Date: 2005-12-20

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=column&pn=22&idx=10664