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What should classical liberal political economists do?

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  • Peter Boettke

Abstract

In 1964 James Buchanan famously asked “What Should Economists Do?” He argued that economists should focus their intellectual attention on exchange and the institutions within which exchange takes place. This paper reflects on Buchanan’s message and looks at the development of that argument, and its implications in the wake of post-socialist political economy on the one hand, and the post-financial crisis of 2008 on the other. Following Buchanan, the paper argues that classical liberal political economists must embrace the intellectual and practical challenges of the day, and bring a robust theory of political economy to bear on questions of justice, questions of freedom and responsibility, and questions concerning the invisible hand and the appropriate institutional framework which results in peaceful social cooperation and productive specialization in a society of free and responsible individuals. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Boettke, 2014. "What should classical liberal political economists do?," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 110-124, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:25:y:2014:i:1:p:110-124
    DOI: 10.1007/s10602-014-9155-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter T. Leeson, 2010. "Anarchy Unbound: How Much Order Can Spontaneous Order Create?," Chapters, in: Peter J. Boettke (ed.), Handbook on Contemporary Austrian Economics, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. James M. Buchanan, 1949. "The Pure Theory of Government Finance: A Suggested Approach," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(6), pages 496-496.
    3. Peter J. Boettke (ed.), 2010. "Handbook on Contemporary Austrian Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12822.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yamini Narayanan, 2019. "Jugaad and informality as drivers of India’s cow slaughter economy," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(7), pages 1516-1535, October.
    2. Andrew Farrant & Vlad Tarko, 2019. "James M. Buchanan’s 1981 visit to Chile: Knightian democrat or defender of the ‘Devil’s fix’?," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 1-20, March.
    3. Peter J. Boettke & Henry A. Thompson, 2022. "Identity and off-diagonals: how permanent winning coalitions destroy democratic governance," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 191(3), pages 483-499, June.
    4. Alex Tabarrok, 2015. "James Buchanan as Intellectual Entrepreneur," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 30(Summer 20), pages 111-115.
    5. Peter J. Boettke & Rosolino A. Candela, 2015. "Rivalry, Polycentricism, and Institutional Evolution," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: New Thinking in Austrian Political Economy, volume 19, pages 1-19, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    James Buchanan; Methodological individualism; Spontaneous order; Institutional economics; Constitutional political economy; B31; H11; P48;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies

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